Blueberry Cheesecake

Reader's Digest CanadaReader's Digest Canada

Compared with most cheesecakes, this version isn’t particularly high in fat, as it uses low-fat cottage cheese instead of the traditional cream cheese, and is lightened by folding in whisked egg whites before baking.

Number of servings : 8

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 1 1⁄2 hours

Type of meal : | Cakes | Cakes

Special diet :

Ingredients

120 g wheat bran cookies
2 tablespoons rolled oats
2 tablespoons reduced-salt margarine, melted
1 2/3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
5 tablespoons reduced-fatricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch
finely grated rind of 1 large lemon
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
140 g blueberries
60 g blueberries, to decorate
fresh mint leaves, to decorate
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted, to decorate

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line the bottom of a 20 cm springform cake pan with parchment paper.  
  2. Place the cookies in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Tip into a bowl, add the oats and margarine, and mix.
  3. Spread this mixture evenly over the bottom and just up the sides of the prepared pan, pressing down firmly, and set aside.  
  4. Place the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add the ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 2 egg yolks, cornstarch and lemon rind. Blend briefly until evenly mixed. Tip the mixture into a bowl.
  5. Beat the 2 egg whites with an electric mixer in another bowl to form soft peaks. Slowly add the icing sugar and beat until thick and glossy. Gently fold half the egg whites into the cheese mixture. Fold in the blueberries, then the remaining whites.  
  6. Pour the mixture over the base and bake for 30 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and reduce the heat to 160ºC. Bake for a further hour or until the cheesecake feels just set in the centre. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool for 30 minutes, with the door slightly ajar.
  7. Transfer the cheesecake to a wire rack to cool completely, then chill until ready to serve. Remove it from the pan, peel off the lining paper and place it on a serving plate. Decorate with blueberries and a few mint leaves, and dust with icing sugar.

Nutritional information: