Emma's Käsekuchen
(Cheesecake)

This is my grandmother Emma's original recipe probably over 100 years old. This recipe used old fashioned
cottage cheese which are dry curds. You can also rinse the cream off of the curds to get the same effect, also use the creamy cottage cheese and omit half of the cream. The Käsekuchen wont be quite as creamy.A third option is to substitute ricotta cheese Though my family prefers to rinse the curds and use them.

Also my grandmother had no temperature gauge on her wood stove and so she use to close a piece of paper in the oven door give it a few seconds and see how brown it was to determine how hot the oven was.

So you may have to adjust your oven down a bit as 375 degrees was the temperature given on this 100 year old recipe.

Ingredients:

CRUST
For 9 or 10-inch Spring form pan
1½ cups flour
2 large eggs
1 thick slab off a roll of butter (about 1 stick,1/4 lb.)
Pinch of baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
A little lemon rind 1/2 teaspoon ( about 1/4 of a lemon)

You can use 2 store bought crusts as well if you want.

FILLING:
*1 cup cottage cheese curds
(Rinse the curds of creamed cottage cheese if you can't find the curds)
mixed or put through strainer to make a smooth paste
1 teaspoon of flour mix into the cheese
1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
5 large stiffly-beaten whites

1 / 2 pint cream. or you can use cream cheese , sour cream or a combination.
Slice in a few almonds very fine ( optional)
Some juice of lemon

(optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (to sprinkle on top of the crust)

*You can also use ricotta cheese

 

1. In a non reactive large bowl add your eggs and softened butter grate the lemon into the batter
2. Add the dry ingredients for the crust and mix, till it forms a dough. Do not over mix.
3. Press the crust into the pie pan, or in this case a 9 inch spring form pan.

4. Rinse the cottage cheese and shake as much moisture out of it as you can.Mush the curds, either in a food processor or put through a sieve of some sort to make creamy. This gives a smooth but still some texture of cottage cheese. Otherwise we would just use cream cheese.

5. On with the filling. In the upper left bowl we have mixed the egg yolks, cream, flour and lemon juice, sugar and cheese.
In the upper right bowl there is the stiff beaten egg whites.
In the lower pan is the crust.

6. Fold the egg whites into the egg mixture till smooth

7. Pour the filling into the crust.
I place the spring form pan on cookie sheet covered with foil.
If there is any overflow it will catch it, and it also keeps the direct heat from the oven element from burning the crust.
Depending on your oven bake it in a 350 to 375 degree oven for approximately an hour. You can also turn down the oven 50 degrees half way through the baking, if it looks as if it is getting too brown.
You can also sprinkle cinnamon and chopped almonds on top if you like.

Here is a side look at a slice. The crust rises a little because of the egg,
and holds the delicate filling of the Käsekuchen better. We served this
with peach sauce and whipped cream (not included in nutritional info)

Peach Sauce
simmer for 20 minutes a puree of 2 fresh peeled peaches sliced
or 1-14 oz can with 1 vanilla bean, 4 allspice berries ( or 1 /2 teaspoon ground allspice)
1 teaspoon powdered ginger and sweeten to taste with 1 or more tablespoons of sugar.
Strain and serve.