ZAPEKANKA IZ TVOROGA Baked Cheesecake

I love a baked cheesecake .
A cheesecake that is a cake and flavoured with preserved peel , raisins and lemon .
Try sliced baked cheesecake served with strong black tea ( I`m talking really strong ) sweetened with cherry jam , gooseberry jam or whole strawberry jam , an ancient Russian tradition .

Preheat your oven to 180deg C
Grease an 8" spring form round pan and dust the inside with 3 tbs of fine white breadcrumbs .
Separate 4 egg yolks from the whites into separate bowls .

Add 100gm of candied peel to the egg yolks along with
500gm of ricotta cheese
90 gm of castor sugar
50gm of raisins
The grated rind of 1 lemon
3 tbs of semolina powder.
Mix well.

Whisk the egg whites till stiff and they hold their shape .
Spoon into cheese mix and combine well.

Place the mixture into the pan and cook for 40 minutes ...
If cake top starts to darken place a sheet of baking paper over the pan and continue cooking.

Let the cake cool in the tin .
Take care when removing .
Place on a serving plate and dust with sifted icing sugar.
Serve with sour cream and fresh berries .  (fresh whipped cream  optional  )

For a smooth , denser texture use cream cheese in place of ricotta .

 CREAM CHEESE

RICOTTA CHEESE