COTTAGE CHEESE SPONGE CAKE

Smiltenes Piens in cooperation with cookbook author Signe Meirāne has prepared a great surprise for Patriots' Week - a recipe for cottage cheese sponge cake! "When we moved to Riga, we had to scrimp and save! Whenever we could afford it, we made cottage cheese sponge cake (with store-bought sponge, oh my god!...). Sponge, cottage cheese cream and everything. This time I've added jam, other options and a home-made classic sponge made by my nana’s neighbour. The amount of sugar in the cream will determine how sweet the cake will be, and I put the smallest amount because the jam is also sweet", says Signe Meirāne.

Ingredients

For sponge

6 eggs
120g light brown sugar
1/2 tonka beans
1/2 peel of an organically grown lemon
70g wheat flour
50g potato starch
pinch of sea salt

For filling

300g Smiltenes piens full-fat cottage cheese 9%
30g Smiltenes piens butter, room temperature
400ml Smiltenes piens heavy cream
40-80g white sugar
3 slabs of gelatine

Preparation

Sponge:
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Line three pans 21 cm in diameter with baking paper and butter and flour the sides. Mix the flour with the potato starch and salt. In one bowl, whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar, the tonka bean and lemon until the mixture has tripled in size (6-7 minutes). When the yolks are done whisking, wash and wipe the whisks WELL and whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar. Fold the flour into the yolks and beat in the egg whites in three additions. Pour into the tins, three at a time, and bake for 13-15 minutes. If you have one tin, put in the first part, bake, remove and put in the next. Alternatively, bake the whole thing as one biscuit (23-26 min) and then cut into three.

Filling:
Rub the Smiltene Piens cottage cheese through a sieve. Dip the gelatine slabs and keep according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Whip the heavy cream from Smiltene Piens with the sugar to a stiff but firm foam. Stir the Smiltene Piens heavy cream into the cottage cheese, alternating with the Smiltene Piens butter. Stir in the gelatine. The mixture should harden slightly. Choose a jam, some 200 grams – in autumn you can choose orange, if you want to remember summer then add strawberry or raspberry, or candied orange in cream. Spread the cream and jam in the middle of the sponge and the cream around and on top. Place the sponge on top and spread the next layer in the same way. Place a third sponge on top and spread the cream around. Decorate as you wish and with whatever suits the season.

Preparation process

End result