goat cheese cake
This is a simple (only 4 ingredients plus berries!) yet elegant alternative
to cheesecake that we make every now and then but somehow never got around to
recording for posterity here in our food diary. Calling it a "gateau au fromage
de chevre" reveals its French origins, and it came to us from a thin but
nicely photographed French Bistro cookbook that offered up a total of 3 other terrific
recipes that we make regularly over the years: cream of
artichoke soup (crème d'artichauts), chestnut and
celery soup (crème de marrons aux celeris), and
french apple tart (tarte aux pommes). If we had any time to devote to our
cookbooks, we would probably find other jewels here, but as the clock runs down
on our lives, the available time seems to diminish steadily.
ani discovered this recipe and has returned to it repeatedly over the years.
Not a dessert person, this is in fact not very sweet yet still qualifies as a
dessert, which explains her loyalty to the dish. bob is a dessert person, but
likes this end of the dessert spectrum too. Let's say this has broad appeal.
Maybe you too could become a fan.
ingredients
- 4 eggs, separated
- 5.5 oz (170g) fresh goat cheese
- 3 T sugar
- 1/2 c (4 fl oz = 125ml) crème fraiche
- 1/2 c (2oz = 60g) fresh raspberries
instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Butter an 8 in diameter cake pan or glass
baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour
both the paper and sides of the pan or dish.
- Beat the egg whites in a bowl with an
electric mixer on high speed until stiff but moist peaks form.
- Combine the goat cheese and sugar in a
second bowl with a whisk until well blended.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time beating
well after each addition until smooth and creamy.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg
yolk mixture with a spatula without over mixing.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake
about 25 minutes until the cake is golden, puffed and firm to the touch.
- Cool on a rack in the pan about 10 minutes,
then invert onto the rack, lift off the pan and peel off the paper.
- Transfer to a serving plate and let cool
completely.
- To serve, spread the crème
fraiche evenly over the top, carefully avoiding the edge to leave a golden
ring around the edge, then top with berries.
notes
- Bistro, The Best of Casual French Cooking,
by Gerald Hirigoyen, 1995. The original recipe called for an equal amount of
fresh blackberries, but these are not very available and even if they were,
they have seeds that get caught in bob's teeth. Vetoed.
- Illustrations available.