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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 only 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

This isn’t the official Smearcase post- that’s to come later. (Update: Click here for Official Smearcase Post) This is just a brief post with two recipes from Elizabeth Ellicott Lea’s book. I thought they might offer some insight into the history of smearcase.

Many Baltimoreans know “Smearcase” as a beloved cheesecake of German origin, available at many of the same bakeries that peddle Peach Cakes. Much like Baltimore Peach Cake, Smearcase has enjoyed a fair share of nostalgic press. The word “smearcase,” readers may know, referred originally to the cheese that this cake was made from. That is what the word meant to Elizabeth Ellicott Lea.

I had some milk that had gone a little off so I decided to try and make use of it. Modern cottage cheese advice suggested adding a little acid, in the form of vinegar or lemon juice, to curdle the milk. I opted for that method. Modern milk is pasteurized, and so I was essentially working with a different ingredient than Lea would have been.

By 1845, when Lea’s book was published, the recipe was named “Cheese Cake,” but in truth, cheesecake is more the direct descendent of pudding than any cake. Most early American cookbooks and their English predecessors have recipes for making “curd” or “cheese puddings”.

This recipe was about as close to hearth cooking as it gets in my kitchen, owing to a lack of air-conditioning on a very hot day. The buttercrust had to be worked quickly, and it looks quite “rustic” as a result. It is humbling to think of the ways that experienced hearth cooks of the past would cope with these challenges.

Even with the 19th-century flavors (rose water and currants), the pie was suitable for a modern sweet tooth. The cheesemaking process, however, is a little unappetizing looking, so don’t be surprised if this post makes you want to swear off dairy…

“Cottage Cheese, or Smearcase

The best plan of making this dish, is to set the tinpan of clabber on a hot stove, or in a pot of water that is boiling over the fire. When the whey has risen sufficiently, pour it through a colander, and put the curd or cheese away in a cold place, and just before going to table, season it with salt and pepper to your taste, and pour some sweet cream over it.”

“Cheese Cakes

Take one quart of curd, after the whey has been strained off, mix with it half a pound of fresh butter, an ounce of pounded blanched almonds, the whites of three eggs, a tea-cup of currants; season with sugar and rose water to your taste, and bake in plates with paste.”

Recipes from “Domestic cookery, useful receipts, and hints to young housekeepers” by ELizabeth Ellicott Lea

Tag: smearcase

Smierkase Cake (Smearcase Cheesecake)

Elizabeth Ellicott Lea’s Smearcase

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