Cheesecake

On last Sunday of the Carnival, I would like to share with you my perfected over the years cheesecake recipe. It has very little to do with the trendy Basque or 4 cheeses versions, on the contrary, it’s very much rooted in Polish traditions. Based on full fat twaróg (in Poland easily available in every grocery shop, abroad in Polish Delis), which comes second to none of the cheeses.

Initial inspiration for this recipe was the one I found in Kuchnia Polska cookbook (Polish cuisine bible), which I have gradually adjusted over the years.

I’ve started from reducing the original proportions by half, to have just enough of the cheesecake for everyone. I bake it in round tin, only slightly smaller from my mums cake stand. The cake put on top of it looks exceptionally beautifully and its relatively small size drives the demand. My closest ones rush to help themselves with a piece of it, to make sure there is a least a small bite left for each of them. 

A quick note on the type of tin I use: it is a round one, with detachable sides, of 21cm diagonal. I pour the cheese mixture to 3/4 of its height. Usually, I have some leftover, which I use for a thin, base-free Cheesecake. I bake it in a smaller tin, for 30min in 180.

This additional bake comes handy to satisfy my better-half’s cheesecake craving (it’s gone in 2min, no kidding) and helps to keep the main cheesecake untouched until serving.

Worth remembering that there is more cheese mixture than needed. If no one is circling around your oven with starving wild animal look from the first smells coming out from it, feel free to go ahead with a slightly bigger tin than what I suggested earlier. 

Keep in mind to make sure that your baking tin isn’t filled above 3/4 of it’s high. The cheesecake raises during baking, to fall down slowly during cooling. If you add too much of cheese mixture it will spill over.

It’s worth to dust blinded-baked pastry with some breadcrumbs, it will soak some of the moist & keep the base nice & crunchy.

In the traditional recipe beaten egg whites are recommended to be put on top of cheese mixture, as an additional layer. I prefer to stir them into the cheese mixture with a spatula. Fluffy egg whites will give your cheese cake this extra touch of lightness, if mixed in delicately.

Baby semolina is a good alternative for semolina from the original recipe (I think baby rice would do equally well). It helps to stabilise the cake without leaving the grainy feeling under your tongue, keeping the cake nice & fluffy.

Personally, I like serving my cheesecake after over-night chilling in the fridge, where I store it after cooling. The texture of it is delicate, but well consolidated. 

Having said this recently I somehow ended up baking it a bit of “last minute” and needed to serve it after a couple of hours of cooling. To my surprise, my close ones were truly amazed by its texture, comparing it to Ptasie Mleczko (when you know it, you know it). Hence, if you happen to know this Polish treat & enjoy it light, cloud-like texture, feel free to experiment with the cooling length & method. 

Before serving it’s worth dusting the cake with some icing sugar. My recipe is a “diluted” version of the traditional one, with suggested sugar amount reduced considerably. Hence, this extra bit of sweetness won’t hurt the taste & will be a nice touch towards presentation.

And lastly, let’s address the elephant in the room, the RAISINS. To add or not to add them? This question causes heated debates around many Polish Easter & Christmas tables, when cheesecake is traditionally served. I prefer raisins-free option, but if you fill up for this extra bit of sweetness, add a handful or two to cheese mixture before placing in the baking tin.

Smacznego!

Ingredients:

Shortbread pastry:

125g flower

50g icing sugar

65g soft butter

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp of breadcrumbs

Cheese mixture:

0.5kg grinded twaróg

4 eggs & 1 egg white

125g butter

100g sugar

16g vanilla sugar

1-2 tbsp baby semolina

Pinch of salt

Icing sugar for dressing 

Recipe:

Sieve flour & icing sugar into a bowl, add egg yolk & butter. Mix the dough by hand & chill for 1h in the fridge. After cooling, grate the dough into baking tin, lined with baking paper & press down lightly to form the flat base. Blind-bake in 180 degrees for 15min, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven & dust with breadcrumbs.

Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt, until you can turn the bowl up-side-down without spilling anything. Egg yolks mix with sugar, vanilla sugar & butter. Add gradually grinded twaróg and keep mixing until you achieve a smooth texture. Add egg whites with spatula. Lastly, add baby semolina and stir in with spatula gently.

Put the cheese mixture on the breadcrumbs covered base & bakes in 180 degrees for an hour. Leave to cool and store in the fridge.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.