Cottage Cheese and Orange Cake

Light as a cloud yet bright with citrus, this cottage cheese and orange cake layers airy rice-flour sponge, silky cottage cheese cream, and a glistening orange jelly top. Made without sugar and built on protein-rich cottage cheese, it is a dessert you can genuinely feel good about. Cottage cheese fans should also try our Chocolate-Coated Cottage Cheese Pancakes, while Classic Syrniki make a lovely lighter breakfast.

Ingredients

• For the sponge: 4 eggs; sweetener to taste; 40 g (1.4 oz) rice flour; 40 g (1.4 oz) skimmed milk powder; 1 tsp baking powder
• For the cottage cheese layer: 400 g (14 oz) soft low-fat cottage cheese (up to 5%); 10 g (0.35 oz) gelatin; 150 ml (2/3 cup) milk (2.5% fat); sweetener to taste
• For the fruit layer: 1 orange; 150 ml (2/3 cup) water; 10 g (0.35 oz) gelatin; sweetener to taste

Instructions

1. Make the sponge: separate the eggs. Sift the rice flour with the baking powder and milk powder, then mix into the yolks. Beat the whites to stiff peaks, fold them in with the sweetener, and mix until smooth.
2. Bake in a silicone pan at 180°C (350°F) for about 20 minutes. Let the sponge cool completely — it will settle a bit.
3. Make the cheese layer: soak the gelatin in the milk, then warm (do not boil) until dissolved and let cool. Blend with the cottage cheese and sweetener until smooth. Place the sponge back in the pan, spread the cheese layer evenly over it, and chill (a freezer speeds this up).
4. Make the fruit layer: squeeze the juice from half the orange and strain it, reserving a few segments for decoration.
5. Soak the gelatin in the water, warm until dissolved without boiling, then stir in the orange juice and sweetener and let cool.
6. Decorate the chilled cake with orange segments, pour the juice layer over the top, and refrigerate for several hours until set.

Tips

• Beat the egg whites to truly stiff peaks and fold gently — that is what keeps the sponge feather-light.
• Warm the gelatin only until dissolved; boiling weakens its setting power. For more on working with gelatin, Serious Eats has a helpful primer on blooming and melting it.
• Chill the cake for several hours or overnight so the layers set cleanly for slicing — and if you love no-sugar treats, our Baked Cottage Cheese Pancakes in Cream Sauce are another cozy favorite.

Nutrition (per 100 g): 97.6 kcal, protein 9.3 g, fat 3.3 g, carbs 7.3 g