A "Sernik" is basically a Japanese cheesecake on top of a layer of pastry. It is a traditional polish dessert with dried raisins & flakes almonds and I added the zest of a lime to give it a little kick. It's really delicious because you get the hard buttery pastry and then the fluffy filling followed by the sweet raising and then the crispy flaked almonds and the finishing flavor in the mouth is the lime zest.
Traditionally, this cheesecake is made with Twarog, a polish cheese but you can replace it like I did with cream cheese and it is delicious. Also, you could replace the pastry layer with a graham cracker crust but the pastry is more traditional and the crispness from it really compliments the airy cheese layer.
To make sure the dried raisins won't sink to the bottom of the filling, you coat them in flour and to make sure the pastry keeps it's shape while baking, you chill the pastry before rolling it out.
This is a fairly easy recipe, you just need a little organisation but the finished product is really airy, with different flavors and really tasty.
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
150 grams plain flour
50 g caster sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
75 grams unsalted butter
a little water
For the filling:
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
150 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
75 grams of unsalted butter
250 grams of cream cheese
20 grams self-raising flour for the raisins + 30 grams for the batter
50 grams dried raisins
the zest of a lime / lemon
50 grams of toasted almond flakes
Instructions:
Start by making the pastry, combine all of the ingredients for the pastry apart from the water in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add in the water, little by little until a pastry forms. Leave the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and then take out of the fridge while you move onto the filling.
Place the dried raisins in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes and then place them in the 20 grams of self-raising flour and coat.
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C and grease a round high cake tin.
Place the cream cheese + butter + vanilla extract in a saucepan on low-heat until the butter is completely melted.
In a bowl, whisk your egg yolks with half of your caster sugar until the mixture is pale in color. Then add in the cream cheese mixture + the flour + the dusted in flour raisins + the lime zest and mix until combined.
Whisk your egg whites with the remaining half of the caster sugar until stiff peaks are formed. Then fold them in to the other mixture.
Roll the pastry out with a little flour and then cut to line the bottom of the greased cake tin. The place on top the filling and then lay on top the toasted almond flakes.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes and then leave to cool in the tin before taking out of the tin.
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