Cottage Cheese Chocolate Cake
Wet Ingredients
- Cottage Cheese – I used Philadelphia cottage cheese, which has 2.5% fat. I have also made the cake with a 6% fat cottage cheese (Longley Farm), which tastes just as good. I don’t recommend zero fat cottage cheese because it can make the cake taste rubbery. It does not matter whether you use large curd or small curd. It is important though that you discard any liquid before measuring. Use a colander for this.
- Eggs – Large and room temperature. They give stability to the cake and bind the ingredients. We whip them to incorporate air into the batter, which gives the cake that light, fluffy crumb.
- Butter or olive oil – I tried the cake without any fat in my first test run and it does work. But, I found that it tastes so much richer with a little butter (must be very soft so it mixes easily). For less saturated fat, use a light olive oil.
Dry Ingredients
- Cocoa powder:Â This must be unsweetened cocoa powder. It adds structure to the cake and deep chocolate flavor. You can also use cacao powder.
- Coconut Flour – This is what helps turn the cottage cheese mixture into a proper cake. Coconut flour absorbs excess moisture and gives the cake a soft crumb while keeping it gluten free and nut free. I recommend measuring it with kitchen scales. You don’t want to use too much accidentally and end up with a dry cake.
- Sweetener – I used allulose, which has 70% of the sweetness of sugar. If your sweetener of choice is a 1:1 sugar replacement, reduce the amount accordingly. If carbs are not a concern, coconut sugar also works.
- Baking Powder – Helps the cake rise well and makes it light and fluffy.
- Sea salt:Â It enhances the flavor. Don’t omit it, salt and chocolate are a dream team!
Instructions
It is simple to make a cottage cheese chocolate cake. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
Preparations
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C. Line the bottom of a 7-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or olive oil.
Method
STEP 1
In a food processor, blend the eggs until pale, frothy and double in volume, about 2 minutes. You can also use a tall jug and an electric mixer.
STEP 2
Add the drained cottage cheese and softened butter. Continue to blend until the cottage cheese is completely smooth and no white curds remain visible, about 2 minutes.
STEP 3
Add all dry ingredients – cocoa powder, sweetener, coconut flour, baking powder and salt – and blend until a smooth batter forms.
The batter should be thick yet creamy and spoonable.
STEP 4
Fill the cake batter into the prepared pan. Gently pound the pan on the kitchen counter a few times to level the top.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the cake has risen with a few cracks forming.
STEP 5
Let the cake come to room temperature in the pan. It will deflate a little during cooling, that is normal.
Once it has reached room temperature, run a knife around the edges and release it from the springform.
Katrin’s Top Tips
#1 Drain excess liquid from the cottage cheese. Cottage cheese brands contain different amounts of liquid. Pour away any whey before measuring so the cake does not turn out soggy.
#2 Blend until completely smooth. Take your time and blend until there are no visible cottage cheese curds in the batter. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula as needed. White specks in chocolate cake just don’t look appetising!
#3 Test for doneness. The cake is done when the top is domed and cracks are beginning to appear. It springs back when you gently press in the middle and a skewer or toothpick inserted should come out with a few crumbs sticking.
#4 Cool completely. The cake is fragile when hot and continues to set as it cools. Don’t slice it until it has reached room temperature.