LATVIAN CHEESECAKE - NEW VIDEO

Biezpienmaize, is Latvian Cheesecake. It is sold everywhere from tiny shops, to local supermarkets. Usually it would contain raisins and would be served cut in rectangles. You get it in various forms and shapes. It is literally one of my favourite cakes in the world. I remember having it in school when I was little, as it was a great snack and tasted so good. This is a home made version and I had loads of requests about making more Latvian Traditional Dishes.
Essentially biezpienmaize is a baked cheesecake, however, the dough for the base and cottage cheese for the topping gives it more homely and down to earth feel. This recipe has been tested several times, using various types of bases and toppings. For the best results, use the driest and smallest grain cottage cheese you can find, make sure its dry cottage cheese and not wet, as it will not work. (ricotta just does not taste right, trust me, I tried).

Ingredients

For the pastry

280 gr of plain flour
160 gr of cold butter
1 egg
120 gr of sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of baking soda

For the filling

1200 gr of dry cottage cheese ( has to be dry - you can potentially use farmers cheese, but ideally cottage cheese that is grainy)
6 eggs ( separated, leave 2 egg yolks for covering the cake)
30 gr of plain flour
260 gr of sugar
60 gr of softened butter
1 tsp of vanilla extract
100 gr of raisins/ sultanas
Pinch of salt