Smierkase Cake (Smearcase Cheesecake)

Recipe seekers: For a better Smearcase cheesecake recipe post, click here!

While many Baltimoreans get excitable about the annual Peach Cake tradition, Peach Cake’s Plain Jane cousin Smearcase gets somewhat overlooked. I do mean that literally. With a similar German origin to Peach Cake, Smearcase cake can often be found in the same bakery cases, waiting to be noticed.

I first introduced this cake with Elizabeth Ellicott Lea’s smearcase recipe. In her case, she was referring to the cheese itself. It is a (dying) regional peculiarity that the name of the cottage cheese has lent itself to the cheesecake.

Recipes for the classic Baltimore dessert (named as such) are hard to come by. The most common one that I know of comes from the same BGE Cookbook that I got my peach cake recipe from, “Maryland Classics.”

Online recipes vary – some use cream cheese or a combination for a more creamy effect. One recipe – purporting to be Hoehns’, combines the cheese with a custard-like filling. I wanted to follow in the tradition of the Elizabeth Ellicott Lea cheese cake that I made, so I started from scratch once again.

During my vacation travels, I had obtained some nigari from J.Q. Dickinson salt works. Nigari is typically used in the making of tofu but Nancy Bruns from Dickinson Salt Works successfully used it to make ricotta cheese. I was happy to find a cream-top milk to use, for some extra “authenticity”.

Even with that, this is a pretty light, and frankly bland little cake. I’m not giving up on this recipe, however. It provides a good canvas for trying out different cinnamons. It would be wonderful topped with some fruit preserves. Plus I have enough nigari to curdle 24 gallons of milk.

Recipe:

Crust:

• 1.25 Cups unsifted all-purpose flour
• .25 Cups sugar
• .25 Teaspoons salt
• .5 Cups butter
• 1 egg, beaten

Combine first 3 ingredients; mix well. Cut in butter or margarine until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add egg; mix well. Pat dough into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan, coming half way up the sides of the pan.

Filling:

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 Lb small curd cottage cheese
• .75 Cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Cup dairy sour cream

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; set aside. In large bowl of electric mixer, combine remaining ingredients; beat until smooth. Fold in egg whites; pour into crust. Bake at 375°F for 55 to 60 minutes*. Serves 12.

Recipe from BGE cookbook “Maryland Classics.” I baked it for about 45 minutes and it turned out quite dark so the recipe may need adjusting.

Fresh cheese:

• ½ gallon milk
• 1 tsp nigari
• salt to taste

Heat milk plus salt until milk is scalded. As it begins to cool, stir in 1 tsp nigari. Strain with cheesecloth, sprinkle with additional salt if desired and store until needed.

From J. Q. Dickinson Salt Works