Festive poppy seed cheesecake

 Today I'd like to share a recipe for a special cake, eaten often during family gatherings. We'll prepare a poppy seed cheesecake. As you may know, St Martin's day is approaching, and traditionally in parts of Poland that's when you eat St Martin's croissants, made with sweet white poppy seed filling - so we'll use white poppy seeds here to make it doubly festive!

You need to put some heart into preparing this cake, but that's what makes it so special. Poppy seed layer has unparalleled flavour and aroma that you can make yours, and creamy cheesecake layer melts in your mouth. Add in chocolate glaze and you'll get a perfect dessert.

You'll find a list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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List of ingredients

Base

• 2 heaped cups (~300 g) wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
•  1/2 cup (~100 g) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 200 g unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tsp vanilla paste

Poppy seed layer

• 250 g white poppy seeds
• 100 g blanched almonds
• 100 g unsalted butter
• 50 g caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• Almond extract
• 100 g raisins
• 100 g orange peel
• 4 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
  

Cheesecake layer

• 150 g unsalted butter 
• 200 g icing sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 kg Polish curd cheese
• 1 instant pudding mix
• 4 egg whites
• Pinch of salt 
  

Glaze

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 150 g whipping cream

Method

1. Put 250 g white poppy seeds into a fine sieve and rinse it thoroughly under running water. Transfer rinsed seeds into a pot and cover them with a generous amount of boiling water. Set the pot aside, covered, to cool, for around an hour.
2. Put 300 g wheat flour into a bowl. Add 100 g caster sugar, 1 tsp baking powder and a small pinch of salt. Mix through with a whisk until sugar is well distributed in flour. Add 200 g cold cuber butter. Combine fat and flour with a knife, confectionery knife or your fingers until it resembles wet sand.
3. Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste and egg to flour. Knead the dough with your hand, in the bowl at first until moisture is absorbed by flour, and then on a worktop until smooth dough forms. Be quick to prevent the dough from warming up too much. Shape the dough into a ball and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Put the dough into a fridge for around 60 minutes.
4. Line a square baking tin (26 x 26 cm) with baking paper. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a square to form a base in the bottom of the tin. Prick the base with a fork and return the tin to the fridge for 15 minutes. Prebake the dough then in a conventional oven preheated to 180 deg C for 10-15 minutes.
5. Drain poppy seeds and press them to remove excess water. Grind it twice in a grinder fitted with fine sieve. Grind 100 g almonds into the poppy seeds, too.
6. Add 100 g soft butter and 50 g caster sugar into a separate bowl. Beat the contents of the bowl together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 4 egg yolks, one at a time, mixing each in before adding the next one.
7. Mix in minced poppy seeds and almonds, one spoonful at a time, again combining the ingredients completely before adding the next batch. Pour in a small amount of almond extract and mix it in. Add 100 g each of raisins and candied orange peel. Mix them in with a spoon until evenly distributed in the batter.
8. Pour 4 egg whites into a separate dry, clean bowl and add a pinch of salt. Whip egg whites with an electric mixer to stiff peaks. It's worth starting with low mixer speed and increasing it gradually as the egg whites get fluffier. Add the egg whites to poppy seed batter in three batches, folding them in gently with a silicone spatula.
9. Prepare cheese batter. Put 150 g soft butter into a bowl and cream it with a mixer until light and fluffy. Turn mixer speed down to low and add 200 g icing sugar in batches. Mix in egg yolks next.
10. Add 1 kg Polish curd cheese to the batter in batches while mixing at low speed. Once all of cheese is mixed in add 1 instant no sugar vanilla pudding. Mix it in shortly with cheese batter at low speed, only until evenly distributed.
11.  Pour 4 egg whites into a separate dry, clean bowl and add a pinch of salt. Whip egg whites with an electric mixer to stiff peaks, increasing mixer speed gradually as the egg whites get fluffier. Add the egg whites to cheese batter in three batches, folding them in gently with a silicone spatula.
12. Pour poppy seed batter onto prebaked base and spread it evenly across the surface with a silicone spatula. Pour in cheese batter next and also spread it evenly.
13. Bake the cake in a conventional oven preheated to 180 deg C for 60 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven then and set it aside in the tin until completely cool. Once it reaches room temperature, put the cake into a fridge overnight to set fully.
14. On the next day prepare chocolate glaze. Put 150 g 72% chocolate into a heatproof bowl and add 150 g whipping cream. Heat up the contents of the bowl in a microwave oven at full power for 90 seconds in total, stirring every 15-20 seconds to prevent chocolate from scorching. Set the glaze aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Pour the glaze onto the cake and spread it with a silicone spatula. Set the cake aside for another hour for the glaze to set.
    
15. Enjoy!

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

• 340 kcal
• Carbs: 30 g 
• Fat: 22 g
• Protein: 7 g
• Fibre: 2 g

1 slice (recipe makes 30 slices)

• 380 kcal
• Carbs: 34 g 
• Fat: 25 g
• Protein: 8 g
• Fibre: 3 g