Cheesecake recipe

I have been trying to find a recipe for a specific type of cheesecake; in Bawlmer, we call it "schmearkase," but I know that also refers to a specific type of cheese as well.

I believe that it's baked in a sheetcake pan and it has an almost chewy crust. I've never seen it much over an inch to an inch-and-a-quarter thick; it's very dense (I think it has the atomic weight of plutonium maybe), and it's usually dusted with cinnamon or nutmeg.

I'm trying to find a cheesecake that my husband might like . . . I once suggested cheesecake for dessert and you would have thought I had suggested selling his mother to the barbarian hordes. I wish I'd have known about this character flaw earlier on!

[mudbug]

Is this close enough?

Baked German Cheese Cake
(for a springform of 26 cm )

10 grams fresh yeast
4 tablespons luke warm milk
4 tablespons sugar
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 teasp. vanilla sugar
2 tb sps. soft butter (or margarine)
180 grams flour

4 eggs
500 grams quark (fromage frais, queso frejo)
150 grams sugar
50 grams corn flour (cornstarch)
100 ml milk
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
grated lemon peel

Stir the yeast with the milk and a half teaspoon of the sugar, put in a warm place for 15 minutes.

For the dough, stir the rest of the sugar with the egg, salt, and the yeast milk. Add the butter and vanilla sugar. Sieve the flour over it and mix well. Knead ingredients for about 10 minutes, cover, and put in a warm place for about 45 minutes until about double the size.

For the filling separate the eggs and put them into separate bowls.

Beat the egg whites and 2 tablespoons of the sugar until stiff. Stir the egg yolks with the quark and the rest of the sugar.

Stir the corn flour into the milk, add vanilla sugar and grated lemon peel.

Stir cornstarch mixture into yolk-quark mixture, then carefully fold in the egg whites.

Grease the form, pre-heat the oven to 220C. Knead the dough again, roll it out and put it into the form (you may push it up at the sides if you like). Spoon in the cheese mixture and bake for about 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 150C and bake another 45-50 minutes, until brown on top. When you take out the cake, it should have come up a good bit (like a mushroom cloud). It will level out (sink) and go a bit wrinkly on top when it cools down. Resist the temptation to taste it when still warm.

When cooled down, put it into the fridge instead, where it will keep very well for days.

[m brown]

My grandma makes the cheese cake ( and I use the term loosely) from philly cheese and cresent rolls, pilsbury that is .........
hey, it's easy, pretty low cost and if he hates it you can call it danish the next morning!!!

[mudbug]

This is an Italian recipe, baked on a sheetcake pan

LACED CHEESECAKE

Pastry: 1 pkg. yeast
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. warm water (105° - 115°)
3/4 c. warm milk
5 1/2 c. flour 1 egg + 2 egg yolks (reserve whites)
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 c. melted margarine

Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water and let sit for 5 minutes to "proof". Mix the warm milk with 1 egg and 2 egg yolks. Set aside. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the cardamom.

Stir in the sugar, yeast mixture and the egg mixture. Gradually add the melted margarine. Beat until you have a smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap, then a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until double.

Filling:
1 lb whole milk ricotta
2 eggs 5 T. milk
2 T. melted butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla 1 T. flour 1/2 cup currants (raisins just don't taste as good!)

Mix the ricotta with the milk; then stir in the sugar, flour, eggs, butter, vanilla, and currants.

Assembly: Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured board. Roll out 3/4 of the dough into an 18 x 13 rectangle. Fold dough over rolling pin and transfer to a greased and floured 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 1" jelly roll pan.

Fit dough into pan, leaving an overhang on all sides. Brush with an egg white. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the dough. Roll the remaining dough into a 16 1/2" x 5" rectangle.

Cut 4 strips 16 1/2" long x 3/4" wide. Place 3 of these strips over the cheese mixture, spacing them out evenly. Place the fourth strip diagonally across. Now, cut two 9" strips and place diagonally on either side of the center strips.

Repeat with two 7 1/2" pieces. Press the overhang over the filling, covering the edges of the strips. Let rise. Heat oven to 375°. Brush strips with beaten egg. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or cool.

[mudbug]

Any of these help MaryeO?

(from Emma)
LITHUANIAN CHEESECAKE

2 lbs cottage cheese
4 Tbsp flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
2 tsp grated lemon rind
pastry for 2 crust pie crust, unbaked

Mix cottage cheese, flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and well beaten egg yolks. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add remaining sugar into egg whites. Beat until very stiff. Fold in cottage cheese mixture and turn into pastry lined 9x13 pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 45 minutes.

Makes 12 to 15 servings


A little more information:
"Schmearkase" - refers to the German word for cottage cheese.

Traditionally, this cheesecake is made with Quark and/or Topfen cheeses, not cottage cheese. Quark, which is similar to a cross between yogurt and small curd cottage cheese. It is a soft, unripened cheese with the texture and flavor of sour cream. It has a milder flavor and richer texture than lowfat yogurt. Quark can be used as a sour cream substitute to top baked potatoes, and as an ingredient in a variety of dishes including cheesecakes, dips, salads and sauces. Austrian Topfen, which is a curded cheese and is similar to pot cheese. It is a drier form of cottage cheese.

KASEKUCHEN AUF DEMBLECH/BATSCHER (Old-fashioned cheesecake)

Dough:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 ounce yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
3/4 cup sugar
7 tablespoons butter
Pinch of salt

Topping:
2 to 3 cups cottage cheese, rubbed through a fine sieve to smooth out the curds
1/2 cup currants, washed
1/2 cup cream
2 to 3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated peel of 1 lemon

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and press a shallow crater into the center with your fingers. Crumble the yeast (if necessary) and stir up with a very little milk and just a sprinkling of sugar. Pour this mixture into the crater and let stand until it starts to foam. Add the remaining milk and the sugar, butter, and salt; work into the dough. Cover with a cloth and let it rise, about 60 to 120 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.

To make the topping. Combine the cottage cheese with the currants and the other ingredients; stir into a thick paste.

When the dough has risen, roll it out onto the greased baking sheet (or 2 small ones, if you like), and pinch a little border all around the edges to contain the topping. Puncture the sheets of dough all over with the tines of a fork and cover with the topping mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, until light golden.
Servings: 8 to 10.

from ~ The Cuisines of Germany: Regional Specialties and Traditional Home Cooking," by Horst Scharfenberg (Poseiden, 1989)

Thanks so much everybody! I'll work my way through these - a couple of them sound very close to what I'm looking for. Cchiu, where on earth did you come up with a Lithuanian cheesecake? I ask because my grandmother was Lithuanian, and it's a surprise to see this here. She couldn't cook for beans, so if she ever made this, time has mercifully erased the memory . . . (too bad there isn't an active barfy-faced emoticon).

[mudbug]

If I told you, I'd have to kill you.

Okay, Cchiu, I can respect that. A little mystery is a good thing.

[mudbug]

MaryeO,

Just having a little fun. Actually, I'll be responing to one of Greg's posts about how to search soon, under the topic "Hey Cchiu!"

These recipes just came from different boards I've found to be well visited by respondent people.

Mimi's Cyber Kitchen (the recipe forum) http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/cgibin/...r&DaysPrune=60

Gail's Recipe Swap http://food4.epicurious.com/HyperNews/get/swap.html

You know, posting questions like these at other sites is almost like a scientific experiment. You can narrow down the quality sites!

[mudbug]

P.S. Half the battle of searching is knowing where and how to look.

I also forgot to ask, have you tried any of the recipes yet?

I didn't have a chance to yet, Cchiu. This is something I'll be saving probably for the holidays. Like I said, my husband doesn't like cheesecake, and I can't be trusted with them - I'd eat the entire thing!

You're right about the different boards; some of them are a hoot. I have to admit a little snobbery about using mixes and pre-prepared foods, so that kind of eliminates some right off the bat. Not that there's anything inherently wrong in using those things, but I don't generally use them. SOAR is one of my faves, although their search engine must be kind of inadequate to the task. I found a super Cuban one (Raoul's Recipes or something like that) when I was doing a send-off party for my favorite boss.

I plan on making the Lithuanian one first off (for sentimental reasons) and will report back!

[mudbug]

Stumbled on another I thought shoud be included in this collection:

Polish Style Cheesecake

Graham crust:
1 1/4 cup graham crumbs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter.

Filling:
2 pounds dry cottage cheese (or farmer's cheese, or hoop cheese)
1/2 pound cream cheese (or more dry cottage)
1 1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 tsp. finely minced lemon zest
tiny pinch salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine crust ingredients and press into pan. Blend filling ingredients on slow mixer speed. Fill pan. Bake on a doubled up baking sheets (one inside the other). Start at 375 F. After 12 minutes, reduce heat to to 350 F. and bake for another 25 to 35 minutes. Cake should rise slightly, not brown and it should set. For a creamier cake, use a water bath for baking. For a less creamy cake, no water bath and omit melted butter and cream cheese.

We're going to be having folks over for dinner in a week or two - I think we'll have a cheesecake tasting for dessert! Thanks for the info!