βAngel's Tearsβ, βMorning Dewβ, βTears of Valenciaβ β all these are names of a single dessert. It is a delicate cheesecake, or cheese cake, consisting of three layers: a shortcrust pastry, a filling made of cottage cheese, and French meringue. And it received its rather poetic names precisely because of the many droplets that form on the surface of the meringue when the cheesecake cools after baking.
ΡΡ ΡΠ°ΠΌΡ ΠΊΡΠ°ΠΏΠ΅Π»ΡΠΊΠΈ, Π·Π°Π²Π΄ΡΠΊΠΈ ΡΠΊΠΈΠΌ Π΄Π΅ΡΠ΅ΡΡ ΠΎΡΡΠΈΠΌΠ°Π² ΡΠ²ΠΎΡ Π½Π°Π·Π²Ρ
We will need
For the shortcrust pastry:
Π²ΡΠ΅ Π΄Π»Ρ ΠΏΡΡΠΎΡΠΊΠΈ
200 g of flour
100 g of butter
80 g of egg yolks (4-5 pieces, depending on the size of the egg)
45 g of sugar
15 g of vanilla sugar
6 g of baking powder (or 3 g of baking soda)
1-2 g of salt
Secrets of quality shortcrust pastry:
the amount of flour should be exactly twice that of the butter
the flour should be sifted before mixing the dough to saturate it with oxygen. This will make the dough more pliable, tender, and fluffy. This will affect not only its taste but also its aesthetic appearance. In general, from my own experience β it is better to sift flour almost always when it is intended for use.
For the cheese filling:
Π²ΡΠ΅, ΡΠΎ Π·Π½Π°Π΄ΠΎΠ±ΠΈΡΡΡΡ Π΄Π»Ρ ΡΠΈΡΠ½ΠΎΡ Π½Π°ΡΠΈΠ½ΠΊΠΈ
500 g of cottage cheese (with a fat content of at least 9%)
100 g of eggs (2-3 pieces, depending on size)
80 g of sugar
20 g of vanilla sugar
100 g of sour cream
zest of 1 orange (can be replaced with zest of any other citrus, or omitted altogether)
20 g of cornstarch
For the meringue:
ΡΡΠ°Π½ΡΡΠ·ΡΠΊΠ° ΠΌΠ΅ΡΠ΅Π½Π³Π°-kit;)
The egg whites that we separated from the yolks for the shortcrust pastry
80-100 g of sugar.
Step 1: prepare the shortcrust pastry
We weigh 100 g of butter (with a fat content of at least 72%) and place it in the freezer. While it is chilling, we will engage in other processes. The butter will need to stay in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to work with later.
We separate the egg whites from the yolks. We will need the egg whites for the meringue, so they should be separated into a dry container.
We add sugar to the yolks and thoroughly rub them until a homogeneous consistency is achieved.
We add baking powder or soda, salt to the flour, and mix. We grate the slightly frozen butter into the flour using a coarse grater, quickly kneading it by hand so that the butter does not completely melt.
After the dough becomes homogeneous β we roll it into a ball, wrap it in cling film, and place it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. This will increase its crumbly texture in the finished dish.
Π³ΠΎΡΠΎΠ²Π΅ ΡΡΡΡΠΎ
You can immediately place the ball of dough between two sheets of parchment paper (from my experience β choose silicone-coated parchment paper, the dough will definitely not stick to it), and roll it out into a circle, the diameter of which will correspond to the shape in which we will bake the cheesecake. Then place it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes between the sheets of parchment.
ΡΠΎΠ·ΠΊΠ°ΡΠ°Π½Π΅ Π΄ΠΎ ΡΠΎΠ·ΠΌΡΡΡΠ² ΡΠΎΡΠΌΠΈ ΡΡΡΡΠΎ
Step 2: prepare the cheese filling
While the dough is resting in the refrigerator β it is the perfect time to engage in the βstar ingredientβ of the dessert β the cheese filling.
We place cottage cheese, sugar, sour cream, eggs, cornstarch into one container and blend with an immersion blender until a homogeneous consistency without lumps is achieved. The mixture will be liquid. There is no need to be afraid of this; it should be like that if everything is done correctly.
We grate the zest of the orange. We used a regular grater (fine teeth) and removed a layer of peel without touching the white part of the orange. If you accidentally touch it β the zest will be somewhat bitter, which we definitely do not want in the finished dessert.
Other citrus fruits can also be used for the zest, besides orange. We made this dessert with lemon and lime zest as well. It turned out very tasty and aromatic too ;)
We add the prepared zest to the cheese mixture and mix. Now our mixture is ready to form the dessert.
Π³ΠΎΡΠΎΠ²Π° ΡΠΈΡΠ½Π° ΠΌΠ°ΡΠ°
Step 3: prepare the French meringue
The egg whites waited for their turn to be prepared for almost 40 minutes since being separated from the yolks. Therefore, they reached room temperature. As a result, they whip to stiff peaks quite quickly.
Π±ΡΠ»ΠΊΠΈ, ΡΡΠΊΠΎΡ
We will whip the meringue using a kitchen processor with a whisk attachment. A mixer or blender with a whisk attachment can also be used: whichever device you have in your arsenal. We categorically do not recommend doing this by hand, as it is a difficult and lengthy process.
Π²ΡΠ½ΡΠΈΠΊ, ΠΊΠΎΠΌΠ±Π°ΠΉΠ½, Π±ΡΠ»ΠΎΠΊ
We whip the egg whites first until foam appears, and gradually add sugar.
We continue whipping until stiff peaks form β a state when the egg white mixture has increased in volume by 5-6 times, has a creamy consistency, and does not drip from the whisk.
Π²ΡΠ°-Π»Ρ!
If you have the same result β congratulations, you have made the perfect French meringue!
Β
There are a few secrets to making meringue: it is the careful separation of egg whites from yolks (even a drop of yolk can spoil the meringue β the whites simply will not whip into an airy mass), and an ideally clean and dry (!!!) container for whipping.
Step 4: baking
We place the shortcrust pastry in a form lined with parchment paper. We also lined the edges with parchment (this step is optional, our forms are just old).
We pour in the cheese mixture.
ΡΠΎΡΠΌΡΡΠΌΠΎ ΡΠΈΡΠ½ΠΈΠΊ
We preheat the oven to 180 degrees, place the form with the dessert on a baking sheet, and bake for 40 minutes (with both the top and bottom heating elements on).
ΠΏΡΠΎΠΌΡΠΆΠ½ΠΈΠΉ Π΅ΡΠ°ΠΏ Π²ΠΈΠΏΡΠΊΠ°Π½Π½Ρ
After 40 minutes, we take the cheesecake out of the oven and spread the meringue on top. This can be done either in a random order or using a pastry bag.
We place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes, but turn on the convection mode.
Π΄ΡΡΡΠ°Π»ΠΈ Π· Π΄ΡΡ ΠΎΠ²ΠΎΡ ΡΠ°ΡΠΈ
We take it out of the oven, cover it with another form so that it does not touch the meringue, and leave it to cool completely.
Π½Π°ΠΊΡΠΈΠ²Π°ΡΠΌΠΎ
It is at this moment that the very droplets will appear, thanks to which this dessert got its name.
ΠΊΡΠ°ΠΏΠ΅Π»ΡΠΊΠΈ ΠΏΠΎΡΠΈΠ½Π°ΡΡΡ Π·'ΡΠ²Π»ΡΡΠΈΡΡ
Enjoy your meal!
ΡΠ΅ 1 ΡΠΎΡΠΎ ΡΠΈΡΠ½ΠΈΡΠΊΠ°
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