Ukrainian cheese-cake : Syrnyk / Zapikanka

To all fans of the authentic Ukrainian Syrnyk (local cheese-cake. kind of. but MUCH better :)

I got this recipe from my amazingly skilled baker-friend Nata. She even sent a whole cheese-cake to me once, from Kyiv straight to Copenhagen (best surprise ever), and ever since i've been trying to master it myself, following this secret recipe that Nata generously shared with all of us. The secret to its amazingly light, creamy texture is a) top quality fresh homemade cottage cheese that you can buy at the farmers' market (or at the Polish supermarket here in Copenhagen); b) vanilla pudding. Enjoy !

Ingredients:

1 kg of cottage cheese

1.5 packs of butter (about 300 g)

8 x eggs

300 g cane sugar

2 x small packs of vanilla pudding (Dr.Oetker, each pack of 40 g)

Lemon juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp of Vanilla extract

How-to:

Separate egg yolks and whites;

Beat egg yolks with sugar until they turn white;

Add softened butter to the mix.

Carefully start adding cottage cheese and mix in a blender;

Add pudding and continue mixing.

Separately beat egg whites, but not too much (not ‘foamy’).

Carefully fold all the ingredients together and put into the pre-warmed oven (170C) for 1 hour 15-20 min.

Have a great weekend!