Grated Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake
Servings: 10
Equipment
- (8-9 inch baking pan , or a square pan)
Ingredients
Chocolate Layer
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided in half 113 grams
- 1/3 cup dutch-cocao powder 35 grams
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour 245 grams
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar 80 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt, pinch of salt
- 1 egg yolk keep egg white for the filling
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp water
Cheese Layer
- 2 cups farmer's cheese/ricotta* 380 grams (*see notes)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar 90 grams
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, about a half of lemon
Instructions
Chocolate Dough
- Use an 8 to 9-inch tart pan, or a square pan. This cake works well cut into bars, too.
- Spray the pan with a nonstick spray.
- Melt half of the butter (1/4 cup, 57 grams) until hot. Into melted hot butter, sift Dutch cocoa powder (1/3 cup, 35 grams). Whisk well, till combined, cover well with food wrap, and allow to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Prepare the chocolate dough: Using the same food processor bowl from the cheese filling, pulse the flour (1¾ cups / 245 g), powdered sugar (2/3 cup / 80 g), baking powder (1 tsp), and salt (⅛ tsp) until combined. Add the remaining butter (¼ cup / 57 g) and process until evenly incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse sand. Whisk 1 egg yolk, Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon), and water (1 tablespoon), and pour it into the coarse mixture along with cooled bloomed cocoa powder. Pulse until combined. Gather cookie dough into a disk. Wrap well and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the Oven
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
Cheese Filling
- In a food processor, process farmer's cheese (2 cups, 380 grams), powdered sugar (3/4 cup, 90 grams), 2 egg yolks, Vanilla Extract (1/2 teaspoon), lemon zest, and lemon juice (half a lemon) until well combined.
- In a clean bowl, beat 2 egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice or a pinch of cream of tartar. Beat until firm peaks are formed. Don't overbeat. Gradually fold the meringue into the cheese filling.
Fill Cake Pan
- Grate half of the chocolate dough directly into the prepared pan, making sure to cover the bottom, without the bottom of the pan peeking through.
- Spread the cheese filling on the top of the grated dough in the pan.
- Grate the remaining chocolate dough over the cheese filling.
Bake
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350℉/180℃ for 25-30 minutes.
- Cool slightly and then carefully remove it from the pan. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
*Can I use ricotta instead of farmer's cheese? - Yes, you can use ricotta. If watery, drain ricotta to remove excess liquid. Allow 1-2 hours to drain.
What to do if the cookie dough is not coming together? - use 1-2 teaspoons of milk