- 1 pound of farmer's cheese (or ricotta cheese)
- 1 pound cottage cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1.5 cups of raisins or cranberries (or a mixture)
- 3-4 spoons of vanilla or rum essence
- 8 full tablespoons of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of lemon or orange peel
- 10 phyllo dough sheets
- 2-3 tablespoons of butter
- Half a cup of cream of wheat
- Powder sugar (to decorate)
Preparation:
- Carefully break an egg, and separate the white from the yolk. Keep the yolk separately for now. Mix in the two other eggs with the extra white.
- In a large bowl, mix the two cheeses until you have a uniform paste.
- Add the eggs and the sugar, and mix until uniform again.
- The final mix should have a consistency similar to that of sour cream - not too liquid. If yours is more watery, slowly add the cream of wheat and mix till uniform. This will help the cake pieces stay together and not falling over. If this sounds like cheating, add an extra egg instead - this will help keep the mix together better.
- Add the raisins and/or cranberries, the rum or vanilla essence, and the orange peel. Mix till uniform.
- Use a large or a deep non-stick baking pan. Make sure that all the cheese mix fits in, and there is some extra space left (the mix will expand during baking).
- Coat the pan with a very thin layer of butter: it makes it easy to remove the cake at the end, and it'll also help provide a nicer color and texture to the bottom and the sides of the cake.
- Layer 4-5 phyllo dough layers on the bottom of the pan. They don't have to line up, but make sure you covered the bottom and the sides of the baking pan uniformly. I found the phyllo dough in a nearby supermarket, in the frozen section. Make sure you defrost them first - I tied handling them while frozen, and it was... interesting...
- Add the cheese mix over the dough.
- Add another layer of phyllo dough on top (again, use 4-5 more sheets). Fold the sides over, and make sure the cheese mix is uniformly covered in phyllo dough sheets.
- On top, I add a few very thin slices of butter, particularly around the edges of the phyllo dough sheets. This helps them from raising and getting all sorts of chaotic shapes - which provides for an interesting presentation, but it interferes with serving.
- Finally, spread the egg yolk from the very first step over the top of the cheesecake. This will help it get a very nice color during baking. I use a fork, but a brush will work better, if you have one.
- Bake this in the over, at 425F, for about 30-40 minutes. To know when it's ready, use a toothpick: stick a toothpick vertically all the way to the bottom of the cheesecake, and remove it. It should come out clear and fairly dry (a bit of oiliness or wetness is ok at this point). Use the color of the cheesecake top to guide you as well on when it's ready.
- Let the cheesecake cool before cutting or serving.
Presentation:
- Cut into cubes or triangles.
- Top with powder sugar.
- Throw in some flower petals all around the plate. Given the color for the dish, yellow or orange flowers or petals should work quite well.
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