Following chickpea pancakes with a wild garlic spread comes the second part of my Easter breakfast menu, featuring fresh cottage cheese in a sweet version!
The pleasant balance of sweet and acidic makes this blueberry coconut cheesecake light and fresh, perfect to sweeten your Easter morning.
This blueberry coconut cheesecake substitutes traditional dessert ingredients like wheat flour and butter with coconut flour, oats and oat milk, making it higher in protein and fibre and lower in fat.
It also doesn’t use any cream cheese, so it is more dense and granular in texture but still very moist.
And, not to overlook, it is effortless to make it! The recipe is very forgiving and almost a no-failure one, which is especially welcoming when making sweets for special occasions when you need them to be perfect.
Ingredients for this blueberry coconut cheesecake
Dry ingredients
Oat flakes: For this recipe, you will need blended oat flakes, which you can quickly get by using your hand blender. If you want to skip this step, you can find them preblended and labelled as oat flour. Just be aware that products of different coarseness are sold under the same name; you want the coarser and not the fine one.
Coconut flour: Coconut flour is ground dry coconut meat obtained as a byproduct when producing coconut milk and oil. It has a very fine texture and snowy white colour. Compared to wheat flour, it has more fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, especially potassium and iron. Still, if you are substituting it for wheat flour, you have to use it with another type of flour because it alone gives a dense result.
Sugar: I’ve decided to use white sugar for this recipe, but you can also go for alternatives like cane sugar, muscovado or demerara sugar. These alternatives are less processed than white sugar resulting in slightly more vitamins and minerals. Still, the amounts have a minimal contribution to your daily vitamin and mineral intake.
When discussing white sugar and its mentioned alternatives, the quantity almost always matters more than the chosen product.
Baking powder: Baking powder, as usual, produces carbon dioxide that helps raise the batter while cooking. Without it, the cake would be low and very dense. The addition of baking powder helps with making it much lighter in texture.
Salt: Salt is an excellent flavour enhancer, and as it improves the flavour of savoury dishes, it does it with sweet ones too.
Wet ingredients
Fresh cottage cheese: One of the things Easter breakfast can’t go without in my home is fresh cottage cheese. It is an unripened, fresh, soft white cheese with curds of different sizes. It has a mild, slightly sour taste, which fits perfectly in savoury and sweet versions.
Once the curds are formed, the whey is drained but not pressed out, which means a certain amount of liquid whey will still be present. If the cottage cheese you bought has a lot of leftover whey, drain it slightly before adding it to the bowl with the other wet ingredients.
Yoghurt: As for the type of yoghurt, I’m using firm, full-fat yoghurt in this coconut cheesecake recipe. I’m not a fan of low-fat or 0 fat options since they usually have more sugar added to compensate for the lower fat content.
Eggs: Eggs are such a versatile ingredient when it comes to baking. They add so much to this recipe regarding texture, flavour, aroma and colour.
Vanilla extract: A touch of warmth and sweetness is always welcomed in sweet recipes; this coconut cheesecake is no exception. You can also go for almond or rum if you don’t have vanilla extract.
Oat milk: You would probably expect butter or a certain type of oil to appear in this recipe, but I’m using oat milk instead. Since it is made from oats, it still has some super-fine oat particles that will help it thicken when heated. Apart from its thickening ability, it adds a pleasant sweetness to this coconut cheesecake, which allows us to lower the amount of sugar.
Lemon juice & zest: I love adding lemon juice and zest to this coconut cheesecake to balance the sweetness and enhance other flavours. I know some of you may not like the acidic punch; in that case, you can substitute the lemon juice with oat milk.
Topping for the coconut cheesecake
Fresh blueberries: As for the topping, I’ve decided to use fresh blueberries, which add refreshing notes but also carry enough sweetness to pair beautifully with the base of the cake. As they cook, they start releasing water that helps moisten the cake.
If you don’t have blueberries, great alternatives are strawberries or raspberries. Raspberries are slightly more acidic than the first two but tasty as well. If you only have frozen fruit, you can still use it for this recipe. You don’t have to wait for the fruit to defrost before adding it to the coconut cheesecake.
How to make this blueberry coconut cheesecake
As I’ve mentioned before, the method for this coconut cheesecake is straightforward. Even if you don’t have any experience in baking, you can make it for sure! Here are the most important steps to follow for the best result!
Mis en place
Double-check that you have all the needed ingredients for a peaceful and smooth baking session. Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 356 °F and apply a thin layer of olive oil to the cake mould. I use an adjustable cake ring with a baking tray layered with a piece of baking paper underneath.
The diameter of my cake ring for this recipe is 22 cm, but any mould between 20 and 24 cm will work.
I love using adjustable cake rings because you can easily alter their size based on the recipe’s needs.
Combine dry ingredients
Blend your oat flakes until powdery and even, and transfer to a bowl where you will add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix them well until evenly incorporated. This step is essential to ensure the cake rises and cooks evenly.
Combine the wet ingredients
Drain your fresh cottage cheese if it has much whey left over. Transfer it to another bowl together with firm yoghurt and vanilla extract. Incorporate the ingredients using a hand mixer.
Once the mixture looks even, pour in the oat milk, lemon juice and grate some lemon zest.
When all the ingredients are incorporated well, add the eggs and mix until uniform. The eggs are added last to prevent them from overbeating.
The mixture will be more or less smooth, depending on the texture of the fresh cottage cheese you use. Still, the difference won’t affect the resulting taste of this blueberry coconut cheesecake.
Incorporate the dry into the wet ingredients
Now it is time to fold the dry into the wet ingredients using a spatula. Once the batter is even and flour lumps aren’t present, transfer it to the greased mould.
Since the batter is quite thick, even it out using a spatula. It doesn’t have to be perfectly flat, but it should be of an even thickness throughout. Wash and dry fresh blueberries and spread them over the top. Gently push them into the batter. If you like, sprinkle the top with a bit of sugar.
Bake the cake
Your coconut cheesecake is ready to be baked. Place it in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes. The best indicator that your cake is ready is when the edges have separated from the mould. In the middle, the cake will still look like it needs more cooking, but it will continue to thicken as it cools down.
Leave the cake to cool down for about half an hour before you dig in.
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