Yield: one 9-inch cheesecake
Recipe: 103/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 162
For the second cake that I had to (I don’t like baking at all, I was almost tortured!) make for my boyfriend since I lost a bet, he requested this European lemon cheesecake because, quite simply, he loves lemon and cheesecake, so the combination could only be delicious. The theory proved to be true! This cake was simple to make and although I genuinely had my reservations about this cheesecake due to the use of pressed cottage cheese (note: cottage cheese has always caused some slight disgust to me), it was excellent. Perhaps slightly too lemony for my taste, yet still highly enjoyable. The texture is perfect and similar to that of the classic cheesecake, but feels a bit fluffier and lighter. Essentially, this cheesecake eats itself and you don’t feel to guilty about doing it! Lemon lovers are sure to love this dessert.
Even though it was not expected for this European cheesecake, I did encounter the typical cheesecake problem of having a big crack develop in the middle. Since I did run a palette knife around the cake after taking it out of the oven and I let it cool completely before chilling it, the only other reason that I think may have caused the crack is that I may have over-whipped the egg whites. It may have been more of a stiff peak than a medium peak, which would have caused the eggs to deflate when the cake was cooling down. So be careful while whipping your eggs, but this is really the only sensitive step of the recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 package (8 oz/250 g) pressed cottage cheese, 10% milk fat
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs at room temperature, separated
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform and coat it with sugar, making sure to tap out the excess.
- Using a food processor or a hand mixer, blend the cottage cheese with ½ cup of the sugar.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Blend well.
- Beat in the egg yolks.
- In a stand mixer or in a clean bowl using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy, then pour in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, continuing to whip the whites until they hold a medium peak (the whites should curl just slightly when the beaters are lifted).
- Fold the whites into the cheese mixture in two additions, then spread the cheesecake evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for about 25 minutes more, until the top just begins to colour. Let the cheesecake cool completely to room temperature, then chill for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Notes from Anna:
- To prevent a gaping crack to form in the middle of your cheesecake, the speed at which the egg whites are whipped is crucial. Whipped eggs will soufflé in the oven, but when the cheesecake starts cooling, those souffléd eggs will fall, thus creating a crack, even hours after the cheesecake is out of the oven. Make sure not to whip the egg whites too much.
- Another tip to prevent cracks in the cheesecake is to run a palette knife around the inside edge of the springform pan, which allows to separate the cake from the pan. This way, if and when the cheesecake contracts, it will pull away from the sides of the pan, making it less likely to crack in the middle.
Valerie
Valerie 
