This cake is traditionally consumed in Poland during the Christmas and Easter festivities. Although the ingredients are very similar to those used in the cheesecakes we know, the way to make it is somewhat more complicated, being the result lighter, halfway between cream cake and meringue. It's worth doing, it's unbelievably good and amazing. It also uses very little sugar if we compare it with other similar recipes.
INGREDIENTS :
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of cottage cheese
- 6 eggs+1 yolk
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) icing sugar
- 1 cup (200 ml) whipping cream, 35% or 38% fat
- 2 tablespoons potato flour*
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
* In the kitchen of central, northern and eastern Europe it is quite common to use potato flour. In other areas it is not so common, so you can use potato starch (which we do use to thicken), cornstarch or even freeze-dried mashed potatoes.
First of all we must remove the lumps from the cottage cheese. For this we can use the glass of the blender or the minipimer to obtain a smooth paste, almost a cream.
It is convenient then to preheat the oven to 170 degrees (338 f) because it must be at the temperature when we finish creating the cake. If we put the mixture in when it has not yet reached temperature, then we could have a problem.
Separate the yolks from the whites of the 6 eggs. Pour the yolks into a bowl and beat them with the icing sugar with the help of the rods, until it is very homogeneous.
In another bowl, we also beat the cream with the rods until whipped. Halfway through, add the potato flour (or the starch, or the cornstarch...) and the vanilla essence. We continue beating until it is quite firm.
When the cream is well whipped and firm, add it to the yolk mixture with icing sugar. To avoid losing the air, we mix it with a large shovel or a wooden spoon until everything is well integrated.
Then we add the cheese that we have beaten. Again, that everything is well mixed and avoiding the loss of the "gained" air.
It is time to mix the egg whites that we had separated at the beginning. Pour them into a bowl adding a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice. We beat well until they mount.
We add the meringue obtained from the beaten egg whites, slowly and carefully so as not to lose the air, until we obtain a well-aerated dough. We already have the whole dough.
In a metal or silicone mould, well greased with butter, about 22/25 cm (9 inches) in diameter, pour the dough. On top of it, pour a beaten yolk with the two tablespoons of milk so that the result is well browned.
Put them in the oven and let them cook for an hour. If we see that the surface begins to brown excessively, then we should not remove the cake, but cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
And pay attention to the following: after baking time, turn off the oven but do not remove the cake from it. With the oven door closed, let another 10 minutes elapse, after which we open the door but again without removing the cake, until it is completely cold. It's not a matter of a whim. In this way the meringue has the perfect texture.
It can be eaten once it has cooled, but the usual thing is to let it rest for a whole night in the refrigerator so that it is even more settled and firm.
As you can see a bit complicated, but the result is worth it.