Swedish cheesecake is my kind of dessert: it’s comforting,
but not too sweet, and can be made in a jiffy. Rather than the cream cheese
typically used in North American cheesecake, the Swedish version uses cottage
cheese (and traditionally homemade cottage
cheese to boot) and has a less uniform texture because of the little cheese
curds. I tried making it that way but found that I preferred a smoother
texture, which is all the better because it meant that my recipe would be even
simpler to replicate as it’s entirely made using a blender. Yes, I can hear
your cheers from here… Is there anything better than a recipe that’s decadent
without being cloyingly so, AND it comes together in just a few minutes? I
didn’t think so. The batter rises as it bakes, takes on a signature deep golden-brown
colour on the top, and falls in minutes as it cools, so don’t be alarmed in the
slightest.
The addition of some fresh lime zest, almond extract and
vanilla go a long way towards making this simple dessert extra special. It's a cinch to make this cheesecake gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose flour for ground almonds too. And the
mango purée topping is so good you’ll find yourself making it entirely on its
own for a few other uses. But you can flavour this cake with anything you like:
any citrus zest or flavour extract, a swirl of jam, you name it. Just be sure
to keep this recipe in your back pocket because it’s the perfect thing to whip
up for a dinner party, or to keep in your fridge if you tend to have visitors
pop in. You’re welcome!
Makes one 8x8-inch cake
Ingredients
Cake
| 2 | eggs, large size |
| 1/4 cup | sugar |
| 1-1/2 cup | 4% cottage cheese (1 x 500g tub) |
| 1 cup | half-and-half cream |
| 1/4 tsp | almond extract |
| 1/2 tsp | vanilla |
| 1/4 tsp | sea salt |
| ¼ cup | all-purpose flour, or ground almonds (for gluten-free) |
| ½ | lime, zest only |
Mango Puree
| 2 | ataulfo mangoes, peeled and roughly chopped |
| juice from lime zested above | |
| 1 tsp | honey, plus more to taste |
| water, as needed to thin puree |
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan – but if I’m being perfectly honest here, I don’t see why an 8-inch square pan would be an issue, so work with what you have.
- To a blender add eggs and sugar, blend on medium for 1 minute. Add cheese, cream, extracts, and salt, and blend 10 seconds until smooth. Add flour and blend 5 seconds more to incorporate. Stir in lime zest and pour into prepared pan. Bake on the centre oven rack 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool in pan to room temperature. Use a butter knife or small offset spatula to loosen cake from the sides of the pan before inverting and transferring right-side-up to a serving dish. Refrigerate until serving.
- For the mango puree, add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Spread over cheesecake and refrigerate until serving.
