Farm cheesecake (alsace)

1 tart

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
160 grams All-purpose flour do not use unbleached
105 grams Unsalted butter; chilled and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons Sugar
⅛ teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Ice water
2 cups Small-curd cottage cheese
2 cups Whole-milk yogurt
3 larges Eggs
2 tablespoons Creme fraiche or heavy cream
½ cup Sugar Patricia Wells, Bistro cooking, 1992 ISBN 0 09 992340 8 typed by Rene Gagnaux

Directions

FLAKY SWEET PASTRY

CHEESECAKE

CREDITS

(160 g all-purpose flour = 1⅛ cup; 105 g butter = 7 tb) Tarte au fromage blanc ferme d'Alsace.

The day before or on the morning of the day you plan to serve the cheesecake, combine the cottage cheese and yoghurt in a food processor. Puree. Transfer the mixture to a large sieve lined with dampened cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Drain at room temperature for 6 to 24 hours, until the mixture is very dry and firm. It is ready to use when no more liquid drips from the sieve.

Pastry: place the flour, the butter, sugar and salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture ressembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water and pulse just until the pastry begins to hold together, about 6 to 8 times. Do not let it form a ball. Transfer the pastry to waxed paper; flatten the dough into a disk. If the dough seems too sticky, sprinkle it with additional flour, incorporating one tablespoon at a time. Wrap the pastry in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Cheese cake: on a lightly floured surface, carefully roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a 10 ½ inch springform pan, lining the bottom and bringing the pastry halfway up teh sides of the pan. Carefully press the pastry into the pan and up the side, trying not to stretch it. Trim neatly with a knife. Prick the bottom of the shell with the tines of a fork. Chill for at least 20 minutes, or wrap well and chill for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 oF (190 oC).

Line the shell loosely with heavy-duty foil, pressing well into the edges so the oastry does not shrink while baking. Fill with pie weights, or dry rice or beans - making sure you get all the way into the edges - to prevent shrinkage. Bake just until the pastry begins to brown around the edges and seems firm enough to stand up by itself, about 20 minutes.

Remove the weights and foil and continue baking until lightly browned all over, about 10 more minutes. Watch the pastry carefully, for ovens vary tremendously and pastry can brown very quickly. Cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before filling. Leave the oven on.

While the pastry is baking, transfer the drained cheese mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the creme fraiche and sugar until well blended.

Pour the mixture into the cooled pastry shell. Bake until firm in the center, from 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack. Unmold and serve at room temperature.

Submitted By RENE GAGNAUX On 06-28-95

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