Are you ready to indulge in a high protein, low carb Mediterranean inspired dessert? This Lemon Almond Cottage Cheese cake is inspired by a classic Ricotta Cheese Style Cake, but with fewer calories and more protein. It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare!

Unfortunately, I cannot consume ricotta anymore because I am quite sensitive to lactose. I experimented with swapping the ricotta with cottage cheese in this recipe and I am glad I did, it was DELICIOUS!

Enjoy,

SiLLibake

Lemon Almond Cottage Cheese Cake

This gluten-free, keto friendly cottage cheese cake reminds me of a classic ricotta cake with fewer calories and higher in protein.

Ingredients for Lemon Almond Cottage Cheese Cake

This cake is gluten free and does not contain wheat flour. Almond flour provides the structure in this dessert. The lift comes from air beaten into the batter and the egg whites; the resulting texture is DELICIOUS!

Almond flour

almond flour is made from ground blanched almonds. You can now find fine almond flour, which I used. Look for it in the baking aisle of your supermarket. You could use almond meal, which is a bit coarser, but the texture of your cake will not be as refined. Be sure to keep leftover almond flour in the fridge for longer storage.

Cottage cheese

This cake is typically made with ricotta cheese, and you can use that also. I chose cottage cheese because I can use a Lactose free variety and cottage cheese has fewer calories, less fat and more protein.

Raw cane sugar (any granulated sweetener should work here)
Butter I love to use a grass fed butter in my baking
Large eggs

separated. We’ll beat the whites to stiff peaks and fold into the batter. It’s best to separate the eggs while they are cold, it is less likely for the yolk to break

Lemon – Zest of one lemon and juice of half a lemon. I love the combination of lemon and almond!
Almond and Vanilla extract

I’m a fan of using both of these flavorings together. The almond is the star flavor of this cake, but the vanilla adds a beautiful background note. If you don’t want it too almondy you can remove the almond extract.

Sliced Raw Almonds for the topping

the sliced almonds will gently toast during baking and provide a wonderful element of crunch to the cake.

Powdered sugar for dusting

PREP TIME: 15 MIN

COOK TIME: 50-55 MIN

SERVING: 12

Lemon Almond Cottage Cheese Cake

This high protein Lemon Almond Cottage Cheese Cake is an Italian inspired gluten-free cake made with almond flour and cottage cheese for wonderful flavor and a light cheesecake texture!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup raw cane sugar (other granulated sweetener should work also)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 tsp course salt (optional when using cottage cheese)

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of one lemon

Juice of half a lemon (2 tbsp or so)

4 large eggs, at room temperature and separated

1 1/4 cups cottage cheese 2% (I used lactose free) or ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease or spray a 9" spring form pan. Line with parchment paper. Dust with flour or almond flour.

Cream the sugar, butter, salt, and extracts until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. I do this with a hand mixer.

Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Add the cottage cheese (you can blend your cottage cheese beforehand if you desire that texture) and continue beating for another minute or so until very smooth. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and give it a mix.

Next add your almond flour and mix until just combined. Set the bowl aside.

Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter. I do this in two stages. Add half the egg whites into the batter and mix through with spatula to lighten up the mixture. Then add the remaining beaten egg whites and gently fold them through until you don’t see any more egg white.

Spread the batter into your prepared springform pan and smooth out the top evenly.

Sprinkle sliced almond evenly over the top.

Bake in your preheated oven for 50-55 minutes. The cake will be puffed, golden, and not jiggly in the center. Lay a piece of foil loosely over the top of the cake towards the end of baking if it seems to be browning too quickly.