Saturday, February 13, 2010

Zapekanka

I’m having problems with zapekanka. It’s a kind of Russian cheesecake made from curd cheese (also called farmer's cheese or tvorog in Russian; see my recipe here). I’ve played with recipes from old Russian cookbooks, the kind that don’t have precise measurements or baking times. Normally this isn’t a problem—I never measure ingredients and substitute them at will. This works pretty well for me, except, of course, when baking. It doesn’t help that farmer’s cheese is a soggy ingredient, so some guidelines come in handy here.

Unfortunately there aren’t too many zapekanka recipes out there—this one, by a Russian-born food blogger, is probably the closest to what I’m looking for. I’ve always thought of zapekanka as a breakfast food or a light dinner, not dessert, however. Anyway, I had some leftover curd cheese last week, and I improvised this recipe:

1.5 cups curd cheese mixed with a bit less than ¼ cup sugar, ½ tsp. vanilla extract, 3 tbs. flour, ½ tsp. baking powder and an egg yolk. The egg white was beaten until peaks formed and added to the rest of the ingredients. I also tossed in some raisins (any kind of dried fruit works well in a zapekanka). I baked the whole thing in a buttered, 9-inch pan at 370 degrees for about 45 minutes. The final product was beautifully golden and airy, although it quickly sank once it left the oven. It was also a bit soggy and too sweet, just like two previous attempts.

So, readers, any advice for making a successful zapekanka? Recipes in Russian are welcome. (I don't usually search online in Russian because I can't read it as fast as English--blame first language attrition.)

16 comments:

Lo said...

I've never had zepekanka, so I'm completely pulling at straws here. But, do you suppose it would help to drain the farmer's cheese?

kcmeesha said...

I kinda like mine overly sweet and eat it as dessert but the ones I tried were pretty dense a la cheescake. This recipe wants it to rise but what's there besides few spoons of flower to hold it up. Also it has way too many ingredients. I will look for the recipe when I get home in a few days but the first commenter is right the cheese shouldn't be very moist,try hanging it in a cheesecloth overnight.

i said...

Mmmm... is it possible there's a Polish version of this? Made with a bit of orange zest? Because a Polish friend made something like that, and it was yummy.

i said...

PS. "Sigh" on the first language attrition thing.

Anonymous said...

You might want to try lowering the temperature of the oven i.e., 350C and cooking for longer - up to 60 mins.??? (from your pic it looks over cooked)

Katrina@Around the world in 80 markets, and more.. said...

oh, zapekanka, lots and lots of memories of my childhood lunches in kindergarden. we used to have it with kisel - gloopy and stodgy but zapekanka underneath was worth scraping through!

Yulinka, I know I owe you at least one recipe already! I'll look this one up as well and let you know..

Iris said...

I've added cream of wheat (farina?) and haven't had a problem with it being too moist.

Mrs. M. said...

Lo-My farmer's cheese isn't all that soggy, but it might help.

M.V.-Yes, please share your recipe. Most old recipes I've seen called for 5-6 ingredients...I did substitute regular flour for the cream of wheat that's normally used in zapekanka.

Irina-I'm sure there's a Polish version. An an Estonian one--I remember seeing a similar recipe on the Nami-Nami blog.

Anon--I will try a different temperature. My zapekanka wasn't overbaked, just soggy, though.

Katrina--Thanks! I'll pass on the kissel', but I love zapekanka with jam.

Iris-Cream of wheat is a good idea. I think it'll work better than flour here.

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...

There really is such a thing as first language attrition? I thought one always stayed fluent in their native language.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the recipe you were asking about. :-)

Mrs. M. said...

Michael--Unfortunately, first language attrition is real. If you don't use a language, you lose it. It's not that you suddenly stop understanding it, but your skills deteriorate over time.

kcmeesha said...

Finally had a chance to look it up, russian version is here http://gotovim-doma.ru/view.php?r=123-recept-Tvorozhnaia-zapekanka

Farmer's Cheese/Tvorog-500g=1.1 lbs;
1 egg;sugar-3 tbsp;sour cream - 3 tbsp;
cream of wheat/semolina -2 tbsp;raisins = 100g (3-5 oz);vanilla or vanilla sugar.in the absense of meat grinder (I have it :-))try to rid the cheese off small lumps (food processor maybe),add 2 tbsp of melted butter,egg whipped with sugar,cream of wheat,1/2 tsp of salt,vanilla. mix thoroughly and add raisins. place into a greased and covered with bread crumbs baking dish,smooth out the surface, spread sour cream on top and sprinkle with leftover melted butter. bake for 25-30 min at 355F.looks like this recipe has plenty of positivie comments

rcakewalk said...

I know Lo and I think alike when that was going to be my comment... This looks like a recipe with potential...and for some reason reminds me of the sweet/savory noodle kugel, one of my favorite things. M.V. 's recipe looks good, too. I hope you'll have an update when you perfect it!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't think American farmer's cheese is exactly the same consistency as tvorog or quark (which is the name I know it under), so draining it would probably help.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_%28cheese%29

You can get quark at specialty delis here in the US, but it's not very common. Maybe ricotta would work?

Mrs. M. said...

Elmey-I think I've tried quark in Europe, but it has a very different consistency. It's like whipped cream cheese. Ricotta would work in this type of cheese cake, but it has quite a different flavor.

Anonymous said...

i make my own tvorog (about 5 lbs every 2 weeks). The first three days we mostly eat it fresh with fresh raspberries and a drizle of honey and i give my children to take to their home about 1 lbs each. What is left goes to blinces, vatruzkas, danishes, etc. If i plan to do zpekanka or to use it in the nodle coogel, then i cook my yogurt longer to get not too soft tvorog. In zapekanka (using my tworog) i do not need to add buter or sourcream, because i do my tvorog from a fermented full fat milk. I have never exactly mesured any thing for zapekanka but i do add salt, sugar (not much, because i serve it with honey), 1 TBL sp self rizing flour (or all purp. fl with 1/2 tea sp of baking powder or soda) and 3 TBL spoons of cream of weat for about 2.5 lbs of tvorog + 2 egg yoks and a little vanila extract. I bake at 350 F until ready.
i save the egg whites for Kiev Tort. --Lera

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