Christmas poppy seed cheesecake

In Poland, the two cakes that say 'Christmas' the most are poppy seed cake and cheesecake. That's why today we'll combine both of them and prepare a classic poppy seed cheesecake on a shortcrust base. It takes a bit of effort, but it's well worth it, and Christmas is only once a year!

 

Bringing together two distinct layers like this leads to a truly amazing outcome. Pleasantly almond poppy seed layer, full of dried fruit, contrasts with a smooth, creamy cheesecake that just melts in your mouth. Add in a crumbly, buttery base and dark chocolate glaze, and you'll get a cake that requires some work, but is just delicious.

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

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List of ingredients (26 x 26 cm tin)

Shortcrust base

• 225 g (~1.5 cup) wheat flour
• 75 g (~0.5 cup) cornstarch
• 100 g (~0.5 cup) sugar
• 200 g butter
• 1.5 tsp vanilla paste
• Pinch of salt

Poppy seed layer

• 250 g poppy seeds
• 100 g butter
• 50 g white caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 100 g blanched almonds
• 50 g sultanas
• 50 g dried cranberries
• 100 g walnuts
• 100 g candied orange peel
• Almond extract
• 4 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
  

Cheesecake layer

• 150 g butter
• 200 g icing sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 kg low salt creamy cheese
• 1 packet powdered custard, or 40 g cornstarch
• Vanilla extract
•  4 egg whites
• Pinch of salt

Glaze

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 150 g whipping cream (36%)

Method

1. Put 250 g well rinsed poppy seeds into a small pot. Cover poppy seeds with boiling water, straight out of a kettle, stir and ensure that all the seeds are submerged. Set poppy seeds aside, covered, until they cool completely - two or three hours should be enough.
2. While poppy seeds are cooling, prepare shortcrust base. Sift 225 g wheat flour, 75 g cornstarch and a small pinch of salt into a bowl to remove any lumps. Add 100 g white caster sugar and stir shortly with a whisk to distribute it in flour.
3. Add 200 g cold cubed butter. Combine butter and flour with a knife, confectionery knife or your fingertips until it starts to resemble wet sand. Add 1.5 tsp vanilla paste to the dough and start kneading it by hand. Do it in the bowl at first, and then on a worktop, until a smooth dough forms. Shape it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and put it into a fridge for one hour to cool and set.
4. After one hour, take the dough out of a fridge and grate it on a coarse grater. I'm doing it directly into a greased baking tin lined with baking paper, 26 x 26 cm. Once all the dough is grated spread it in an even layer across the whole surface and press it down to get a solid base. Prick the base with a fork across the surface. It should prevent dough from rising too much as it bakes and cracking. Return the base into a fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Bake the base in an oven preheated to 180 deg C (no fan) for 15 minutes. Take prebaked base out of the oven and set it aside in the tin for around an hour, to cool completely.
6. Drain poppy seeds on a fine sieve and stir to remove excess water. Grind the seeds on a fine grinder - I'm ding it three times. If you are using dry ground poppy seeds, skip the step - scalding the seeds will be enough.
7. Put 100 g soft butter and 50 g white caster sugar into a large bowl. Cream the contents of the bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and start adding 4 egg yolks. Do it slowly, one at a time, combining each yolk with the butter completely before adding the next one. Once all the egg yolks are in the batter, pour in a bit of almond extract and mix it in.
8. Add ground poppy seeds; again, do it slowly, a spoonful at a time, mixing it in before adding the next batch. Once all the poppy seeds are in the batter, add dried fruit. I'm using 50 g sultanas, 50 g dried cranberries, 100 g candied orange peel, 100 g chopped blanched almonds and 100 g chopped walnuts. Mix dried fruit and nuts in with a spatula, until they are evenly distributed, and set aside.
9. Move on to the cheesecake layer. Put 150 g soft butter into a separate large bowl. Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Once you get desired texture, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and start adding 200 g icing sugar. Do it slowly, a spoonful at a time, combining sugar completely with butter each time before adding the next batch. Add 4 egg yolks next, in the same way as in the poppy seed layer: one at a time, mixing each one in completely before adding the next one. 
10. Pour in a bit of vanilla extract into the batter and start adding cheese. I'm using half-fat curd cheese this time that I ground twice on a medium grinder. Add cheese to the batter in the same way: a spoonful at a time, combining it with the batter completely before adding the next batch. Finally, mix in 40 g powdered vanilla custard into the batter.
11. Pour 4 large egg whites into a large bowl and add a small pinch of salt. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks with an electric mixer and add them in to the poppy seed batter in three batches. Don't worry too much about removing the air from the first batch - we'll just use it to loosen up the batter. Fold the next two batches in more carefully, trying not to remove too much air.
12. Pour 4 large egg whites into a large bowl again and add a small pinch of salt. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks with an electric mixer and add them in to the cheesecake batter in three batches. Don't worry too much about removing the air from the first batch - we'll just use it to loosen up the batter. Fold the next two batches in more carefully, trying not to remove too much air. Egg whites will make the cheesecake rise a bit during baking.
13. Pour poppy seed batter onto prebaked shortcrust base and spread it in an even layer. Pour cheesecake layer on top of poppy seed layer. Spread cheesecake batter carefully with a silicone spatula. Try to even it out as best you can.
14. Bake the cake in an oven preheated to 180 deg C (no fan) for around 60 minutes. I'm baking the cake on a second tray from the bottom which in my oven means the top will not burn and it will only brown lightly.
15. Take the cake out of the oven after one hour and set it aside in the baking tin to cool completely. Put it into a fridge then for at least 6 hours, or best overnight, for cheesecake to set.
16. On the next day all we need to do is decorate the cake! I'm preparing a simple chocolate glaze. Put 150 g dark chocolate and 150 ml whipping cream into a microwave safe bowl. Put the bowl into a microwave oven for 90 seconds in total. Take the bowl out every 15 seconds and stir its contents. Repeat until all of chocolate melts and a smooth chocolate glaze forms. Take the cheesecake out of a fridge, pour the glaze on top and return the cake into a fridge for another hour, for glaze to set.
17. Enjoy!

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

• 367 kcal
• Carbs: 31 g 
• Fat: 24 g
• Protein: 10 g
• Fibre: 3 g

1 slice (recipe makes 30 slices)

• 397 kcal
• Carbs: 33 g 
• Fat: 25 g
• Protein: 11 g
• Fibre: 3 g