This delicious Low Fat Cheesecake will satisfy your sweet tooth without ruining your good intentions! Made with Quark cheese and topped with fresh fruit it makes a perfect healthy dessert.
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Recipe originally published in March 2016 and updated in February 2019.
Week four of my weight loss journey and I have been enjoying more delicious food than ever, mainly because I make everything from scratch.
But as the weeks went by I started craving sweet treats rather ferociously. This week in particular I have found myself reaching for the chocolate and dreaming of cakes!
Thankfully this Low Fat Cheesecake has come to the rescue – it is delicious a mere 175 calories and only 4 WeightWatchers SmartPoints so you can treat yourselves guilt-free 🙂
Take a look at the video and step by step instructions to see how to make a slimming friendly low calorie cheesecake!
What is quark?
Quark is a type of fresh acid-set cheese – it is very popular in German cooking as you can see in my Quick and Easy Stollen Bites!
Quark has a very mild flavour and texture like ricotta but is very low in fat. You can now find tubs of flavoured quark, such as vanilla or strawberry.
You can use it in both sweet and savoury recipes and currently I always have a pack or two in the fridge along with cottage cheese.
Low Fat Cheesecake? Say What?
This cheesecake is a variation of Italian ricotta cheesecake using quark cheese in place of the ricotta and sweetener (Sukrin Gold) instead of sugar.
This cheesecake has no crust – it’s a bit of a cross between cheesecake and soufflé. Unlike most baked cheesecakes it doesn’t require a water bath which makes it much easier to handle.
It has very light and fluffy texture, unlike traditional baked cheesecakes which can be quite dense. It contains a tiny amount of flour which can be gluten free if preferred.
Delicious served with fresh berries or blood orange wedges. If you are feeling fancy you could drizzle with a little Grand Marnier, but I found a little blood orange juice added a splash of colour and hint of tangy sweetness that went perfectly with the light taste of the cheesecake.
HOW TO MAKE LOW FAT CHEESECAKE
Take a look at this step by step tutorial – plas note you will find the full recipe, including ingredients in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1. Spray an 18cm (7in) springform cake tin with cake release or use Fry light. Line the base with baking paper and spray again.
Step 2. Put the cheese, egg yolks, sweetener, vanilla, flour and orange zest in a bowl and mix together with a hand whisk until smooth.
Step 3. Use a stand or hand mixer to whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until you have soft peaks. Make sure the bowl and beaters are clean and free of grease otherwise your eggs will not froth up. Continue whisking at high until you have firm peaks.
Step 4. Add one third of the meringue into the cheese mixture to loosen it. Fold the rest of the egg whites very gently trying not to knock all the air out.
Step 5. Transfer into the prepared tin and bake for about an hour until risen and golden. Leave to cool in the tin – the cheesecake will deflate slightly and sink in the centre. Chill for a couple or hours or overnight.
Step 6. Top the cheesecake with fresh berries or citrus slices. Drizzle a little blood orange juice over the slices as you serve them, if you like.
Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting
- Always whisk egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl – ideally a metal or glass one as plastic can hold on to grease which will prevent the egg whites from frothing up. Start by whisking the eggs on medium-low speed until small bubbles form then increase the speed until you have firm peaks.
- You can use granulated sweetener (my favourite is Sukrin Gold) or sugar in this recipe. If you use another granulated sweetener make sure it can replace sugar at a 1:1 ratio.
- This cheesecake has a tendency to colour quite rapidly in the oven. Don’t tent it with foil! It will puff up and stick to it ruining all your work. Put a shelf well above the cheesecake (allowing plenty of room for it to rise) and place a tray or some foil there to prevent it from browning too much.
- The cheesecake will puff up in the oven like a soufflé but it will deflate slightly once out of the oven. This is normal – the recipe contains very little flour and relies on the egg whites to rise.
Popular Cheesecake Recipes!
HAVE YOU MADE MY LOW FAT CHEESECAKE? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!
Low Fat Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 345 g | 12oz quark cheese or ricotta
- 6 ½ tbsp Sukrin Gold or other granulated sweetener or sugar
- 2 tbsp plain flour Gluten-Free if preferred
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 1 orange zest only
- 3 eggs separated
- pinch salt
- 3 oranges or fresh berries to decorate
- 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds optional
- 2 tbsp blood orange juice to drizzle optional
- icing sugar to dust optional
- rosemary or mint to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C | 350 F. Spray a 18cm (7in) springform cake tin with cake release or Fry Light. Line the base with baking paper and spray again.
- Put the quark cheese, egg yolks, flour, sweetener, vanilla extract and orange zest in a bowl and mix together with a hand whisk until smooth.
- In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until you have soft peaks. Continue whisking at high speed until you have firm peaks, 4-5 minutes.
- Add one third of the meringue into the cheese mixture to loosen it. Fold the rest of the egg whites gently trying not to knock all the air out.
- Transfer into the prepared tin and bake for about an hour until risen and golden.
- Leave to cool in the tin – the cheesecake will deflate slightly and sink in the centre. Chill for a couple or hours or overnight.
- Top the cheesecake with fresh berries and dust with a little icing sugar or decorate with blood orange slices. Drizzle a little blood orange juice over the slices as you serve them if you like.
Video
Notes
- Always whisk egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl – ideally a metal or glass one as plastic can hold on to grease which will prevent the egg whites from frothing up.
- Start by whisking the eggs on medium-low speed until small bubbles form then increase the speed until you have firm peaks.
- You can use granulated sweetener (my favourite is Sukrin Gold) or sugar in this recipe.
- You can use ricotta instead of quark cheese if you are not on a diet!
- The cheesecake has a tendency to colour quite rapidly in the oven. Don’t tent it with foil! It will puff up and stick to it ruining all your work. Put a shelf well above the cheesecake (allowing plenty of room for it to rise) and place a tray or some foil there to prevent it from browning too much.
- The cheesecake will puff up in the oven like a souffle but it will deflate slightly once out of the oven. This is normal – the recipe contains very little flour and relies on the egg whites to rise.
- Decorate with fresh fruit just before serving. If you are using oranges, cut the peel and pith off before slicing thinly.
Mary says
I love the idea of using quark in a cheesecake! This looks lovely!
The_Baker says
Thanks for the recipe!
I tried it many times by now – one of our favourite cakes. Just absolutely unbelievable that it tastes so good while being amazingly healthy.
A few modification I tried that all worked great:
-adding apples and raisins: thin layer of batter (ca. 0.5cm) on the bottom of the spring form, cover it with thinly sliced and peeled apples, some raisins on top and cover with the rest of the batter – delicious!
– increasing the amount of quark to 1 kg but keeping eggs at 5 (and slightly bigger form) – works great!
Lucy Parissi says
Sounds great Violetta glad you like it
Kirsti Peters says
Looks yummy, glad I looked as i only spotted this whilst entering one of your other comps
Jane Gorton says
Fantastic prize, just waiting for my new oven to try this!!! x
Kathy Ramos says
this is new to me but truly an interesting recipe…great post!!
Naz M says
Wow, this cheesecake looks lovely. I love that you used quark, makes it much more healthier!
Always Be The Best Version Of Yourself says
yummy looks wonderful
Ahead of Thyme says
Yumm!!! This cheesecake looks absolutely delicious! And those berries… mmmm! Thanks for sharing!
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago says
This looks delicious, and I love that fact that it's somewhat healthy!
Recipes From A Pantry says
I seriously want to drop everything and make this cakw. It is soooo faceplant worthy.
Sarah says
What an intriguing recipe…definitely something I need to make soon!
Elinor Hill aka Beachhutcook says
When we lived in Germany we ate a lot of quark with a red berry sauce. Your recipe sounds a real treat.
Felesha Bell says
What a beauty! I can't wait to try this one! Thanks for sharing!!
Sweet Silly Sara says
This sounds incredible.I love a good cheesecake!
Coriander Queen says
I have never tried quark, but going on this amazing cheesecake I must give it a try soon! This cheesecake would make the perfect dessert after a family dinner, looks incredible!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I've recently become a huge fan of cottage cheese but have yet to try quark! This looks lovely though – I personally love the cracked top 🙂
mookies • Mina Limnioudi says
I love quark cheese in cheeecake!
And yours looks great with this beautiful color and the yammy crack!
Amy says
This cheesecake is absolutely beautiful! And I love that it tastes super decadent, but is totally workable as a dessert when you are trying to be healthy! I can't wait to try this out for our next family dinner 🙂 With lots of berries and some powdered sugar no one will be able to resist!
athletic avocado says
This cheesecake looks super yummy! I love that its low and calories but still enjoyable 🙂
Hannah Hossack-Lodge says
This sounds really lovely, bonus that it is actually kind of healthy! I keep meaning to buy quark, I really must start using it more often x