Christmas Poppy Seed Cheesecake
Two most popular Polish Christmas cakes in one, Makowiec (poppy seed cake) and baked Cheesecake, known as Sernik. The sweet and crispy pastry on the bottom with a layer of poppy seed paste mixed with candied fruits, and a beautiful thick layer of soft cheese. Believe me when I say it’s the best out of both worlds.
This cake is perfect for the festive season as it’s really dense and holds for a long time, no need to keep it in a fridge, a cooler place in your home will be enough, by the window or in a basement (as my mum does).
To be honest, it’s so delicious that I believe it will disappear quite quickly, to be honest. 😊
You might think that all of this sounds really complicated and time-consuming. Don’t worry, in this recipe, we will use ready poppy seed paste and soft cheese. As a kid, I remember triturating poppy seeds in a large, heavy ceramic bowl with a wooden stick for ages, and as I was doing it I was always wondering why as I was not a big fan of Makowiec back then. Where to find poppy seed paste and soft cheese for this cake? Well, you already know that I will send you to your local polish deli. I found that in one near me, they always stock on those two items, but I believe that just before Christmas other polish shops will have it too. You are looking for a 1kg bucket of soft cheese for cheesecake and a big tin with poppy seed paste. I usually use brands like Piatnica for cheese and Bakalland for poppy seed paste.
Christmas Poppy Seed Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1.5 cup Plain Flour
- 0.5 cup Icing Sugar
- 125 g Cold Butter
- 1 Egg Yolk
Poppy seed layer
- 420 g Bakalland Poppy Seed Paste
- 2 Eggs
Cheesecake layer
- 920 g Piatnica Soft Cheese
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Icing Sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crust with your hands until you form a smooth dough.
- In a baking tray (27cmx37cm) laid out with parchment paper, spread the dough covering the whole surface. You can use your hands for it or roll it out with the rolling pin.
- Place in preheated oven to 190C for 10-15 min.
- Meanwhile, in 2 separate bowls prepare the cheese and poppy seed layers. Simply combine the ingredients together by using a spatula or hand mixer.
- Once the crust is prebaked, remove it from the oven and spread the poppy seed layer first, following with cheesecake mix. Place back in the oven in 175C temperature and bake for around 50 to 60 min.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool down before serving.