[Chocolate Cheesecake] Serownik - Rich Cheesecake from Poland

The piece of rich chocolate cheesecake my colleague handed me was just so good that I gulped it down within a couple of minutes. I loved it at the very first bite. As I am a self-defined international recipe collector who is very interested in all kinds of ethnic food, I required and acquired the recipe for this wonderful Polish cheesecake. Well, in usual circumstances, I avoid baking a cheesecake since I love it so much. 


Let's say my feelings toward cheesecake is that of love-hate. :( Whenever I bake a cheesecake, I end up indulging in a half of the cake because I like it so much. And I'm not even kidding! Because of such a clear reason, I look away from a cheesecake as much as possible. But, this serownik or Polish chocolate cheesecake is a very rare item that mainly uses dry-curd(or pressed) cottage cheese instead of usual cream cheese. 


It must be the pressed cottage cheese that gives a very distinctive rich taste. As I've always been so curious about new food/ingredients, I decided to bake a big rectangular chocolate cheese cake. Warning~ this cheese cake is very thick and creamy! And, for the peace of your mind, don't worry. It's big enough to share without fighting for a second piece. :)

Here goes Dorotka's Polish cheese cake recipe:

(I converted from weight to volume measure for the convenience)
You need a 13" x 9" baking pan.


Ingredients
<Crust>
3 + 1/4 cup  all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 egg yolks
2 cups  icing sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons sour cream

<Filling>
1 cup  sugar
4 large eggs (or 4 large eggs separated)
1  tablespoon cornstarch
2 lbs dry curd cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions


1. First, make crust. Sift flour, sugar and cocoa in a large bowl.


2. Add butter and egg yolks, 


and incorporate all to make a dough.


3. Make a disc shape, wrap tightly, and have it rest in the freezer so that it will become hard enough to handle.

Meanwhile, make cake filling:

4. Process dry-curd cottage cheese in a blender until smooth.

5. In a  large bowl, combine egg yolks with 1 cup  sugar and mix well. 

6. Add cottage cheese and mix well.


7. Add cream cheese and butter, and mix until smooth.

8. Add cornstarch, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons butter, and mix until well incorporated. 

9.   In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold them into the cheese mixture.

Now, it's time to combine.

10. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the baking pan.

11. Cut the crust down into two and sprinkle flour, then roll out the first half. 

12. Put the bottom crust in the 13" x 9" baking pan.

13. Spread the cheese filling.


14. Roll out the crust dough for the top half. 


You can either top the cheese filling with the one big crust, or cut into small pieces like I did.



15. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven.
Once it's baked, Remove from the oven let it cool down a bit, about for 30-40 minutes.

16. Take it out from the pan and let it cool down completely on a rack.


Wait until completely Cut into squares and and serve either cold or room temperature.

It's sooooooooooooo rich and creamy.
Hope you like this cake as much as I did. :)

Enjoy!


Serownik - Chocolate Cheesecake