Cottage Cheese Tiramisu

This Cottage Cheese Tiramisu has the same flavors as the classic creamy, layered coffee-flavored dessert, but slightly less fat and calories.

Nut Free

|

Vegetarian

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Many years ago, tiramisu used to be one of my stand-by recipes. I used to make it fairly often, especially if I was having friends over. While I hadn't made it for several years, I recently decided to make it again.

Only this time, since cottage cheese has been so popular recently, being used in many sweet and savory recipes, I decided to replace the traditional mascarpone cheese with cottage cheese. Here is my version of Cottage Cheese Tiramisu.

How to make Cottage Cheese Tiramisu:

The most important thing to note about making tiramisu of any kind is that it requires several hours to sit in the fridge after being assembled before it's served. This is because it takes time for the dry lady fingers to absorb the moisture from the coffee and cream layers to transform into cake layers.

While I recommend letting the tiramisu sit overnight to be safe, it's possible to assemble and serve it in the same day, as long as you make the tiramisu in the morning, and serve it in the evening. Make sure you give it at least 6-8 hours in the fridge.

Making your tiramisu from cottage cheese as opposed to mascarpone does require the extra step of pureeing the cottage cheese. After all, I don't think eating tiramisu with intact cottage cheese curds would have the same appeal.

I pureed my cottage cheese in my food processor, but a high-powered blender should work too. Make sure it's totally smooth, and that there are no curds left before moving on to the next step.

Next you will be using a double boiler to cook the egg yolks. Don't worry if you don't have one, I don't either. I simply set a glass bowl over a small saucepan. Add a little water to the saucepan, making sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl.

Bring the water to a simmer, then add the yolks and sugar to the bowl. Whisk constantly until the mixture is thickened, pale yellow, and the sugar is no longer gritty. It will take about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the bowl from the saucepan, and keep whisking until the yolk cools slightly. Add this into the cottage cheese mixture, along with some sugar and vanilla.

Next, whip the cream. You can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Whisk the cream until it forms stiff peaks (be very careful not to over-whip, we don't want it to turn into butter). Then add the cottage cheese mixture and whip again until the mixture is thick and fluffy.

If you haven't done so already, brew your coffee. I simply used instant coffee to save time and hassle of brewing a pot, but you can brew the coffee however you'd like, or simply use coffee from the morning's pot. Add a little sugar and vanilla to the coffee, and pour the coffee into a shallow dish or bowl.

Set up a work station that includes the dish with the coffee mixture, a 9x13" baking dish or casserole dish, your lady fingers (best to open the packages now), and the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture.

Working with one lady finger at a time, quickly dip one side, then the other (you don't want to saturate the whole thing or it will become too mushy), then set it in the baking dish. Repeat with more lady fingers until you have the bottom of the dish covered in a single layer of ladyfingers.

Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the lady fingers, then add another layer of dipped lady fingers on top of that. Finish by spreading the rest of the cottage cheese mixture on the top.

Wrap the dish with plastic and set it in the fridge for 6-8 hours or overnight. When you're ready to serve the tiramisu, use a small fine-mesh strainer to sift some cocoa powder evenly over the top.

Cottage Cheese Tiramisu Ingredients:

• Large egg yolks
• Whipping cream or heavy cream
• 2% cottage cheese: Make sure to compare the amounts of sodium of various brands of cottage cheese in the store (make sure the portion sizes listed are the same), and buy the brand with the least sodium to avoid having your tiramisu too salty. I noticed that some brands have half as much sodium as others, without having any specific mentions of sodium on the package (eg. they were not listed as being "reduced sodium").
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Espresso or strong black coffee: Brew the coffee however you normally do, but brew it stronger than usual. To keep things as fast and easy as possible, I used Instant coffee, but used 1.5 times as much as I normally would.
• Lady Fingers: These are available in the cookie aisle of many stores (I've even seen them in the dollar store). If you can't find them, try a European market (the Italian Centre in Edmonton has many different brands), or order them online.
• Cocoa powder

Want more cottage cheese recipes?

Cottage Cheese Tiramisu Nutrition Notes:

Compared to a similar recipe that uses mascarpone cheese instead of cottage cheese, this cottage cheese tiramisu has about half the amount of total fat, 100 fewer calories, and slightly (but not significantly) more protein.

Carissa Serink

Cottage Cheese Tiramisu

5 from 2 votes

This Cottage Cheese Tiramisu has the same flavors as the classic creamy, layered coffee-flavored dessert, but slightly less fat and calories.

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Servings: 12

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Universal

Calories: 267

Special Diet: Nut Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Chilling Time 12 hours hrs

Total Time 12 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Equipment

• Food Processor
• Stand Mixer or hand mixer
• 9x13" or larger glass or ceramic baking dish or similar-sized casserole dish
• Fine Mesh Strainer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

For the Coffee Mixture:

• 1 ½ cups strong black coffee or espresso
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Layer:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 cups whipping cream or heavy cream
• 16 ounces 2% cottage cheese see notes
• 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar (divided)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To assemble:

• 1 package lady fingers
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

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Instructions

 

For the Coffee Mixture:

1. Stir together 1 ½ cups strong black coffee or espresso, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into a shallow dish like a pie plate. Set aside.

For the Cream Layer:

1. Add 16 ounces 2% cottage cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Process on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until the cottage cheese is completely smooth. Add ¼ cup of the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and process again until the sugar is incorporated. Place in the fridge while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. Set up a double boiler by filling a glass or metal bowl over a saucepan. Add a little water to the saucepan, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer. Add 2 large egg yolks and the remaining 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar to the bowl and whisk constantly until the yolks are pale and thickened, and the mixture is no longer grainy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and continue whisking for a couple of minutes until the mixture has cooled slightly.
3. Add the egg yolk mixture to the cottage cheese mixture, and process again until the mixture is uniform.
4. Pour the whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl). Mix on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cottage cheese mixture and mix on high speed again until the mixture is thick and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

To Assemble:

1. Get out a 9x13" baking dish, or similar sized dish (preferably clear glass, if you have one - see note). One at a time, dip the ladyfingers into the coffee mixture: quickly dip one side, then the other side, and shake off any excess drips. Place the ladyfinger into the baking dish. Repeat with more ladyfingers until the bottom of the dish is completely covered in a single layer of ladyfingers (note that to completely cover the bottom, you may need to break or cut some of the ladyfingers to fit).
2. Completely cover the first layer of coffee-soaked ladyfingers with half of the cottage cheese mixture (you want the cottage cheese layer to be about ½" - 1" thick).
3. Repeat with another layer of coffee-soaked ladyfingers on top of the cottage cheese mixture, then the remaining cottage cheese mixture. Smooth the top of the cottage cheese mixture with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Carefully cover the tiramisu with plastic wrap and place the dish into the fridge to chill for at least 6-8 hours (or overnight) before serving.
4. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift about 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu just before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 8gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 194mgPotassium: 133mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 731IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 1mg

Notes

The amount of salt in cottage cheese varies. Try to find one that is lower in salt for this recipe. You can do this by comparing the amount of sodium listed in the Nutrition Facts table (make sure the portion sizes are the same for your comparison).

If you don't have one large baking or casserole dish to assemble the tiramisu, you can divide it into two smaller dishes if needed. Note that a clear glass dish is best, so you can see the layers. Rectangular or square dishes are also preferred, as it is easier to arrange the ladyfingers.

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