Healthy Cottage Cheese Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Wrap the bottom of the pan first with a slow cooker liner and then very tightly with 2 layers of wide, heavy duty aluminum foil (see notes).

In a small food processor (mine is 3 cups), blend cottage cheese, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until very well mixed and cottage cheese is smooth.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until just combined. Don’t overbeat or your cheesecake will have too much air and it will sink. Add cottage cheese mixture and beat until it just starts to combine. Then mix the rest of the way by hand with a spoon (see notes). Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat coconut oil and honey for the crust, until smooth. Stir in coconut flour and a pinch of salt until well mixed. The dough may be a little wet—that’s normal!

Press the dough evenly into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. It will be a little challenging to press out with the parchment, but we patient. I find it helps to have very lightly damp hands to press it out.

Bake until the edges of the crust are lightly golden brown, about 14–15 minutes (see notes).

While the crust bakes, mix the jam and lemon juice in a small pot on medium heat and cook until smooth and melted, about 2–4 minutes. Set aside to cool while the crust finishes.

Once the crust is out of the oven, use a small spoon to press down any area that rise up (totally normal) and then immediately pour the cheesecake over, spreading out evenly. Drop the jam over top and use a sharp knife to swirl around.

Place the springform pan into a roasting pan. Transfer to the middle rack of your oven and fill the roasting pan with water so that it comes halfway up the springform pan.

Bake until outside is set and a small circle in the middle is just a little jiggly, about 1 hour to an 1 hour 5 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake or the cheesecake will be very dry- it continues to cook slightly while cooling. Turn the oven off and crack the door for 15 minutes. Then, transfer to the counter top to cool completely. Cover with tinfoil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours to overnight.

Once chilled, slice and devour!

Notes:
• Please weigh your flour to ensure accurate results
• This sounds intense, but it guarantees your cheesecake won’t rise and crack and the extra layers of lining ensure the water from the roasting pan won’t ruin the crust. You don’t have to do this, but your cheesecake may rise and crack and not be as pretty. If you don’t do it, it will change the cooking times and things will have to be baked a few minutes less, i.e. the crust will probably be only 7–8 minutes and the cheesecake 40–45 minutes.
• Make sure to prep the filling first, as you want it to be ready when the crust comes out of the oven.