In my first Shavuot with Ami, I introduced to you the European cheesecake. Last year was the year of Kaas Potjes. Was this year going to go by without some European specialty? Of course not! Let me present to you this delicious cake, made with farmer cheese (read: not as fattening) and yet so creamy and good. I received this fantastic recipe from my sister-in-law; she received it from her friend Leah, who grew up in Antwerp. The recipe is her mother’s, so thank you, Mrs. Debby Zimmer, for sharing this delicious treat with me and all of AmiLiving’s readers. This cheesecake is relatively quick and easy but does not skimp on taste or beauty. A bit less sweet than the average American cream-cheese classic, it is perfect served with berry syrup or chocolate shavings.
For more delicious cheesecakes like this one, see our post The Ultimate Cheesecake Roundup.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a food processor fitted with the knife blade, pulse all the tea biscuits into crumbs. Add melted butter and mix.
Divide crumbs between two springform pans (I use two 9-inch pans) and press down to form an even crust.
Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix until smooth and no lumps are visible, stopping to scrape down sides if needed.
Divide cheese batter between the two pans. Bake for 45 minutes.
Turn oven off (do not open) and leave cakes inside to cool for at least 4 hours. (I baked the cakes right before going to sleep and let them cool in the oven overnight.)
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for 2 minutes until creamy but still a bit runny. Spread over both cakes, smoothing the tops with an offset spatula. Freeze.
To remove the cake from the pan, first run a sharp knife around the cake. Let cake thaw before serving.
Notes:
Yield: 2 (9-inch) cakes. Feel free to halve the recipe.
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You can get farmer cheese in israel. You can order it in bulk its called gvina hakchasha, I think. The number to order is 054-741-2729
This was in the 'freeze ahead' article - can cheesecake be frozen ahead of time? How does it not get watery when defrosted?
Yes! Cheesecake freezes beautifully! I've ordered cheesecake from fancy bakeries and they actually come frozen :)
Waterbath? How does it stay so white without using a waterbath? Usually if no waterbath is used the sides and top brown pretty quickly
Hi! This cheesecake doesn't have cream cheese in it and it's a little different than a standard recipe, that may be why they say it doesn't need a water bath. If you are concerned I am sure you could still bake it in a water bath.
Cheese Subsitutes What is a good subsitute for farmer cheese or cream cheese in Israel? Also what can I subsitute for greek yogurt?
I'm almost sure that gvina levana is a watery version of farmer cheese. I know someone who puts it into a pouch formed of (obviously clean) fabric, and then hangs it over the sink for a few hours in order to drain it of the moisture. She does the same with shamenet in order to get cream cheese. Or you can do what I do: buy gvinat shamenet-that's the israely version of cream cheese. Good luck!
There is a cheese by Tara dairy called TuvTa'am. It is 3% fat. It comes wrapped in a paper wrapping inside a cellophane wrap. It can be found usually in the larger stores such as Yesh, Osher Ad and Rammy Levi, etc. It is perfect for this type of cheese cake. I personally would not recommend the regular white soft cheese, even after draining as it is still too wet. (You could look for the Tuv Ta'am in your local makolet, but the smaller ones tend to carry it around Shavuot, but it is worth a try). As Bassie recommended, there are a number of types of cream cheese on the market.
My friend Brynie Greisman says "There actually is farmer cheese - but don't laugh - it's mostly available
around Shavuos time. It comes wrapped in "paper" and then in a plastic
bag/weighing approx. 8 oz. I've seen it around other times too. It's made by
Tara I think. Cream cheese is available here in diff. fat %. I often don't
use that and use quark cheese either as is or drained. Works like a charm.
Greek Yogurt is now available here too - with 7% fat . Today I bought 0% fat
flavored green yogurt from Gevina, imported, and it cost about 8 shekel for
ONE YOGURT!!!!! That's over $2. Then again so are cheese danishes and
chocolate expensive! So when I'm really watching (as in Erev Chasunah) I
treat myself to those!!!!!! It's called "Tuv Taam". A good sub for the Greek yogurt bc it has TONS of protein and is very thick is Danuna (name of company) Pro. It comes in plain in diff fat % plus flavored
substitute for leben? i live in Israel, what can I use for vanilla leben?
A vanilla yogurt should be good.
Tenuva puts out a vanilla "pudding" called " Dani". It is basically a vanilla leben. There is also a vanilla and french vanilla Yoplait that would do just fine. The other dairy's put out vanilla puddings and yogurt, but the names have skipped my mind. As Chaia suggested the yogurt would be fine.
There is vanilla leben from Tenuva called Gila b'taam vanil. this is vanilla leben-no need to subsitute with anything.