Zwieback AWOL. Still Looking for the Cheesecake of My Dreams...
I'm looking for the cheesecake of my youth, dense, not creamy, and with absolutely no graham crackers! Al Dente reader Marcy and I both had high hopes for a circa 1961 Craig Claiborne's Cheesecake recipe that she found the New York Times that she found. It calls for cottage cheese instead of cream cheese and uses zwieback for its razor-thin crust instead of graham crackers.
I had planned to try this recipe, or rather have my husband, the cheesecake enthusiast, try it last week, but finding zwieback, a crisp, twice-baked biscuit, proved impossible. With zwieback AWOL, I needed a substitute, and I spent all last week looking for it. My first thought was biscotti, the twice-baked Italian biscuit, but all the biscotti I came across had strong nutty flavor, which I thought would be overpowering in the cheesecake. I scanned the cookie aisle and finally settled on some crispy Italian ladyfingers. Not the perfect substitute, but I didn't want to wait any longer to try this recipe.
In the end, the results were disappointing. The cheesecake was watery, perhaps the cottage cheese should have been drained. The lemon juice and rind was overpowering. I'm still looking for my ideal recipe. Any suggestions for the cheesecake of my dreams?
Cottage Cheese Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 6-ounce package zwieback
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 pounds cottage cheese
1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sour cream
Rind and juice of one lemon
Strawberry glaze (see below)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Roll zwieback into fine crumbs. Grease a nine inch spring form pan and dust the sides with zwieback crumbs. Mix the remaining crumbs with the one quarter cup of sugar and the butter and press onto bottom of the pan. Bake five minutes. Cool.
2. Press the cottage cheese through a fine sieve. Add half the remaining sugar, the flour, salt, egg yolks, sour cream, lemon rind and juice. Whip until thoroughly blended.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff, adding the remaining sugar gradually. Fold into cheese mixture.
Turn the mixture into prepared pan, bake at 325 degrees F about 1-1/2 hours. Cool in pan and glaze as directed.
Strawberry Glaze
Ingredients:
1 quart strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon butter
Directions:
1. Wash and hull berries. Crush enough berries to make one half cup.
2. Boil the crushed berries, sugar, water, and cornstarch two minutes, stirring. Add the butter, strain and cool.
3. Arrange the whole berries over the top of the cheesecake and pour the glaze over the berries. Chill.
--Tracy Schneider
DrGaellon on November 09, 2009 at 04:07 AM
You might find zwieback with the baby food; they're often used as teething biscuits. You could also try Social Tea cookies, which are much the same.
soozzie on November 09, 2009 at 08:21 AM
You might try animal crackers; seems to me America's Test Kitchen decided they were the best crust for cheesecake.
Jon on November 09, 2009 at 08:58 AM
I saw your previous post and forgot to reply. "I think we're looking for a recipe that calls for farmer cheese, a dry cottage cheese that I remember eating occasionally as a child. I haven't seen it in years." Your mention of not draining the cottage cheese jogged my memory.
The farmer cheese you seek is really just pressed/strained cottage cheese. If your local market doesn't have it, you can make your own with some cheesecloth, a strainer, and some time in the refrigerator. Add a small press (weight) on top if you want to really dry it out. Mixing it with buttermilk cheese is a good way to vary the flavor of the cheesecake.
(I recently tried some "queso fresco" from a local Mexican market and thought it might make an interesting cheesecake base. It is a little salty, but it might be manageable. I'll let you know if I try it!)
Becky on November 09, 2009 at 10:27 AM
I always find zwieback toast in the baby aisle next to the arrowroot cookies and teething biscuits.
Judy on November 09, 2009 at 11:21 AM
You always use baker's cheese which can be found in stores. We had to go to the dairy to get it when I was a kid.
Julia Mack on November 09, 2009 at 11:25 AM
This cheesecake is more creamy than you are looking for but I'm sure you'll love the crust. It is from the "Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook" and the topping I always make for it is from a restaurant called Maldonado's.
Deluxe Baked Cheesecake
3/4 cup butter, softened
all-purpose flour
sugar
3 egg yolks
grated peel of 2 lemons
5 8oz. packages cream cheese
5 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
sour cream garnish if not making the topping
With electric mixer at low speed beat butter, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar and half the lemon peel until dough is well mixed. Refrigerate, covered at least one hour. Preheat oven to 400F. (I roll the dough in a log shape and slice it off and press the discs in place) Press 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake 8 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool. Turn oven to 475F. In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese till smooth, slowly add 1 3/4 cup sugar, beat till smooth. Lower speed and add 3 tablespoons flour and all remaining ingredients but sour cream. Beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Press the rest of the dough to within 1 inch of the top of the pan and add cheese mixture. Bake 12 minutes then turn oven down to 300F. and bake 35 minutes. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in 30 minutes more. Remove from oven, cool in pan on rack then chill. Garnish with sour cream or topping of your choice.
Maldonado's Apricot Topping for Cheesecake
3 (8 3/4 oz.) cans apricot halves
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups apricot-pineapple preserves, about
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
1 New York style cheesecake
Drain apricots and reserve liquid. Heat butter in skillet till it begins to bubble. Add drained apricot halves in a single layer. Saute about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add sugar and reserved apricot liquid to skillet and simmer till reduced by half. Add cinnamon and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in about 1 cup apricot-pineapple preserves. Stir in Grand Marnier. (I add half a pack of dissolved gelatin at this point). Cool. If too thick to spread add warm water and if too thin more preserves. Spread a thin layer of this mixture over the cheesecake then arrange the apricot halves cut side down starting with 3 in the middle in a spiral over the cheesecake. Spoon the mixture over the apricots and chill. Left-overs are great on toast.
CakeSpy on November 09, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Have you tried the baby food aisle at your grocery store? That's where I often find zwieback.
Lori Ann Christina on November 09, 2009 at 05:21 PM
It utilizes a Sponge cake for crust/ base and it may be too creamy for you but I swear by the Junior's Cheese Cake recipe. Or you could always try an old fashioned Italian Cheesecake made with ricotta its much drier and doesnt use graham crackers for crust either normally
managed hosting on November 10, 2009 at 04:49 AM
Ooh so delicious. I really can't resist it. I want it now. So tasty it is!!!