Cottage Cheese Cake Recipe (Latvian Biezpienmaize)

Biezpienmaize translates literally as “cottage cheese bread”. “Biezpiens” means cottage cheese and “maize” means bread.

Biezpiens itself is the traditional Latvian fresh curd cheese, drier and tangier than most supermarket cottage cheese, closer to farmers cheese or quark.

It isn’t a cake in the French sense, but it isn’t bread either.

My vecmāmiņas version here is the rustic sheet cake version, cut into rectangles and eaten with tea or coffee. There is actually a version made with a yeast dough base rather than crumbs (check out the notes in the recipe card), but the crumb version is what I’m showing you today.

Cottage cheese turns up in almost everything Latvian, and I use it a lot. More on how I use it over at the Baltic table.

What Does Latvian Cottage Cheese Cake Taste Like?

Not like American cheesecake. The filling has a fresh dairy tang from the cottage cheese, vanilla running through it, and a hint of lemon. But it doesn’t taste like plain cottage cheese once it’s baked. It’s sweet, but not as intense and the texture is fluffier, with a slightly crisp, buttery crumble on top.

Ingredients and Ingredient Notes

Full quantities are in the recipe card below.

For the crumb base and topping:

• Plain flour. Nothing fancy needed.
• Unsalted butter, softened but still cool. Take it out of the fridge 20 minutes before you start. Too soft and it clumps into a paste, too cold and it’s tricky to rub in properly.
• Sugar. I use white sugar, but I think you could easily substitute light brown sugar or another dry sugar (not maple syrup or agave nectar though in the base).
• Baking powder. This is what makes the crumb light and slightly crisp rather than dense.

For the filling:

• Cottage cheese (“biezpiens” in Latvian), full-fat, about 1.5 lb / 700 g before draining. After draining, mine weighs anywhere from 550g to 650 g depending on the brand and sometimes even the batch. Yes, really, same brand, different result. Then you have to make the cottage cheese less lumpy. You get the most authentic result by using a sieve and then pushing the cottage cheese through with a spoon. But I usually blend it completely smooth using a blender, food processor or immersion blender. It’s quicker and then I just add the other ingredients to the same bowl. If you end up with leftover cottage cheese, you can use it up with this blueberry cottage cheese muffin recipe, this moist banana cottage cheese recipe or this cottage cheese frosting recipe.
• Eggs, separated.
• Sugar – I use plain white sugar.
• Cornstarch. This is what holds the filling together without making it rubbery. Traditional Latvian recipes often use potato starch instead, same quantity, and that works too. Or they use semolina, but not everyone has semolina in their kitchen, so I used cornstarch in this recipe.
• Sour cream. Full cream. It adds richness and keeps the filling from being too firm.
• Lemon zest. From half to one large lemon. Don’t be shy, it lifts the whole filling without making it taste lemony.
• Vanilla. Vanilla extract. Use the real stuff if you can. It ties everything together and stops the filling tasting one-note.
• Raisins (optional). Soak in hot water for 10 minutes until plump, then drain and dry really well. I mean really well, paper towel or tea towel, squeeze them. Then toss in a little flour before folding in. This keeps them from sinking and stops them making the filling too wet.

Substitutions

• Cottage cheese: Full fat. Do not use low fat. In Latvia, biezpiens is drier than most Western cottage cheese, so draining is essential wherever you are. Outside Latvia, farmers cheese is the closest substitute in terms of flavour. Ricotta has an acceptable texture but loses the characteristic tang. It ends up tasting like a mild Italian cheesecake rather than biezpienmaize. I wouldn’t use it.
• Potato starch or semolina – Both are traditional alternatives to cornstarch, same quantity. Traditional Latvian and Lithuanian recipes often use semolina. It gives the filling a tiny bit more texture and is slightly more authentic. If you have it, use it.
• Sour Cream – Full-fat Greek yogurt is the closest swap, same quantity. Crème fraîche also works and gives a slightly richer result. Mainly just make sure you avoid low-fat versions of anything. They make the filling too wet and it won’t set properly.
• Raisins – Soaked dried apricots (chopped small) work beautifully. Some Latvian bakers use fresh cherries in summer, or blackcurrants for a more tart result.

How to Make Latvian Cottage Cheese Cake

1. Drain the cottage cheese

Put your cottage cheese in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and leave it to drain for at least an hour, ideally a few hours. The filling will not set properly if the cheese is too wet. After draining, push it through the sieve with a spoon or blend it smooth using a blender, food processor, immersion blender. My cottage cheese usually weighs about 700 g before draining and then down to anywhere between 550 g and 650g after draining, depending on the brand.

2. Make the crumb base

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the softened butter and rub it in with your fingertips, pressing and squeezing until you have fine, even crumbs with no large lumps remaining. You can also do this in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like damp sand. The crumbs should hold together (or you can make a small ball) when you press it between your fingers.

3. Put the crumb base in the 9 x 13 in (23 x 33 cm) pan and refrigerate.

I use a Pyrex glass dish and don’t bother lining it or greasing it. If you’re using a metal pan, lining with baking paper makes lifting it out easier.

Put about 2/3 of the crumbs into the base of your baking dish and squish them down as evenly as you can. It does not have to be perfect, just make sure you cover the base. It will not seem very thick, but this is good. You don’t want it too thick. Put the pan in the fridge with the rest of the crumbs.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (or pop the remaining crumbs in the freezer for 10 minutes or so, if you forgot). This is important for the crumb topping especially. Cold crumbs hold their shape in the oven and crisp up properly. Warm crumbs will dissolve into the filling. It doesn’t taste bad, but you don’t get the crunchy bits…

4. Make the filling base

In a large bowl, combine the smooth cottage cheese with the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

5. Whip the egg whites

In a clean, completely grease-free bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach soft peaks. They should hold a gentle curl when you lift the beaters but not be stiff or dry. A single drop of fat in the bowl (from yolk, butter, or washing-up residue) will prevent the whites from whipping properly, so dry the bowl well before you start.

6. Fold the whites into the filling

It’s easier to add the whipped whites to the cottage cheese mixture in three additions. Use a large spatula and fold gently, with big slow strokes from the bottom of the bowl, turning as you go. Three additions works better than two for a filling this size. It keeps more air in and makes each fold easier. Stop folding when you don’t see any more big white streaks.

7. Put it all together

Pour filling onto the crumb base.

If using raisins, first soak them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well, dry with paper towels and coat with flour. Then take the flour covered raisins and scatter them evenly over the top. Then use a fork to sort of push them in.

8. Scatter the remaining crumbs on top.

Take the reserved crumbs straight from the fridge and scatter them over the top immediately before the dish goes into the oven.

9. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

It’s done when the top crumbs are golden and the centre has just the faintest wobble when you gently shake the pan. It shouldn’t look liquid. Don’t open the oven in the first 35 minutes.

10. Cool and Chill

Remove from the oven and cover loosely with a clean tea towel or foil. Leave to cool completely at room temperature.

Once fully cooled, refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better. The filling firms up properly as it chills. Slice with a clean knife, wiping between cuts for neat squares. It can be a tiny bit slightly crumbly. This is normal.