Sernik – Simple Version

• At the end of 2020 I looked at the statistics for my blog.
• I found that over the five and a half years  – sernik – baked cheesecake is my most looked at post and has been for a few years.
• As today is The Epiphany – The Three Kings – I thought another version of a Polish Classic would be good.
• Recently I got this recipe from my cousin in Wembley.
• This is  a simple version – not very different from my mama’s but does not have any added butter or soured cream.
• The original recipe was on a packet of bought twaróg.
• The original recipe used 1 kilogram of  twaróg and as you can imagine it was large!
• I have cut down the amount of ingredients to make a more manageable sernik.
• I have adjusted some of the other ingredients as my own yoghourt cheese is always a little “wetter” than the bought twaróg.
• There is no cake base at all in this recipe – but of course you can add one.
• Be aware that the cake rises and then collapses on cooling.

Royal Grafton – Woodside – 1940-1959

Ingredients

• 500g twaróg – yoghurt cheese or cream cheese
• 4 eggs separated
• 140g icing sugar & 2 tablespoons & extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon of semolina
• 2 tablespoons of potato flour (cornflour should be okay)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence or rum

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to GM3 – 160°C
• Use a cake liner to line a loose bottomed 20cm or 22cm cake tin.
• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is pale and creamy.
• Add the twaróg or yoghurt cheese and the vanilla essence or rum and whisk all together.
• Fold in the semolina and the potato flour.
• In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites till they are stiff.
• Add the 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and whisk again till stiff.
• Fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
• Spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin.
• Bake in the oven for  60 – 70 minutes.
• Check earlier and cover if it is starting to catch.
• When the cake is ready switch off the oven and leave it in there for at least 40 minutes.
• Take out the cake to cool in the tin.
• Once it is cold – take the cake out of the tin by loosening the outer ring or placing the cake tin with the loose bottom on a tin can and sliding the cake tin down.
  *
• Dust the cake with icing sugar before serving.
• *
• I think this cake is best made the day before you want to serve it – so it is well cooled and set.

Options

• You can use this basic mix with a number of variations:
• Chocolate drizzle on top.
• Mixed peel added to the mixture.
• Different cake bases.
• Fruit in thickened syrups served with it.
• and so on ….

Served on a Vintage glass cake stand and Paragon – hand painted tea plates with a sauce made from thinned down raspberry jam.