Filipino cheesecake
Last year I posted my lola's holiday cheesecake recipe. She makes that one twice a year, at most.
This year I'm posting her typical one. Unless you have a lola like mine, this is definitely not your grandmother's Shavuot cheesecake.
I still remember when I was five, watching her make it. It's unlike any other cheesecake I've had. Instead of a crust filled with sweetened, flavored and whipped cream cheese, this one is a cake. (Okay, technically it's a quickbread because of the ratios.)
For the longest time I wondered how she made it--it's impossibly dense but still airy, and rich-tasting without actually being rich. She uses Bisquick, cream cheese, and butter, and stirs it with a wooden spoon. It turns out much airier when she uses mascarpone instead of cream cheese.
In a feeble attempt to mimic my grandmother, I present a version made from scratch.
Filipino cheesecake
Dry ingredients:
2 c flour
1 c sugar (my lola will use 1/2 c or less--"This one is not too sweet--I used half the sugar.")
2 t salt
1 T baking powder
Wet ingredients:
1 c (2 sticks) of butter, softened. Use the real stuff for the best flavor.
2 c milk
4 eggs
4oz cream cheese, softened
For the center:
4oz cream cheese, cut into cubes
Modification: If you're using mascarpone instead of cream cheese, use 4oz mascarpone instead of the cream cheese and halve the milk. Omit the center cream cheese cubes, if you like.
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 8" or 9" cake pan. A stoneware pan browns most evenly, and keeps it nice and warm longer.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Blend the wet ingredients together until smooth in another bowl.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ingredients until incorporated. Do not overmix. The batter should resemble thick pancake batter or banana bread batter.
5. Pour batter into the cake pan. Drop the cream cheese cubes around the center. They'll sink in a little.
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. It should have a nice golden brown crust on the top and sides. Let it sit for a minute outside the oven to firm up.
Serve hot. We used to spray it with a little melted butter, but there's really no need for it.
Enjoy! It serves around 8-10 people.
Christina
