Sernik – Polish Cheesecake
Sernik - that’s “cheesecake” in Polish! Cheesecake is a dessert loved, baked and enjoyed all around the world, and its origins reach far beyond New York! It is said that the first cheesecake was made in Ancient Greece over 4,000 years ago! Needless to say, since that time it’s been adapted by many other cultures and introduced into countless cuisines, with its recipes varying based on local ingredients, tastes and traditions.
That, of course, includes Poland!
As is the case with other cultures, Poland’s cheesecake is made according to a unique national recipe. So what makes Poland’s sernik different from other cheesecakes around the world? Twaróg cheese! This famous Polish white, quark cheese is the foundation of the Polish cheesecake. Quark is a fresh cheese unique to Poland and Eastern European countries. It is much lower in fat content (similar to yogurt) than cream cheese and has no added salt, making for a much lighter cheesecake yet still rich in taste!
Though cheesecakes are great from the bakery, nothing warms the heart quite like a cheesecake that’s homemade.. especially one made according to a traditional Polish recipe!
We hope you enjoy this quick recipe for a classic Polish cheesecake with ingredients from Polana!
Smacznego!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 packages of Mlekowita Twaróg Półtłusty from Polana (about 1 kg)
- 250 g of soft butter
- 6 eggs
- 1 packet of vanilla sugar
- 1/2 cup of 36% cream
- 4 tablespoons of potato flour
- 1 and 1/3 cups of powdered sugar or 100 g of chocolate
RECIPE DIRECTIONS
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, and beat the whites until stiff to incorporate into the cheesecake batter later. Be sure to separate the yolks from the whites thoroughly! If there is any amount of egg yolk in your whites, they will not stiffen properly.
- In a separate bowl, beat the soft butter with a kitchen mixer until it is fluffy, and gradually add one yolk at a time, alternating with a spoon of powdered sugar, whisking the ingredients thoroughly all the time.
- Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium, add the ground cheese and combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
- Now add the following in turn: vanilla sugar, cream and potato flour, mixing the ingredients to a homogeneous mass all the time. Finally, mix (gently but thoroughly) with the stiffly beaten egg whites.
- Prepare a springform cake with a minimum diameter of 26 cm (measured from the center). Brush it with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs or ground almonds or cover the bottom with baking paper.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan and put in an oven preheated to 335 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 60 minutes. Cool the cheesecake gradually by removing it from the oven (first opening the door a little and slightly sliding the cheesecake out, finally remove it from the oven).
- Sprinkle the browned top of the cheesecake with powdered sugar or pour over with melted chocolate.
Enjoy with some fresh fruit, whipped cream or ice cream!
Smacznego!
If you prefer to have your Polish cheesecake readymade, we invite you to the Bakery on Polana.com to find our selection of Polish cheesecakes and more! Have it shipped right to your door with Polana’s nationwide shipping!
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