Rustic Cheesecake

This Rustic Cheesecake illustrates an ancient way of making cheesecake, producing a delectable dessert with simple ingredients. Unlike most American cheesecakes made with cream cheese, this Rustic Cheesecake (syrna zapikanka —сирна запіканка — which means “baked cheesecake” in Ukrainian) is made from fresh unaged cheese, a staple of Ukrainan home cooking for generations.

Although specific origins of baked cheesecakes in Ukraine are unknown, historical evidence shows that local cooks baked cheesecakes for centuries. The land that now comprises Ukraine was historically a major crossroads between Europe and Asia and each ethnic group that passed through left a part of its culture and traditions.

Greek colonists settled in southern Ukraine (then called Scythia) along the Black Sea and Crimea in the 7^th century BCE. These Greek settlements existed for eight centuries, until conquered by the Hun Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries CE. At their peak, Greek colonies had a population of over 200,000, and in the 5th century BCE founded the Greco-Scythian state called the Bosporan Kingdom (also known as Cimmerian Bosphorus), that became the economic center of the Black Sea in trading and exporting wheat, fish and slaves to Greece and points beyond. It is likely that traders and settlers brought new culinary practices from Greece and recipes for baking cheese are one of the enduring legacies of this trade.

Historical evidence shows that cakes made from fresh cheese originated on the Greek island of Samos in the 5^th century BCE. These early cakes, made of cheese pounded with wheat flour and honey formed into round disks baked on an earthenware griddle, were considered a good source of energy. (“Pounded” means that the cheese curds were crushed or pureed into a paste.) There is evidence that such cakes were served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 BCE and Greek brides served these cheesecakes as a token of love to their grooms at weddings.

The writer Athenaeus is credited with memorializing the first known cheesecake recipe in 230 CE – pound the cheese until it is smooth and pasty – mix the pounded cheese in a brass pan with honey and spring wheat flour – heat the cheese cake “in one mass” – allow to cool then serve.

Greek cheesecake recipes became spoils of war after the Roman conquest and spread throughout the lands subsequently conquered by the Roman Army and used by cooks throughout Europe over the centuries. Over subsequent centuries, the rudimentary cheesecake recipe was elaborated by adding eggs, butter, sugar and other flavorings.

What cheese was used?

When contemporary Americans hear “cheesecake,” they think of New York’s iconic dessert made of several pounds of sweetened cream cheese. But cream cheese is a late arrival to cheesecake baking, unknown until 1872 when William Lawrence failed at making an American version of France’s creamy Neuchatel by adding extra cream and inadvertently created cream cheese.

Prior to the advent of cream cheese in the 1870s, cheesecakes were made from unaged fresh cheese which had just two ingredients: whole milk and vinegar or lemon juice. Home cooks followed a simple formula: warm whole milk was combined and cooked on low heat with an acidifying agent such as vinegar or lemon juice (or rennet) which causes cheese curds to separate from the whey and produces a milky, sweet and mild cheese.

Although unaged, fresh cheese is available commercially, this same combination of milk and acid is used by home cooks today to make fresh cheese, curd cheese, ricotta, quark, queso fresco and paneer.* This mild white cheese is crumbly and ideal for baking both sweet and savory treats.

The texture of fresh cheese is similar to fresh dry curd cottage cheese (also known as tvoroh, baker’s or farmer’s cheese) which is rarely available in American groceries but can be purchased in ethnic delis or online**. Conventional cottage cheese sold in American stores has too much added milk and retained whey that can’t be drained sufficiently to yield the cheese needed for this recipe. Unlike conventional cottage cheese, unaged fresh cheese has a milder flavor without a fermented odor.

Although I have previously made fresh cheese in an Instant Pot, for this Rustic Cheesecake, I bought fresh cheese at an ethnic deli and generally followed Chef Ievgen Klopotenko’s recent recipe.*** I used the same proportions of cheese, flour and sugar as the Klopotenko recipe, but made adaptations which enhance the flavor and fragrance of the final product.

This Rustic Cheesecake has a pure cheese flavor and mild sweetness amplified by raisins, vanilla and lemon flavorings. It is simple to prepare because it is crustless. It makes a perfect breakfast, light dinner and a splendid dessert. I baked this Rustic Cheesecake with raisins and served it with dabs of apricot and raspberry jams and sour cream for dessert, but other variations may be flavored with honey, maple or other syrups and other dried fruits such as apricots and cranberries, chopped nuts and candied citron may be substituted for raisins.

Rustic Cheesecake, adapted from Ievgen Klopotenko ***

1½ tablespoons (15-20 g) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons (45 g) fresh white breadcrumbs
17.8 ounces (500 g) full-fat farmer’s cheese* or homemade cottage cheese**
4 large eggs
12 tablespoons (150 g) sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
2½ ounces (70 g) golden raisins
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste or 1 packet of vanilla sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5 ounces (100 g) sour cream, regular not light
7 tablespoons (55 g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (28 g) confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Apricot or seedless raspberry jam for serving (optional)
Sour cream or crème fraiche (optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Generously butter an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan and coat bottom and sides with breadcrumbs, shaking out excess. Set aside.

Place cheese in a bowl of blender or food processor (or use a stick blender) and purée until completely smooth.

Separate egg yolks into the bowl with cheese and the whites into another clean bowl.

Add half of the sugar into the bowl with cheese.

Cut vanilla pod, scrape out seeds and add to cheese. (If not using a vanilla pod, add vanilla extract, paste or sugar to the cheese instead.)

Whip egg whites, cream of tartar, remaining sugar and pinch of salt into soft peaks. Set aside.

Purée yolks, cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy and light in color. Add sour cream, lemon zest and juice, and purée for an additional few seconds until incorporated, scraping down the sides. Stir in raisins until evenly distributed throughout the batter. Add flour and mix with a spatula until the flour is no longer visible.

Stir in a few large spoonfuls of egg whites into the cheese mixture. Then carefully fold remaining egg whites until just thoroughly blended.

Spoon cheese mixture into prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, checking browning periodically. Remove from oven once a golden crust is formed and edges are puffed but the center is still wobbly. Cool on rack to room temperature and then chill the cake, loosely covered for at least 4 hours. Bring to room temperature for serving.