Farmer's Cheese Cake (Tvarožník)
Ingredients: leavened dough, farmer’s cheese, sugar, milk, cinnamon, vanilla sugar
Prep Time: 30 minutes (if you have the dough ready)
Tvarožník is a cake made using tvaroh or farmer’s cheese. It is basically cottage cheese from which all the juice (whey) has been squeezed out. My grandma made this cake from the same sweet leavened dough she used to make orechovník (nut roll) and makovník (poppy seed roll).
Start off with making the filling. You can do this while the dough is rising. Combine the farmer’s cheese (tvaroh), two tablespoons of sugar (cukor, to taste), about half a cup of milk (mlieko), and one packet of vanilla sugar (vanilkový cukor, about a tablespoon).
Also add one packet (about a tablespoon) of cinnamon (škorica). Mix and press well so that you get a mixture with the consistency of paste. Add more milk if needed.
Then take one of the sections of the dough, and run over it few times with the rolling pin. The grab it in your hands, and work it from the bottom side using your knuckles. In the end, the dough was about an inch thick.
Place it onto a greased baking pan, and press out the ends. Then grease the top with oil (olej).
My grandma then used this circular cutting tool to perforate the edges. This is done just for looks. Evenly spread the filling on top.
Lightly grease the top with oil and let sit for some 10 minutes.
Then bake on “high” until the edges turn golden brown. Enjoy!
I am so very happy to find this recipe! It seems to be the same dish that my grandmother made for me, calling it “slovak pizza.” Such a treat! Mom didn’t make it or have a recipe I could find. Figured I wouldn’t enjoy it ever again.
Thank you so much!!
That’s neat. I have never heard anyone call it that but it does sort of make sense. it sure does look like a pizza. Are you going to try making it? If so, let me know how it turns out.
We also called this Slovak pizza. I have been trying to find the right consistancy of the cheese and now because of this recipe I have found it. My grandmother also made this with lekvar spread on top and she would also sprinkle poppy seed on it. I can pronounce the Slovak word for it but I don’t know how to spell it. I’ll try it phonetically in English…Bale (like a bale of hay) e (e like in enter) sh (the closest I come come is like the sound of sh when you are telling someone to shhh – be quiet or softer).I make it for my family; however, all of us can’t eat the poppy seed so I just spread plain lekvar (prune butter)on the dough. What a treat! Have even spread apricot on top. My grandchildren love this so now there is another generation loving this recipe.
My Grandma and Great Aunt made a dish called Pagach. It seemed to have the same dough as yours, but the cheese was mixed with potato (like in Pierogi) Do you have a recipe for Pagach? Thanks for all the work you do to keep Slovak Cooking going. I appreciate the recipes very much!
Made pagach today, for Easter Sunday, although I cheat. Take refrigerated pizza dough, place on a cookie sheet,bake for about 6 minutes. Make mashed potatoes and add cheese. Spread this over bottom dough and top with another pizza dough. Brown 3/4 of a stick of butter and pour on top. Bake according to pizza dough package. (Maybe a little less, check it). You can, of course make your own dough, but that’s the way I make it! Yummy!!! btw: I’m looking for a recipe for something my Grandmother used to make. Have no idea how to spell it but it is pronounced “coo”.
I live in Southern California and cannot find the farmers cheese. My mother used to call it dried cottage cheese.
Yeah, it is exactly that – cottage cheese minus the liquid whey. One thing you can try is to grab some cheese cloths, wrap cottage cheese in them, and squeeze out the liquid. It’s messy though.
You can make it yourself using buttermilk or yogurt. In the case of yogurt, simply dump double the weight of yoghurt that you’ll need in the form of cheese into a muslin cloth over a colander, which is set over a bowl. Then tie the corners of the muslin and hang it from a hook over the bowl in a cool part of the house for 18 hours or so. In the case of buttermilk, bring the buttermilk very slowly to 30degC/86degF, stirring gently, let it sit for several hours, pour off the whey at the top (can be used in other cooking), then do the same trick with the muslin. Both of these cheeses will have a faint and very pleasing acidity.
I live in Brazil and brazilian people is definitely a Pizza Lover. Never saw a pizza like this, so, as a curious person and a pizza lover, I’m dying to try it, it seems so good ! =)
How much cheese does the recipe use? You forgot to say… 🙂
Joanna, I used 2 pkgs of Farmer’s Cheese and it wasn’t enough. It was only a thin layer – but maybe I stretched my dough out bigger. I would definitely use more next time.
My grandparents also made a “slovak pizza” which was pronounced bee-el-ish ( I have no idea on the spelling” but cottage cheese was used with dill weed sprinkled on top…
Yes ” smotanový báleš s kôprom”.
http://varecha.pravda.sk/recepty/slany-kysnuty-kolac-s-koprom-fotorecept/41131-recept.html
I just made this today for the first time. I see that I didn’t put the cheese on thick enough so it was a bit disappointing. I did use fresh dill though because I know that’s the way my grandmother made it. I just wish I had asked her to teach me how to make this. She died about 15 years ago and no one in the family has the recipe.I am determined to get it right before next Christmas so I can serve it on Christmas Eve like she did.It was my favorite thing on Christmas Eve.
My family called this kolache(not sure of the spelling). The dough was topped with dry cottage cheese mixed with lots of eggs and salt. When it comes out of the oven lots of butter is melted on top.
So glad to find this recipe! My maternal grandma always made this–as well as one with lekvar–for Christmas Eve, and we ate it with our mushroom/saurkraut soup. We also nicknamed it “Slovak pizza” but the proper name for it was something like “piplanka”. I’ve never known of anyone else who served this (not even my paternal grandmother, who came from a village only 30 miles away from my maternal grandmother in Eastern Slovakia). Once my grandma died, I was the one who made it for my immediate family; I’ve tweaked the dough recipe and cheese recipe over the years because I didn’t have her recipe, just several of her ethnic recipe books. Lately I’ve used ricotta because it’s easier to find (and you don’t have to drain it like cottage cheese). I’ve also pre-baked the dough, as well, before putting on the topping and baking a bit more.
I look forward to trying this version!
Leslie it’s wonderful to hear you ate this on Christmas Eve. So did we. I still make it and enjoy it with the soup and fish, etc. do you know from what part of 4astern Slovakia your family was from?
How much cottage cheese? I notice many of these recipes are missing measurements and conversions.
Same question as Veronika–most of us won’t be buying packets of cheese from the same shop as you. 🙂
I have a 250g packet of Tvaroh/Twarog, I’ll have to wing it. (I love tvaroh, one of the things I miss most from working in Slovakia.)
My grandmother made this with sliced apples on tops on top but i can not find a recipe for this. not sure if the apples where on top or the cottage cheese. any one know where i can find out the correct way to make it?
Yes… I make it like my grandmother….farmers cheese, raisins, eggs and sugar.