Author Notes
Growing up cheesecake meant one thing, Mom's skinny cheesecake, which was a staple dessert at our house. It graced the table sporadically for weeknight desserts (fruit was the usual only choice), always for holidays and many birthdays, and requested by family/friends frequently. It has the lightness of an Italian ricotta cheesecake using a not too sweet creamy blend of cottage cheese, lemon, and vanilla topped with a thin sweet sour cream topping. My mom doesn't mess around with fiddly recipes and this one describes her to a "t" in that it's easy to prepare (she makes everything look easy), it's not cloyingly sweet (just like her), and is loved by everyone who tastes it (just as all those who meet her love her at the first hello). I am proud to call her my mother and thank her everyday for being the person who instilled the love of the stove and oven in me. The photo is my parents circa 1971 (2 years before I was born) about a year after they got married, next to my uncle's snazzy yellow Corvette. —testkitchenette
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Ingredients
- Graham Cracker Crust
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1 and 1/4 cups
graham cracker crumbs
-
1/4 cup
butter, melted
- Cheesecake and Sour Cream Topping
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2 cups
cottage cheese (I used Breakstones 2% pot style because it had the least amount of preservatives in it)
-
1/2 cup
sugar
-
2
eggs
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1 teaspoon
lemon zest
-
1 teaspoon
lemon juice
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
scant 1/4 teaspoons
salt
-
1 cup
sour cream
-
2 tablespoons
sugar
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
Directions
- Graham Cracker Crust
-
Mix together and press to the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan. Chill while preparing the filling.
- Cheesecake and Sour Cream Topping
-
Cheesecake: Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the cottage cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a food processor and combine until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides once. Bake for 50 minutes or until filling is slightly puffed. Cool for 5 minutes.
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Sour Cream Topping: Whisk the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until smooth in a small bowl and spread carefully over the hot filling. Bake for 5 minutes longer. Cool and chill.
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