Cottage Cheesecake with Sour Cherry Topping
 
 
This cottage cheesecake has a deliciously smooth, creamy texture and is much lower in calories and higher in protein than traditional cream cheese cheesecake! It keeps well, and the sour cherry topping is the perfect tart sweet accoutrement. (See the note below regarding the carbs from the cherries and a possible substitution.) THM S (or S Helper), low carb, sugar free, gluten/nut free
Author:
Recipe type: THM S or S Helper (see note below) - Healthy Fats - Low Carb
Serves: 9
Ingredients
CRUST
CHEESECAKE
SOUR CHERRY TOPPING
  • 1 cup cherry “juice” from can + water (if you don’t have a full cup of cherry water from the can)
  • 2 teaspoons THM Super Sweet Blend (or more, to taste)
  • ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups tart cherries (mine were canned in water)
Instructions
  1. Mix the crust ingredients together. Press into a greased 8”x8” pan and bake at 350* for 8 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile blend the cheesecake ingredients together until completely smooth. (No need to activate the gelatin first. I use an immersion blender.)
  3. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the hot crust when it comes out of the oven and return the cheesecake to the oven at 350* for 40 minutes. The cheesecake will still be very jiggly but will get a little darker around the edges (not brown). Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely, then refrigerate to chill completely before cutting and serving. The cheesecake will set up in the refrigerator.
  4. To make the sour cherry topping, whisk the first four ingredients together in a small saucepan, adding the xanthan gum slowly while whisking so it doesn’t clump. (See note below about what to do if you don’t have tart cherries canned in water.) Add the cherries after whisking so they don’t fall apart. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally, then let cool and refrigerate to thicken.
  5. When both the cheesecake and cherry topping are cold, serve them together. I recommend keeping the cheesecake and topping separate until serving, not spreading the cherry topping onto the cheesecake and storing it in the refrigerator like that.
Notes
-The net carbs from the sour cherries come to a little over 5 grams per serving, which fits into the 10 grams of net carbs for a THM S meal but does blur the lines a bit since they’re technically a fruit and therefore an E fuel. The net carbs (minus fiber and sugar alcohols) for the whole dessert (slice of cheesecake + ⅓ cup of cherry topping) comes to 10.89 grams of net carbs, which is just over the line of acceptable if you're counting everything and not just the added carb source in your calculations. You have a couple of options: 1) Just enjoy it as an S + an extra carb, 2) use a little less than ⅓ cup of cherry topping, or 3) use red raspberries in place of the sour cherries for the same color and tartness but fewer carbs.
-If you don’t have tart cherries canned in water or would just like to reduce the carbs in this recipe, I recommend using red raspberries in place of the cherries and just using water in place of the cup of cherry water from the can of cherries. Adjust sweetness and thickener if needed. If using fresh cherries instead of canned cherries, just cook the topping down until the cherries are soft and mash them a bit to flavor the juice if needed.
-You can probably use THM Baking Blend in place of my baking mix in the same amount since it's such a small amount. (THM Baking Blend is not nut free.)
-I prefer LifeSource brand oat fiber from Netrition.com. Trim Healthy Mama carries a gluten-free version. Use an oat fiber that is light in color and taste; they’re not all created equally! Oat fiber is a really fine, dry flour with no net carbs or fats, and I don’t know of a good substitute for it for this recipe. Some people use psyllium husk flakes to replace it, but I’m not sure if that substitute would work in this recipe or not. The cottage cheese and sour cream produce a lot of liquid (more so than the cream cheese in a traditional cheesecake), so the oat fiber helps soak the extra liquid up and I don’t recommend omitting it (I’ve tried).
-The gelatin also helps counteract the extra liquid in this cottage cheesecake. If using a beef gelatin such as Great Lakes or Trim Healthy Mama brands, add an extra ½ teaspoon gelatin.
-I used low-fat cottage cheese and sour cream in this recipe to cut down on needless calories for a lighter dessert, but since this is a THM S recipe you can feel free to use full-fat dairy products for a creamier, richer result.
Recipe by Briana Thomas at https://www.briana-thomas.com/cottage-cheesecake-with-sour-cherry-topping/