Cheesecake Recipe, I Made a Deal!

Tonight is the Shavuot holiday when many Jews eat dairy foods.  For some people having cheesecake and blintzes is a requirement like the matzah and four cups of wine at the Passover Seder.

just an illustration, credit

A neighbor had been tempting me about how irresistible her cheesecake is.  Honestly, I'm not into baking cheesecake.  I used to make one which I got from my blender's cookbook, but the blender-a gift from my in-laws in 1972- has long died.  Also, it's just my husband and I living at home.  We're expecting one guest for one meal; the other meal we're eating at neighbors.  So, considering that neither of us need tempting calorie-laden food in the house, the idea of baking a super delicious cheesecake is... not on the menu.

My neighbor even sent me the recipe, which requires beating egg whites. 

Cheesecake recipe:
1) 2 yolks
1/4 margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
Mix and put in oven for 10 minutes 180C - 200C
2) 500gm 5% white cheese
2 yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 sugar vanilla
+ beaten 4 egg whites
Pour #2 onto #1 and put into oven for 30 minutes 125C -150C
Finish: 2 sour creams + 1/4 cup sugar
Pour on top and another 10 minutes in oven. Leave until getting cold in oven.

When I bake a cake I do it simply, like with a bowl and a spoon.  My mixer is with the blender in kitchen gadget heaven, yes, along with the old-fashioned hand eggbeater.  I did find a whisk in the draw, which one of my sons had once bought to use before he rented his own place, but I just can't imagine straining my arm muscles just to get those egg whites all white and fluffy.

So, I made her an offer she couldn't refuse. 

"I'll give you a small disposable baking pan.  You make me a small cheesecake, and then within the next couple of weeks, I'll make you vegetable soup."

Of course she agreed, Baruch Hashem, she and her husband love my vegetable soups.

Chag Sameach, everyone.  Have a wonderful holiday, and if you try my friend's recipe, please let me know. She says it's a "TNT," always works.

Cottage Cheese Cheesecake

When our firstborn was almost a year old, my in-laws came to visit and meet their first grandchild.  They brought a gift, a blender, a Hamilton Beach one which lasted decades.  The blender came with a nice big cookbook, which I read from cover to cover.

I must admit that I cooked very few of those recipes.  The one I cooked the most was its cheesecake.  And this morning I got a facebook message from an old friend asking if I still make it and a request for the recipe.  So if she remembers it fondly from over thirty-five, yes 35, years ago, it's definitely worth blogging.

In those days we didn't have great varieties of food here in Israel.  We always had to substitute, so I used plain cookies/biscuits instead of the zweibacks, the book lists.  Honestly, to this day, I haven't the vaguest idea what zweibacks are.

It's a very easy cheesecake recipe using easy to find ingredients.  It's simple to make and make lower fat if desired.  I'm sure it'll taste fine with arificial sweetners, too.  You can add cut fruit and anything else, including chocolate.  Recipes are supposed to be "played with."  Please let me know how it comes out.

Here's the recipe, including commentary:

18 "zweiback"
2 Tablespoons sugar (could be deleted, makes the topping too sweet) 
1/3 cup melted butter (I must have used about 2 or 3 cubed inches)
1 cup milk
1 T lemon juice, which was awful, so I used vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
2 T flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I never add salt to cakes, so you can leave it out)
lemon rind, optional and not recommended
16 ounces of cottage cheese

1. blend the cookies into crumbs, making 1 1/2 cups
2. mix crumbs with the 2 T's of sugar and the melted butter
3. press just under half of it on the bottom of a 9x9x2 or 8" round baking pan
4. put remaining ingredients in blender, in order listed, and blend until smooth
5. pour into baking pan
6. spread remaining crumb mixture, actually, I used to just make less crumbs and only use them on the bottom.  You can reduce the calories enormously by eliminating the topping, or top without bottom crumbs.
7. bake until center is firm, temperature a drop less than for a regular cake.