As I already said it once, American cheesecakes are so good that I do not try to imitate them at home. Most often I just buy them. Especially those from the Cheesecake Factory taste great and come in a wide variety.
But sometimes I crave a typical cheesecake that I grew up on in Poland. It is lighter in texture than its American cousin and has slightly sour taste coming from the farmers cheese. Polish cheesecake is more complicated to make mainly because typical farmers cheese we use is not available everywhere, except some Eastern European food stores.
But years ago, when I live in England, I found in one of the British magazines a recipe that is a fusion of both. This cheesecake is very delicate is made of two cheeses that are easily available--cottage cheese and cream cheese. The combination of two, plus whipped whites, which we always add to the cheese mixture, make this cheesecake very fluffy and make it taste more like a cheese dessert than a cake.
It is made on a delicate waffle and almond crust. Since this cheesecake is more of a dessert than a cake, I like it to serve it with fruits and fruit sauce. My favorites are raspberry or strawberry, as you can see on the pictures.
Two-Cheese Cheesecake
(For a 9-inch baking form with removable high walls)
Ingredients:
6 oz (2 cups) ground lady fingers or biscuit waffles,
1/ 3 ground almonds (almond meal),
1 stick unsalted butter,
1 pack (8 oz) cream cheese,
10 oz (1 cup) cottage cheese drained on a colander,
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream,
1 cup icing sugar,
2 tbsp lemon juice,
3 eggs,
1 tbsp cornstarch,
1 box (6 oz) fresh raspberries.
Preparation:
1. Mix ground biscuits with almonds. Melt butter and add to the crumbs. Mix well and divide in two equal parts. Spread one part on the bottom of the baking form greased with butter. Press it slightly to the base of the form.
2. Preheat oven to 370 F.
3. Place both cheeses, heavy whipping cream, egg yolks, lemon juice, and cornflower in a food processor. Blend until smooth. You can also beat all the ingredients with a hand mixer.
4. In a large bowl whisk whites until stiff. Add about 1/4 cup of sugar and whisk until shiny. Fold in the rest of sugar and beat again until stiff and smooth.
5. Gently and gradually fold in the cheese mixture into whipped whites. Spread the mixture on top of the biscuit base.
6. Sprinkle on top with the rest of the biscuits.
7. Put cheesecake in the oven and bake at 370 F for about thirty minutes. After that time turn down the heat to 350 F and bake for another 30 minutes, until cheesecake's top rises slightly and biscuits turn gold.
8. Serve with whole fruits
or with a fruit sauce.
9. To make the fruit sauce, using a blender, purée a cup of raspberries or strawberries with 2 tbsp of custard sugar. If you use raspberries sieve it to remove the seeds. You can also add a tbsp of liqueur into the fruit sauce. Pour the sauce over the pieces of cheesecake and serve decorated with fruits.
