Skip to main content

My Divine Cheese Cake

Gosh, it's been a while since I last posted something here, I got snowed under work :( Meanwhile the real snow has melted, and this weekend we're enjoying really springy weather - sunny and nearly 20C outside!
I've made my beloved dew cheesecake, as it's too early for fresh fruit dessert, and this one tastes like ice-cream so I decided it will do as the first spring dessert!
I could say that making it this time round was a bit of an adventure, as electricity decided it was time to start turning itself on and of, just as I was in the middle of baking and whisking egg whites! All in all, though the cake turned out great and tasted delicious as usual, so there's only a small bit left for dessert tomorrow. Guess that's good? ;-)

To make a big cheese cake you need:

For the base:
2 large cups of flour
0.5 large cup of sugar
2 egg yokes
1 whole egg
2 teaspoons of baking powder
0.5 tub of margarine (125 g)

Mix all ingredients and knead until smooth. Then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Cheese mix:

1 kilo of smooth and creamy cottage cheese
1 large cup of sugar
0.5 large cup of cooking oil
2 large cups of milk (0.5 litre)
1 pack of vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
4 egg yokes
2 packs of vanilla sugar

Mix all ingredients with a mixer until they combine into a smooth mixture. It will be very runny, but this is what we want.

Line baking tray with silver paper or baking paper, and make sure the sides are covered, in order not to let the cheese mix leak. Take the base mix out of the fridge and place it on a baking tray (I use a large, round base - 24 cm in diameter). Make the base smooth and equal, you can prick it all over with a for to prevent it from getting 'humpy". Pour the cheese mix on top and place it in the oven pre-heated to 150C (I bake it in a fan oven). Bake for about 60-75 minutes - until it's getting golden on top. It will still be "shaky" at that point, but that's OK. When the top begins to turn golden prepare the meringue.

Meringue top:

6 egg whites
1 large cup of sugar

Whisk the whites until smooth and stiff (so as you can turn the pan upside-down and the mixture inside won't move). Keep on whisking and gradually add sugar. When all sugar is added and the mixture is smooth and stiff place it on top of the cake and bake it all until the meringue is golden (otherwise you won't get the dew).

Take the cake out, wait until it cools down and taste it! When it's properly cool, sugar dew should be dripping off the meringue while cutting. I dare say its absolutely divine!




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Take on Italian

Italian cuisine is often to be considered to be simple. I guess it is like with elegance - simplicity is the key. Good quality, real Italian ingredients are crucial, combined with a bit a passion, and not too complex a recipe. Pronto! Though, to tell you the truth, my very first steps with Italian cuisine included ... using instant sauces ... Nowadays I can't quite comprehend how anybody can claim they taste of anything, but I guess it takes trying to "the real deal" ...   The very first thing I cooked from scratch, and we both instantly loved, was spaghetti Pomodoro e Basilico, as the Italian call it. Even though for the Italian it is "primo piato" (first dish), an introduction to the main meal, it is just the matter of the amount, as it surely can be the main meal as well! All we need is spaghetti pasta, 4-5 ripe, sweet tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of passata, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a few basil leaves, salt and pepper to seaso...

Gingerbread Layer Cake

This Christmas I decided to "pimp up" my gingerbread a bit, after a last minute inspiration. I saw a photo of this cake, literally a day before making the cake and decided it's an absolute must this Christmas. I really like how the cake combines gingerbread and gateau type cake features, it's both presentable and delicious. The cake (4 layers): 150 g honey (liquid) 200 g butter or margarine 500 g plain flour 3 yolks 4 tbsp milk 1 tbs purified soda 100 g sugar 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground cardamon 1tsp ground cloves a pinch of ground black pepper Combine the ingredients in a large bowl - as it's really hard to do, you may be best off using dough whisks on a food mixer. Cover the bowl with cling film and put into the fridge for 24 hours. After that time, divide the dough into 4 parts, place on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake in 180C for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.   The cream: ...

How come I'm in Italy?

My little students often ask me: "Miss, how is it possible that you speak Italian and also English?" It's very cute when they do, but others ask equally often - how come you live here? Well, some people have their "American dream", I've got my Italian one. That's it. I've always loved Italy. I've liked the sound of the language, Italian food's always been one of my absolute favourites, and one day as I was travelling in Italy I had a thought - why not try to live and work here? There are some many teachers like me, who work in this country, I could do it too! I like doing things my way instead of following the same path as others. Life's short and what's the point wasting it repeating the things other people have already done? And so, a day before the end of the year we landed in Brindisi, Puglia where our Italian life began. I'll always have a soft spot for Puglia. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I feel that it was the time o...