FitttZee » Desserts » Cottage Cheese Chocolate Cake

Cottage Cheese Chocolate Cake

2 Comments / By Edi Baker - SunCakeMom / 14/12/2018

Chocolate cakes are so versatile as it is the cottage cheese. This cake blends the two together with a thick dark chocolate layer on top. Deliciously cool!

Cottage cheese is probably not the most common ingredient to fill chocolate cakes but why is that, is a mystery. It’s true that cottage cheese isn’t the most common dairy product out there, not to mention that it isn’t the lowest priced either but still.

Cottage cheese was available as a byproduct of butter making, not so long ago. Or maybe it was long time ago, it depends on what evolutionary lenses we are using to close on history.

Traditionally the leftover milk from butter churning was heated up then a curdling agent like vinegar or lemon juice was stirred into.

The acid then curdled the milk up and only needed some draining to enjoy this high protein low fat, low carbohydrate food. Enjoying may be an overstatement at this stage but using it as an ingredient in various dishes with flavorings is a joyous way to spend a meal.

It is as great with salty flavors like smoked bacon with pasta and crème fraiche as it is with the same pasta but with honey instead of bacon. Actually, in some parts of Europe, where dairy production was abundant due to large pastures, it is a more prevalent part of the dessert culture than in parts where meat production was favored.

Although cottage cheese is available in most Western countries in one form or the other, it is not as popular as it is among the health-conscious consumers and athletes. This of course is totally understandable given that cottage cheese has not yet been abused by sugar and sold as healthy food in commercials, yet. Or maybe it has…

If we travel to the other side of the world where bears rule the world and vodka flows in the riverbeds, we will find Pinocchio posing as a face of centuries old treat the “сырок” or sirok. It is a sweet, promoted by the late Soviet Union around all its dominion. It was picked up by all the surrounding countries and tailored to local tastes then promoted as their very own invention.

As a result, most Eastern European countries are having a some sort of chocolate dipped cottage cheese treat, totally and undoubtedly convinced that they great-great-grandfathers brought these marvels to the holy light of this world, not the Russians.

History is full of wonders and exciting details but we should never forget the history is always written by the winners and the losers mostly just die. So here we go trying to tip our hat towards a legend of the Eastern Block with this cottage cheese cake and maybe be part of the history.

As the curd snack is not being a difficult thing neither is this cake going to be. The main ingredient of course is cottage cheese, depending on the brand we can get, needs a bit of draining. If the cottage cheese is too wet, it will make the base too moist and that is not always desirable.

When the cottage cheese is drained, it is ready to be spread on a thin layer of chocolate sponge cake. The last step is to pour some melted chocolate on top and put the whole cake into the fridge until the chocolate hardens back.

Ingredients:

Base:

3 medium Eggs (separated)
1/2 cup / 60g Flour
1 tablespoon Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 tablespoon Baking powder (follow instruction on packaging)
2 tablespoon Agave syrup (or sweetener of choice)

Filling:

Gelatin as much as indicated on its instruction for ¼cup / 50ml water
1 Lemon zest
14 oz / 400g Cottage cheese
200ml Whipping cream
2 tablespoon Honey (or sweetener of choice)
2 tablespoon Vanilla extract

Frosting:

4 oz / 120g Chocolate
2 tablespoon / 30g Butter

Kitchen utensils:

Ø6.5″ / Ø16.5cm Baking form

How to make Cottage cheese chocolate cake:

Base:

Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
Line a round baking tray by using baking sheets or cover it with some butter and flour.
Separate egg whites from the yolks.
Put egg whites in a medium size mixing bowl ready to beat them. Leave yolks in a cup for later.
Beat the egg whites on high speed until hard peaks form. At this stage, the tips of the egg whites will curl when the beaters are lifted. Peaks have to be stiff.
Add yolks one by one into the egg whites too.
Add sweetener of choice.
Measure flour. Put the unsweetened cocoa powder and the baking powder into the same measuring bowl. Mix dry ingredients well.
Mix dry ingredients into the egg until ingredients are evenly combined.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking tray and put it into the 350°F / 180°C preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
Take it out when baked and place it in a cooling rack to cool down.

Filling:

Dissolve gelatin in ¼cup / 50ml hot water (122°F / 50°C). Keep stirring it until completely dissolved. Don’t let it set but cool it down to room temperature. It sets at 15°C/60°F
Put cottage cheese, honey, vanilla extract and lemon zest into a medium size mixing bowl and mix them evenly.
Pour the cooled gelatin into the cottage cheese.
Whip the cream until hard.
Fold the whipped cream into the cottage cheese carefully.
Cut the top of the cake to get a flat surface so it won’t cause any difficulty to spread the cottage cheese on top.
Place the cake base back into the cake tin. and spread the cottage cheese on top.
Put the cake in the fridge for 3-4 hours before taking it out of the tin.