Desserts that use cottage cheese are not only very tasty, but also healthy. Therefore, they are often recommended for children. Among these dishes is the curd casserole known to many from kindergarten. Recently, it is increasingly included not only in the diet of preschoolers, but also adults.
Features of cooking cottage cheese casserole
At first glance, there is nothing complicated in the classic recipe for cottage cheese casserole. However, the finished dish may taste different even with the same ratio of ingredients and exactly the same cooking process. The fact is that there are various factors that can change not only the taste and aroma, but even the appearance of the casserole. For example, the type of cottage cheese, its fat content and consistency, as well as other products are of great importance. Therefore, the creation of such a seemingly simple dish is not complete without many little tricks and secrets.
Curd casserole is a great field for culinary imagination. Many mothers, desperate to feed their capricious babies with healthy fermented milk products, empirically find recipes for the most useful and tasty dishes. At the same time, children, with pleasure asking for supplements, often do not even know what this delicious delicacy is made of. However, these wonderful dishes are based on the same curd casserole, improved depending on the personal preferences of the hostess and her household.
It is also important that novice cooks can cope with this dish. Therefore, a cottage cheese casserole is quite suitable in order to become one of the first experiments in the kitchen. Having mastered the preparation of this wonderful dish, you can pamper yourself with healthy and tasty variations of the classic recipe.
Main Ingredients:
- cottage cheese - 500 g;
- egg - 3 pcs.;
- semolina - 5 tablespoons;
- milk or kefir (for soaking semolina) - a quarter to half a glass;
- sugar - 3 tablespoons;
- baking soda - 1 teaspoon without a slide;
- vinegar or lemon juice for soda quenching;
- light raisins without seeds - 150 g;
- fine salt - to taste;
to lubricate the mold:
butter or margarine;
semolina or bread crumbs.
The products listed above represent the basic set for the so-called classic recipe. In fact, you can bake a casserole without eggs, replace semolina with other cereals, flour or even flakes, and add various dairy products - sour cream, fermented baked milk, kefir, milk, etc. Only the basis of this dish remains unchanged - cottage cheese, which is traditionally mixed with other components, subject to certain conditions.
The essence of the preparation is the gradual mixing of cottage cheese, sugar, beaten eggs, semolina and raisins. The resulting mass is then baked - in the oven or multicooker. However, depending on the properties of the ingredients and the desired result, there are many nuances.
What is the best cottage cheese for a classic casserole?
It is better to take cottage cheese of sour varieties, and not bland - in this case, the taste of the finished dish will be richer and more expressive. For those who monitor the calorie content of food, a low-fat product is also quite suitable, but the most delicious casserole is obtained from medium-fat cottage cheese. Too bland or insufficiently fatty cottage cheese can be easily improved by adding a small amount of sour cream (as a last resort, kefir or milk will correct the situation). Considering that the product will undergo heat treatment for a long enough time (it will spend in the oven from forty-five minutes to an hour), you can safely use cottage cheese bought on the market.
In some recipes, cottage cheese is recommended to be passed through a meat grinder, and then wiped thoroughly through the finest sieve. However, today you can choose a wide variety of varieties on store shelves, so it is quite possible to do without additional tweaks by crushing the cottage cheese into a homogeneous mass. Even if the dish is prepared for small children or those who need a diet, mixing with a blender will help to achieve the right balance of components. In addition, some people like it when grains of cottage cheese can be tasted in the casserole.
Cooking process
At the first stage, cottage cheese (pureed or well mixed with a blender - optional) is mixed with beaten eggs, which will not only give the dish splendor and airiness, but also serve as a binding component. Sugar, including vanilla, and a pinch of salt are added to the eggs. You can beat it with a whisk, fork or mixer - the method does not matter, only the result is important. Then the eggs are introduced into the bulk.
Additional volume and lightness of the finished dish can be achieved by separating the whites from the yolks before whipping. They must also be added to the dough separately (whipped). It is believed that eggs should be beaten for at least five minutes. In chilled dishes, the desired effect can be achieved much faster.
The juiciness of the casserole, as well as the ability to keep its shape, depends on the semolina, which must be soaked in kefir, fermented baked milk or milk in advance. After waiting for the semolina to swell enough (at room temperature this usually happens within half an hour) and acquires the consistency of liquid sour cream, it is added to a mixture of cottage cheese and well-beaten eggs.
One of the little secrets is that instead of dry semolina, cooled semolina porridge, cooked in milk, is perfect. This not only allows you to usefully dispose of the leftovers from breakfast, but also significantly saves time - if you add ready-made porridge to the casserole mixture, you do not need to wait half an hour.
Semolina should be introduced into the curd-egg mixture carefully, gently stirring. It is important to remember that excessively long or intense manipulations can have a very bad effect on the taste of ready-made cottage cheese dishes. A casserole that has been stirred for too long or too much can become very rough and even tough.
The next step is to add soda, it must be extinguished with vinegar, or better with lemon juice. You can do this right above the dough container.
Raisins, which are present in the traditional curd casserole recipe, also require preliminary preparation. Well rinsed under hot and cold water, it is soaked in boiling water or freshly brewed sweet tea. However, it is important to consider the quality and size of the raisins, as well as the properties of the mixture itself. Sometimes it is enough to pour boiling water over it, and during the baking process it will swell without that, pulling moisture from the rest of the components.
The finished mixture must be left for a few minutes, which can be spent on preparing the form. Covering the surface of the selected container with special baking paper, on top it must be immediately thoroughly smeared with butter. Margarine can also be used for these purposes. Depending on the thickness of the resulting mixture, the oil can be sprinkled with a small amount of dry semolina or bread crumbs. After that, the curd dough is carefully laid out in the mold.
The form is placed in a well-heated oven, where the curd casserole is baked at a temperature of 180 to 200 degrees. Shortly before the end of the time, the surface can be sprinkled with sugar a little, then a ruddy caramel crust will turn out on top.
The readiness of the casserole is determined using a match or a toothpick, like pies or manniks. Once the wooden surface is dry, the food can be removed from the oven. The exact time it takes to bake and the best temperature will vary depending on home and oven preferences, so may vary slightly.
Is it possible to cook a classic cottage cheese casserole in a slow cooker
The process of preparing this dish in a multicooker has a number of features. When the prepared mixture has already been left for a while, the entire inner surface of the multicooker bowl is greased with a piece of butter or a brush dipped in vegetable oil. The dough, poured into the bowl, is baked for an hour at the appropriate mode. After that, the casserole is allowed to rest for about twenty minutes by opening the lid of the multicooker. Only then can the dish be carefully taken out and enjoy the result.
The casserole will be extraordinarily fluffy if, after cooking, it is left to infuse in the Keep Warm setting. Depending on the model of the multicooker, this can take from thirty minutes to half an hour. A dish created in this way can amaze with its airy appearance and delicate taste.
It is worth noting that a curd casserole baked in a slow cooker may visually turn out to be somewhat unlike a familiar dish. Sometimes it looks more like a manna or even a cupcake, but the taste remains practically unchanged - the same one that many remember from the days of kindergarten.
Casserole icing recipe:
- cream - 1 tablespoon;
- cocoa powder - 2 tablespoons;
- butter - 2 tablespoons;
- sugar or powdered sugar (preferred) - 3 tablespoons.
Additional taste, not to mention the elegance of serving, will give the dish a chocolate coating. It is applied after the casserole is removed from the oven. To prepare the frosting, you need to mix the cocoa with the cream and add the icing sugar to them. At the minimum temperature, all this must be brought until the first bubbles appear. As soon as signs of boiling begin, the mixture must be immediately removed from the heat. When it cools down a little, add pre-softened butter and stir actively.
After the infused casserole has been successfully removed using an inverted flat plate, its surface is covered with chocolate icing. A beautiful appearance can be achieved by evenly leveling the coating on the top and sides of the finished product. After that, the casserole should be placed approximately in the cold so that the glaze sets well. If you follow the recipe, this happens in about an hour.
How to serve curd casserole
The casserole is served in portions, and you only need to cut it when it has cooled down a little. The dish is delicious both chilled and warm.
To complement the classic casserole, you can serve:
- sour cream
- jam or jam,
- honey,
- condensed milk,
- sweet milk sauce,
- berry sauce.
This dish can become especially tasty with the addition of jam or sauce made from sour berries - cranberries, lingonberries or red currants. Bright colors on the plate, if you add a mint leaf or fresh berries to them, will make the casserole even more appetizing and effective. Having become a real decoration of the table, the dish can turn from an everyday meal into a completely unusual treat, suitable for a festive day.
Variations on a cottage cheese casserole
Modifications to recipes based on a classic dish may include:
- different types of flour or cereals, as well as flakes (instead of semolina) - wheat, rice, oatmeal, corn, etc.;
- fresh or dried fruits or berries (apples, pears, apricots, cherries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, etc.);
- vegetables (pumpkin, turnips, carrots, etc.);
- chopped nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts);
- chocolate;
- in the sugar-free version - herbs and spices, fresh or dry (parsley, dill, etc.).
After practicing and getting a hand on the preparation of cottage cheese casserole according to the classic recipe, even novice cooks will soon be able to modernize the dish according to their personal preferences. For example, instead of vanilla, you can add cinnamon or lemon zest, candied fruits or dried cherries, chopped dried fruits and nuts to the mixture. If the dish is intended exclusively for adults, dried fruits can be pre-poured with cognac, rum or other aromatic alcohol.
Cottage cheese casserole with fresh fruits or berries is also very tasty and no less useful. Thin apple slices laid out on top or a mixture of strawberries and raspberries in dough will make the finished product unique and elegant. The main thing is not to forget to roll the washed and dried berries in starch, otherwise they may sink into the bottom layer of the casserole instead of being evenly distributed over it.
The casserole with chocolate is also gaining more and more fans. In such recipes, almost all varieties are acceptable - both dairy and bitter. During cooking, the bar must be grated on a coarse grater, and the white chocolate must be slowly melted in a water bath. An interesting dish can also turn out in combination with berries or nuts. However, it is very important to balance the balance so that cottage cheese, as the most important component, is not lost against the background of various additions. As a result of this kind of experimentation, curd casserole can be an amazing dessert.
