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Polish Cheesecake (Sernik)

Traditional Polish Christmas treat. Known in Germany, Poland, and further East with only small variations.

Picture of Polish Cheesecake

Based on slightly drier version of farmer's cheese called quark (twaróg), this semi-sweet, moist, and fulfilling cheesecake will tear down the preconceptions you have about cheesecake in general.

Picture of Quark (twaróg)

Salty butter and the potato add a robust base to the lightness of the beaten egg whites.

Find your own balance by adjusting the amount of sugar and vanilla. Aim for slightly under-sweetned cake mix and let the raisins and candied orange peel to pull the sugary weight. It's subtle and takes some practice. Below numbers are just a starting point that should result in an acceptable first try.

Ingredients

1kg of Quark cheese (twaróg)

250g salted butter (soften it in a warm place) + some extra for baking tray prep
8 eggs (L-XL; add 1 for Medium, 2 for Small), separated
550ml of icing sugar
1 vanilla pod or equivalent extract
1 large potato (approx 12cm long, 8cm diameter)
2 heaped tbsp potato flour (can be substituted with corn flour)
2 heaped tbsp plain flour (as fine as possible)
100g raisins/sultanas
peel of two large oranges
sugar to candy the orange peel (a few heaped tbsp)
bread crumbs for the baking tray (50-100g or so)

Method

Candied orange peel

Chop peel of two large oranges into 3-5mm cubes, soak in water 24h. Change water mid-way.

Boil in sugary water until very sticky and almost dry. It should taste like candy.

Raisins

Pour boiling water over the raisins/sultanas to cover. Leave to soak for a few hours until soft and juicy. Drain and sift a small amount of flour through them so they don't stick.

Quark (twaróg)

Run the quark twice through a food processor or a mincer. The goal is a fine texture without the typical lumpiness of quark (twaróg).

Potato

Boil the potato, skin on, until soft throughout. Put to one side to cool well. Peel and mash it as well as possible with a fork or a potato masher.

Egg whites

Beat to stiffness.

Cake mix

Combine eggs and sugar and work it well until they form a paste.
Add softened butter while continuing to mix.
Add the quark (twaróg), continue mixing.
Add the mashed potato, potato flour, and plain flour. Continue mixing.
Add vanilla.
When fully combined, put into a food processor with a sharp blade and run it at high speed until the ingredients form a homogenous, silky-smooth paste. A good five minutes should do. May need to do it in two batches, depending on the size of your food processor.
When finished blitzing, empty into a large bowl, add raisins and candied orange peel. Mix evenly and finally fold in *gently* and evenly the beaten egg whites.

Bake

Set oven to 80C.

Baking tray

Prep a 25cm squared, deep baking tray by rubbing a block of butter all over the insides and once covered coat them evenly with breadcrumbs. They should stick while sloshing them about the baking tray. Pour out the excess breadcrumbs.

Pour the cake mix into the tray.

Bake

Put tray in the 80C oven for 5 minutes and then increase the temperature to 180C.

Bake for around an hour. The surface may crack, that's fine. If your oven doesn't heat evenly, turn it around every 30 minutes or so for even bake.

After an hour, probe with a wooden skewer all the way in. If it comes out wet and/or sticky, add another 15 minutes and re-test.

Repeat until the skewer probe comes out dry.

Rest

Take the cheesecake out of the oven and leave to cool for at least 3 hours. Best overnight, covered.

Serve

Can be served topped with icing sugar, fresh forest fruit, whipped cream. Get creative. It's a good base. Perfect on its own.