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Sernik
Polish baked twaróg cheesecake on a shortcrust base
Sernik is the baked cheesecake Polish grandmothers make for Easter and Christmas, and in Kraków it often comes as sernik krakowski, with raisins in the filling and a lattice of pastry on top. Unlike the American kind it is made with twaróg, a dry, tangy curd cheese, so the filling is light and fine-grained rather than dense, set with eggs and a little potato starch, never gelatine. This version keeps a buttery shortcrust base and a smooth vanilla-lemon top. Chef's tip: the twaróg must be put through a mincer or sieve twice, or bought as ready-ground twaróg sernikowy in a tub; lumpy cheese gives a grainy cake.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the shortcrust base
For the cheese filling
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Make the base. Rub 3 ½ oz cold butter into 7 oz plain flour, 1 ¾ oz icing sugar and ½ tsp baking powder until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp soured cream and press quickly into a dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Line the base of a 24 cm springform tin with baking paper. Press the dough evenly over the base, prick with a fork and bake for 12–15 minutes, until pale golden at the edges. Lower the oven to 325°F (275°F fan).
15 minStep 3: If your 2 ¼ lb twaróg sernikowy (ground curd cheese) is not pre-ground, push it through a fine sieve twice. Beat 3 ½ oz butter with 7 oz caster sugar for 3 minutes until fluffy.
Step 4: Beat in the twaróg a spoonful at a time on low speed, then the 5 eggs one by one, then 2 tbsp potato starch, 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp lemon zest. Mix only until smooth. A common mistake is beating hard at high speed: it whips in air, the cake puffs like a soufflé and then cracks and sinks.
Step 5: Fold in 2 ⅛ oz raisins, if using. Pour the filling over the base and smooth the top.
Step 6: Put a roasting tin of hot water on the shelf below. Bake for 60–70 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centre still wobbles slightly when you nudge the tin.
70 minStep 7: Turn off the oven, open the door a crack and leave the cake inside for 1 hour so it cools slowly and does not crack. Then cool fully and chill for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, before slicing.
60 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 400 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sernik take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of cold butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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