By Lindy Van Schalkwyk, last updated on January 23, 2022
This Polish cheesecake with sour cream topping is made with a crunchy sweet crust pastry filled with a sweet and tangy cottage cheese base.
It’s very hard to exactly describe how amazing this cheesecake is. Probably because we have never had one similar to this and because it is truly unique from what we call “traditional” cheesecakes. Unlike most cheesecake recipes today, this Polish recipe is made with a sweet pastry instead, giving it a crunchy texture. And, the filling has a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness thanks to the cottage cheese used.
Polish Cheesecake Recipe – What Makes It Unique?
A polish cheesecake, also commonly called Sernik, is one of the most popular desserts found in Poland. You will find it in their bakeries, local supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, and even street vendors!
Sernik is their equivalent of regular cheesecake. Every family and household have their own unique recipe and twist on the dish.
Traditionally, Polish cheesecake is made with a sweet crust pastry and a twaróg filling. Twaróg is a type of farmer’s cheese popular in Polish cuisine. It is also more commonly known as curd cheese. The cheesecake can also be baked in a round dish or square baking dish.
In today’s recipe, we will use cottage cheese instead of hard-to-find farmer’s cheese. And, we have decided to add a delicious sour cream topping to help balance out the flavors.
What You Will Need To Make This Polish Cheesecake With Sour Cream Topping
Ingredients for the Sweet Pastry Crust
- 2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cups white fine sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 ounces salted butter, cold, cubed
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
Ingredients for the Sernik Cheesecake
- 32 ounces cottage cheese, room temperature
- 4 large eggs, separated, room temperature
- 5 ounces salted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups fine sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Sour Cream Topping
- 2 cups sour cream, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fine sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Equipment
- Food processor
- 9-inch springform pan
- Pastry brush
- Mixing bowls
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Rubber or silicone spatula
- Whisk
Step-By-Step For Making This Sernik Tecipe
Step 1: Make the Cheesecake Crust
Combine the cake flour, fine sugar, and baking powder in a food processor. Make sure to blend the dry ingredients well to ensure they are evenly distributed.
Then, put the food processor on its pulse setting. While it’s running, add in the cold cubed butter. Continue using until you have a crumbly sand-like texture.
Next, combine the egg yolks and sour cream together in a separate bowl. Slowly add the egg mixture to the food processor while it is running at a low speed. Add liquid until the mixture is just combined.
Wrap the sweet pastry dough in plastic wrap and rest it in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 2: Line a Pan with the Pastry and Par-bake it
Once the pastry has rested, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush a springform cake pan with softened butter. Make sure to brush the sides as well.
Then, evenly roll out the sweet pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll it until it is big enough to line the entire bottom and sides of the cake pan.
Next, lay the pastry sheet inside the pan. Make sure it is pressed against all the edges. You can crimp the sides if you’d like.
Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork. Then, partially bake the crust for 10 minutes. Once par-baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.
Step 3: Make the Polish Cheesecake Filling
First, blend the cottage cheese in the food processor until you have a smooth lump-free consistency. Set the cheese aside until needed.
Then, in a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Set aside the whipped egg whites until needed.
Then, in another large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until they become light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and mix well.
Next, fold in the blended cottage cheese mixture until it is fully incorporated. Finally, gently fold in the whipped egg whites.
Step 4: Assemble the Cheesecake and Bake
Once your par-baked sweet pastry has completely cooled, you can add the cheesecake batter into the pan.
This Sernik recipe bakes for roughly 50-60 minutes. The top shouldn’t be allowed to brown.
After 45 minutes, you will need to add the sour cream topping.
Step 5: Make the Sour Cream Topping
While the cheesecake is baking, make the sour cream topping. Simply whisk together all of the topping ingredients and set it aside until needed.
After the cheesecake has baked for 45 minutes, add the sour cream topping over it and continue baking it for the remaining time.
Step 6: Cool the Cheesecake
After the cheesecake has been fully baked, turn off the oven and allow it to completely cool. After 1 hour, remove it and continue cooling the Polish cheesecake at room temperature for another hour.
Then, while the cheesecake is still inside of its pan, wrap it with plastic or saran wrap. Allow the cheesecake to set in the fridge for 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
Read more about How To Do A Water Bath For Cheesecake – Your Ultimate Guide
Tips and Tricks for the Sweet Pastry Crumb
- When making the pastry, sometimes the dough will come out too wet. Depending on how wet it is, you can either add more flour to the mixture or chill it. Adding more flour will create a stiff dough that can be rolled. If the dough is only slightly sticky, rest it in the fridge for about an hour before rolling.
- If your dough is too dry to roll without cracking, add the egg whites too. But, only add a tiny bit at a time. You don’t want the dough to become too wet.
- Par-baking also called partially baking, the pastry crust is essential. Dock the crust to ensure that it is baked evenly and prevent any air pockets from forming. And, by par-baking it, you help prevent the filling from making the crust soggy.
Tips and Tricks for Polish Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping
- For this Polish cheesecake with sour cream topping recipe, we use cottage cheese. Some recipes will call for dry curd cheese. It’s basically the same thing. Alternatively, you can use drained ricotta cheese.
- When folding in the whipped egg whites, work gently. This will help prevent the batter from losing air and getting a dense texture.
- You can have a look at this in-depth article on checking when your cheesecake has been fully baked. It will help prevent you from under-baking or over-baking your cheesecake.
- Cooling your cheesecake slowly is crucial to prevent any cracks from forming. If the cheesecake is exposed to sudden temperature changes, it will crack.
- To remove your cheesecake from its pan, simply cut alongside the edges to release the crust from its pan. Then, remove the sides of the springform pan and slice the cheesecake.
Servings and Preparation Time
| Preparation time | Baking time | Servings |
| 45 minutes | 70 minutes | 8-12 slices |
Polish Cheesecake Recipe With Sour Cream Topping – Conclusion
Let us know what you think about this incredible flavor-packed cheesecake. And, if you want to learn to make more of these unique cheesecakes, have a look at our site – they’re full of fun and interesting recipes.
Polish Cheesecake With Sour Cream Topping
Equipment
- Food processor
- 9-inch springform pan
- Pastry brush
- Mixing bowls
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Rubber or silicone spatula
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cups white fine sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 ounces salted butter cold, cubed
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 3 tablespoons sour cream room temperature
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
Ingredients for the Sernik Cheesecake
- 32 ounces cottage cheese room temperature
- 4 large eggs separated, room temperature
- 5 ounces salted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups fine sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Sour Cream Topping
- 2 cups sour cream room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fine sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the cake flour, fine sugar, and baking powder in a food processor. Make sure to blend the dry ingredients well to ensure they are evenly distributed.
- Then, put the food processor on its pulse setting. While it's running, add in the cold cubed butter. Continue using until you have a crumbly sand-like texture.
- Next, combine the egg yolks and sour cream together in a separate bowl. Slowly add the egg mixture to the food processor while it is running at a low speed. Add liquid until the mixture is just combined.
- Wrap the sweet pastry dough in plastic wrap and rest it in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Once the pastry has rested, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush a springform cake pan with softened butter. Make sure to brush the sides as well.
- Then, evenly roll out the sweet pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll it until it is big enough to line the entire bottom and sides of the cake pan.
- Next, lay the pastry sheet inside the pan. Make sure it is pressed against all the edges. You can crimp the sides if you'd like.
- Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork. Then, partially bake the crust for 10 minutes. Once par-baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.
- First, blend the cottage cheese in the food processor until you have a smooth lump-free consistency. Set the cheese aside until needed.
- Then, in a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Set aside the whipped egg whites until needed.
- Then, in another large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until they become light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and mix well.
- Next, fold in the blended cottage cheese mixture until it is fully incorporated. Finally, gently fold in the whipped egg whites.
- Once your par-baked sweet pastry has completely cooled, you can add the cheesecake batter into the pan.
- This Sernik recipe bakes for roughly 50-60 minutes. The top shouldn't be allowed to brown.
- After 45 minutes, you will need to add the sour cream topping.
- While the cheesecake is baking, make the sour cream topping. Simply whisk together all of the topping ingredients and set it aside until needed.
- After the cheesecake has baked for 45 minutes, add the sour cream topping over it and continue baking it for the remaining time.
- After the cheesecake has been fully baked, turn off the oven and allow it to completely cool. After 1 hour, remove it and continue cooling the Polish cheesecake at room temperature for another hour.
- Then, while the cheesecake is still inside of its pan, wrap it with plastic or saran wrap. Allow the cheesecake to set in the fridge for 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
Notes
Tips and Tricks for the Sweet Pastry Crumb
When making the pastry, sometimes the dough will come out too wet. Depending on how wet it is, you can either add more flour to the mixture or chill it. Adding more flour will create a stiff dough that can be rolled. If the dough is only slightly sticky, rest it in the fridge for about an hour before rolling.
Lindy Van Schalkwyk is a culinary specialist with a background in Advanced Cooking, Advanced Pâtisserie, Media Communications and Nutrition. She has gained invaluable experience in the culinary industry having worked in some of the top restaurants in Africa in 2016 and 2017. Her expertise in nutrition has enabled her to develop recipes for special dietary needs. In 2018, Lindy began working in the Food Media industry, focusing on recipe development, recipe writing, food writing and food styling.