One of the most popular cakes in Poland is sernik, serowiec or cheesecake. There are endless variations, but a typical Polish cheesecake is made with twaróg (a curd cheese) and bakalie (dried fruits and nuts).
If you’re living in Ireland, you can find twaróg in any Polish shop, or even in Tesco or Fresh. It comes with different fat content – full fat, half fat, and non-fat. For cheesecakes, the best one is full fat. In the US, farmers cheese or ricotta, processed until very smooth, is a good substitute.
To use twaróg in cheesecake, you need to grind it two to three times in a meat grinder to make it smoother. You can also find pre-ground cheese in shops, but be careful because some of these products add butter, sugar, and other extras you don’t really want.
Bakalie is the word I miss so much. It’s a mix of raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, candied orange zest, dry apricots, and plums. There are no rules on proportions; it’s always to your liking. So, it’s a very useful word – you mention adding a handful of bakalie into a cake or muffins, and you don’t have to list everything.
My mum loves cheesecake with a big amount of raisins. As a child I always removed them, now I can take it, but if I am one to decide what to add, I will go for candied orange zest and almonds.
Anyway, this cheesecake is really delicious — moist and rich, very festive. Like all cheesecakes, it has a tendency to lower itself after cooling down, but it is typical and tastes delicious anyway, so don’t worry. So come on, try it. It is worth it!
Other cheesecakes you may like:
Traditional Polish Cheesecake (Sernik)
Ingredients
* 3 cups (650 grams) farmers cheese or ricotta, finely processed, if you have access to Polish produce buy full fat twarog
* 5 large eggs, separated
* 1 cup (225 grams) granulated sugar
* 3 Tbsp semolina flour (Polish – kasza manna)
* 8 teaspoons (20 grams) instant vanilla pudding mix
* 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup your favorite dried fruits (raisins or candied orange peel)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C).
- Beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add the cheese, beating until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and creamy. Add to the cheese mixture and mix until just combined.
- Add the semolina flour, pudding mix, and vanilla extract to the cheese mixture. Mix until just combined.
- In a bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold whipped cream, beaten egg whites, and dried fruits into the cheese mixture.
- Grease a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for about 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the center is just set.
- Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar for about 1-2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight.
- Decorate as desired. Keep refrigerated for up to 5-7 days. Slice with a thin, sharp knife and enjoy!
Tried this traditional Polish cheesecake? Share your baking stories or photos in the comments – I’d love to see how your sernik turned out!
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