Ostakaka

 Sounds weird, right?

Like a crazy joke from a 5 year old, 'what's for dessert mom?  KAKA?'

But seriously, it literally translates as cheesecake.  But this isn't your instant Jell-O brand sour pudding cheesecake, nor is it the dense, sugary, mile-high, graham cracker crusted dessert of New York City or Chicago.  It is not so much an acquired taste, as it has to deal with texture.  It is not smooth and creamy like American cheesecakes.  Think of it as custard and cheesecake having a baby.

This is the Scandinavian version of cheesecake, usually saved for Advent/Christmas, or other special events.  In American recipes, people have taken to substituting cottage cheese.  While I have never done that, even in a pinch, I suppose it would work.  The curds of American cottage cheese, it would seem to me to contribute the the chunky texture that puts off so many people.  

So what do I do?

I make my own cheese base.  The recipe itself is very simple, both for the cheese and for the ostakaka (Cheese-cake)

I use the same recipe for the farmer's cheese that I have previously posted and don't forget to save that whey for other projects!

For the Ostakaka you will need 16 ounces of curds from your 1 gallon of whole milk cheese recipe.  DO NOT ADD ANY salt.  Also do not drain it as long as you normally would.  You can leave it a little more wet than normal.  

****If you have extra curds from your gallon of milk, then put it aside for a snack while your casserole dish is in the oven.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and find yourself a 2qt casserole dish.

Add your cooled curds to your mixing bowl with the flat beater attachment or normal beaters and add the following:

3 eggs

Mix until the curds are fine and the eggs are well incorporated

Add:

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of almond extract

(Optional, but I like mine with 1/2 t cinnamon, a dash of ginger, sprinkle of cardamom, and maybe nutmeg)

Mix well at slower speed.

Slowly add in 2 cups of Half-and-half.

Continue to mix until the batter resembles loose cake batter with tiny bits of cheese curd in it.

Pour this into your dish and bake 1-1 hour 15 minutes until it looses its wet, jiggly properties and is very lightly browned.

You can serve this warm or cold.  (I prefer mine cold)

And it is traditional to serve it with lingonberries, lingonberry jam, or lingonberry syrup.

The slight sweetness of the Ostakaka helps tame the tartness of the berries.  If you really don't want to deal with the tart, then you can substitute with strawberries, raspberries or anything else you like.  

Enjoy.

***I've had a lot of questions about where I obtain Lingonberry products.  Of course you can find it on Amazon (no affiliation or kickbacks) or Scandinavian store, but the oddest place I have found it reliably, is Tuesday Morning!  So if you have one nearby still, check them out.