Vered's Israeli Cooking

Israeli no-bake cheesecake

Israeli no bake cheesecake

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Known in Israel as crumble-cheesecake, this is one of the most popular cheesecakes in the country. 

As with most other Israeli cheesecakes, this one uses the Israeli white cheese, a type German quark. A good alternative is Turkish labneh, which is less sour than the traditional labneh, available at Middle Eastern supermarkets. Another, more readily available alternative, is to use a combination of cream cheese, sour cream and Greek yogurt (details in the recipe below.)

Israeli no-bake cheesecake

Recipe by Vered GuttmanCourse: Cakes and cookiesCuisine: IsraeliDifficulty: Easy
Servings

12

servings
Prep time

30

minutes

Known in Israel as crumble-cheesecake, this is one of the most popular cheesecakes in the country. 
As with most other Israeli cheesecakes, this one uses the Israeli white cheese, a type German quark. A good alternative is Turkish labneh, which is less sour than the traditional labneh, available at Middle Eastern supermarkets. Another, more readily available alternative, is to use a combination of cream cheese, sour cream and Icelandic yogurt – SKYR (details in the recipe below.)

Use a 9” x 12” cake or a 11” round cake pan (a slightly smaller or larger pan will work as well, and will just make a taller or shorter cake)

INGREDIENTS

  • For the base
  • 2.5 cups flour

  • 0.5 tsp baking powder

  • 0.5 cup sugar

  • 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 12 Tablespoons butter, cold

  • 2 egg yolks

  • For the cheese filling
  • 2 cups heavy cream

  • 10 TBSP sugar

  • 3.2 oz. pack INSTANT vanilla pudding mix

  • 20 oz. Israeli white cheese, quark or Turkish labneh (Or 8 oz. sour cream and 16 oz. Icelandic yogurt – SKYR)

  • Zest of one lemon

  • Pinch kosher salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  • Make the base: turn oven to 325 F degrees. Grease a 9” round cake pan and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Put flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in the food processor, then cut butter into the mix and pulse. Add the yolks and pulse to get crumbs, add 2-4 tablespoons cold water if crumbs are not created after the first few pulses.
  • Using your hands, gently flatten ⅔ of the dough into the greased pan, spread the rest on the baking sheet. Bake until the dough just begins to turn golden on the sides and a bit harder to the touch, about 20-22 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack. After 15 minute you can transfer the cake pan into the fridge, to make the cooling process faster.
  • If you’re using the combination of cream cheese, sour cream and Greek yogurt, put them all in a food processor and pulse briefly just until smooth. Set aside. Continue with the directions as usual.
  • To make the cheese filling start whipping the heavy cream with the sugar with a mixer on m low speed. With mixer running, sprinkle pudding powder on the cream, raise the speed and whip to light whipped cream consistency. Do not over-whip, as the pudding will help the mixture thicken later. Fold in the Israeli cheese or cream cheese mixture and lemon zest using a spatula. Taste and add a pinch of salt if you want (the
    Israeli cheese is a bit salty, so it depends on the cheese you’re using.) Pour the mixture on the baked crust in the pan and use an icing spatula to make the top even.
  • Crumble the baked dough from the baking sheet on top of the filling. Refrigerate covered for 8 hours, and preferably overnight, before serving. The cake keeps in the fridge up to 5 days.
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