Sernik Krakowski (Polish Lattice Cheesecake)

Ingredients:

For the Shortcrust pastry:
300g of plain flour
200g of butter
50g of powdered sugar
2 egg yolks

For the Curd Filling:
1kg of full-fat cottage cheese, ground at least twice (traditionally this is Polish twarog)
8 eggs
225g of fine sugar
200g of butter
35g of potato starch or vanilla pudding mixture
100g of small raisins
50g candied orange peel

For the Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk for brushing the cake lattice

For the Icing (frosting):
150g of powdered sugar
juice of 1 large lemon

Method:

Begin with the pastry: Mix together the flour with powdered sugar. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the flour along with the yolks. Knead quickly into a uniform dough. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm (plastic wrap) then set aside to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Line a rectangular baking tin with dimensions of 25x35cm with baking paper. Pre-heat your oven to 190°C. Remove the cooled pastry from the refrigerator. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and put it back in the fridge – this will be used to make strips on the top of the cheesecake. Roll out the remaining dough and use it to line the base of your cake tin. Prick the top of the pastry with a fork then transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until the dough is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside cool.

For the filling: All ingredients should be at room temperature. Cream the butter with 200g of the sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the cottage cheese, followed by the egg yolks, one at a time. Mix until the ingredients are combined. Add potato starch or vanilla or pudding mix. Add raisins and peel and stir well to combine.

Place the egg whites in a clean and dry bowl and beat until stiff. At the end of whipping, add the remaining 25g of sugar and beat into the egg whites until glossy. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cottage cheese mixture, folding everything to combine with a cold metal spoon.

Pre-heat your oven to 150°C. Spread the cheese mixture onto the baked base. Even out the top. Roll out the remaining pastry thinly and cut out 1cm wide strips with a knife or a cutter. Arrange the strips on top of the cheese mass in the form of a grid. Beat the yolk with a fork. Using a brush, brush the grid with egg yolk.

Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for about 70-75 minutes, until the top of the cheesecake is nicely browned. Turn off the oven and prop the door ajar with the handle of a wooden spoon or a folded tea towel. Leave the oven to cool completely then transfer the cheesecake to chill completely in the refrigerator.

For the icing: Mix together the powdered sugar with lemon juice. You can adjust the thickness of the icing by adding more juice if it is too thick or powdered sugar if it is too runny.

Ice (frost) the cooled cheesecake as you like: just the strips or the entire top. You can also leave the cheesecake un-iced if you prefer.