My cottage cheese chocolate cake has a soft, moist crumb and deep chocolate flavor. This easy recipe comes together in just 45 minutes. It tastes wonderfully decadent, yet it is low calorie, high protein, gluten free and only 3.6g net carbs.
I have now tested cottage cheese across pretty much every chocolate dessert texture! In my protein pudding, it blends into a silky mousse. Next up on the texture ladder are my cottage cheese brownies, which are a fabulously fudgy delight.
With this cottage cheese chocolate cake, I wanted a proper cake crumb. And oh my, it turned out so well. It's tender and fluffy, with just the right amount of moisture.
Guys, I can't stress this enough: You would never guess the cake contains cottage cheese. YOU CAN'T TASTE IT! It's 100% chocolatey goodness in every bite.
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Katrin's Recipe Highlights
Proper cake texture! This is NOT a chocolate cheesecake in disguise. It tastes like a chocolate sponge cake with a moist, fudgy centre.
Secretly healthy. I'm saying secretly, because this cake tastes like the real deal. But, with just 130 calories per generous slice, it is a surprisingly light dessert. The recipe is also keto friendly, because I am using a zero carb sweetener instead of sugar.
Protein in dessert! I try to include protein in every meal, and I want to give myself a gold star for adding protein into dessert. This chocolate cake with cottage cheese is 9.1 grams of protein per slice, because we are using both eggs and cottage cheese.
So easy. This is a cake that any baking beginner can master. Everything comes together in a blender in minutes, which also means minimal washing up.
Ingredients
Here is what you need to know about the ingredients. (See the recipe card for exact amounts.)
Wet Ingredients
- Cottage Cheese - I used Philadelphia cottage cheese, which has 2.5% fat. I have also made the cake with a 6% fat cottage cheese (Longley Farm), which tastes just as good. I don't recommend zero fat cottage cheese because it can make the cake taste rubbery. It does not matter whether you use large curd or small curd. It is important though that you discard any liquid before measuring. Use a colander for this.
- Eggs - Large and room temperature. They give stability to the cake and bind the ingredients. We whip them to incorporate air into the batter, which gives the cake that light, fluffy crumb.
- Butter or olive oil - I tried the cake without any fat in my first test run and it does work. But, I found that it tastes so much richer with a little butter (must be very soft so it mixes easily). For less saturated fat, use a light olive oil.
Dry Ingredients
- Cocoa powder: This must be unsweetened cocoa powder. It adds structure to the cake and deep chocolate flavor. You can also use cacao powder.
- Coconut Flour - This is what helps turn the cottage cheese mixture into a proper cake. Coconut flour absorbs excess moisture and gives the cake a soft crumb while keeping it gluten free and nut free. I recommend measuring it with kitchen scales. You don't want to use too much accidentally and end up with a dry cake.
- Sweetener - I used allulose, which has 70% of the sweetness of sugar. If your sweetener of choice is a 1:1 sugar replacement, reduce the amount accordingly. If carbs are not a concern, coconut sugar also works.
- Baking Powder - Helps the cake rise well and makes it light and fluffy.
- Sea salt: It enhances the flavor. Don't omit it, salt and chocolate are a dream team!
Instructions
It is simple to make a cottage cheese chocolate cake. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
Preparations
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C. Line the bottom of a 7-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or olive oil.
Method
STEP 1
In a food processor, blend the eggs until pale, frothy and double in volume, about 2 minutes. You can also use a tall jug and an electric mixer.
STEP 2
Add the drained cottage cheese and softened butter. Continue to blend until the cottage cheese is completely smooth and no white curds remain visible, about 2 minutes.
STEP 3
Add all dry ingredients - cocoa powder, sweetener, coconut flour, baking powder and salt - and blend until a smooth batter forms.
The batter should be thick yet creamy and spoonable.
STEP 4
Fill the cake batter into the prepared pan. Gently pound the pan on the kitchen counter a few times to level the top.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the cake has risen with a few cracks forming.
STEP 5
Let the cake come to room temperature in the pan. It will deflate a little during cooling, that is normal.
Once it has reached room temperature, run a knife around the edges and release it from the springform.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 Drain excess liquid from the cottage cheese. Cottage cheese brands contain different amounts of liquid. Pour away any whey before measuring so the cake does not turn out soggy.
#2 Blend until completely smooth. Take your time and blend until there are no visible cottage cheese curds in the batter. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula as needed. White specks in chocolate cake just don't look appetising!
#3 Test for doneness. The cake is done when the top is domed and cracks are beginning to appear. It springs back when you gently press in the middle and a skewer or toothpick inserted should come out with a few crumbs sticking.
#4 Cool completely. The cake is fragile when hot and continues to set as it cools. Don't slice it until it has reached room temperature.
Serving Suggestion
I love to keep things simple! I dust the cake with cocoa powder, just like with this keto chocolate cake. Just put some cocoa into a small sieve and tap it gently.
Then, I serve each slice with a dollop of blended cottage cheese. You could add a little sweetener or vanilla extract to that, but I actually like it without.
Another option would be to make the chocolate avocado frosting from my keto chocolate cupcakes.
Variations
A couple of ideas to jazz up the flavor:
Chocolate peanut butter. Replace the butter with runny (!) peanut butter. This makes the cake richer and adds delicious peanut flavor.
Mocha. Add 1 teaspoon of espresso powder or instant coffee into the batter. This intensifies the chocolate flavor.
Recipe FAQs
No! You cannot taste it at all. Once it is blended with the cocoa powder, the cottage cheese just adds moisture to the cake. The cake tastes rich and chocolatey.
In an 8-inch springform pan the cake will be flatter and bake faster (25-30 minutes). In a 6-inch springform, the cake is taller and will need a little longer (40+ minutes) until the centre is done.
Yes. Cover the cake pan with aluminium foil so the top of the cake does not burn. Set the air fryer to 160C / 320F and air fry for about 25-30 minutes.
Yes! This cake stores well and tastes great the next day. I recommend decorating it right before serving, especially if you dust it with cocoa powder. This tends to go soggy in the fridge.
Storage
Because the cake contains cottage cheese, I recommend storing it in the fridge.
Let it cool completely, then place it in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 5 days.
For the best texture, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before eating.
The cake also freezes well. I pre-slice it and then freeze it for up to 3 months. This way, I can take out one slice at a time.
More Cottage Cheese Recipes
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Recipe
Cottage Cheese Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 1 7-inch springform pan
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cottage cheese 2%-6% fat, all liquid drained, 250g
- 4 eggs large, room temperature
- 2 tablespoon butter very soft, or use light olive oil, 28g
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup cocoa powder unsweetened, 65g
- 1 cup allulose 200g (use ¾ cup for 1:1 sugar alternatives)
- ⅓ cup coconut flour 40g
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt a good pinch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C. Line the bottom of a 7 inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or olive oil.
Blend Wet Ingedients
- In a food processor, blend the eggs until pale, frothy and double in volume, about 2 minutes. You can also use a tall jug and an electric mixer.
- Add the drained cottage cheese and softened butter. Continue to blend the cottage cheese is completely smooth and no white curds remain visible, about 2 minutes. If needed, scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula in between to incorporate everything.
Add Dry Ingedients
- Add all dry ingredients - cocoa powder, sweetener, coconut flour, baking powder and salt - and blend until a smooth batter forms. The batter should be thick yet creamy and spoonable.
Assembly & Bake
- Fill the cake batter into the prepared pan. Gently pound the pan on the kitchen counter a few times to level the top.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the cake has risen with a few cracks forming. The centre should spring back when you gently press on it and a skewer inserted comes out with a few crumbs sticking.
- Let the cake come to room temperature in the pan. It will deflate a little during cooling. Once it has reached room temperature, run a knife around the edges and release it from the springform.
- Dust with cocoa powder and serve with a dollop of blended cottage cheese.
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