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Israeli Cheesecake

April 05, 2021
Kristian WhippleKristian Whipple

For as long as I have been writing about food I have thought about the cycles of the Jewish year and how seasonality impacts what Jews have traditionally eaten. After all, before globalism, before localism, before organic, before refrigeration, before the microwave, we all had to live by the seasons.

Featured in: Dairy Heirs

Great for: Shavuot

Recipe by: Vered Guttman

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 ¾cups all-purpose flour
  • ½teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 15tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½cup sugar
  • 1large egg
  • 1zest of lemon

Cheese Filling

  • 2cups heavy cream
  • 7tablespoons sugar
  • ½(5.1 ounce) packet instant vanilla pudding
  • ¼cup milk
  • 1pound Israeli soft white cheese (can be purchased at kosher markets and many grocery stores under the Norman label), crème fraîche, or half sour cream and half cream cheese
  • 1pint fresh strawberries
Yield: About 10 servings

Preparation

Crust

  • Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease a 10-inch spring form pan. Put the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, butter, and sugar in a standing mixer equipped with paddle. Add the egg and lemon zest and mix on low speed until crumbs form.

  • Step 2

    Pat 3/4 of the dough into the prepared spring form pan and flatten the rest onto a baking sheet. Bake both for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked and golden around the edges. Let cool completely.

To make the Israeli Cheesecake

  • Step 1

    Using a standing mixer equipped with the beater, whip the cream and sugar. In a separate bowl, sprinkle the pudding packet into the milk and mix. Add this mixture to the whipped cream. Then blend in the cheese. Fill the spring form pan with the contents of the bowl.

  • Step 2

    Crumble the baked dough from the baking sheet on top of the filling. Refrigerate 24 hours and serve garnished with strawberries.

  • Adapted from Vered Guttman