FARMER’S CHEESE & BERRY NO-BAKE CAKE

Written By Lenka Dhoju

Summer heat and some ladyfinger biscuits laying on our kitchen counter got me craving for some delicious refreshing summer dessert, ideally made in under thirty minutes.

I started with combining ingredients that were in my mind picturing what was going to be an ultimate refreshing summer dessert with an aftertaste of my childhood. And then, in no time, there was an upgraded version of a very popular Czech & Slovak summer dessert - smotanova torta (sour cream torte) laying on the table. A layer of ladyfinger biscuits covered under a creamy, sweet & tangy sour cream and tvaroh filling, all smeared with a good spoonful of my favorite blueberry-sumac jam and topped with fresh blueberries.

Traditionally, for this dessert I'd rather use round biscuits called "piskoty" instead of ladyfingers but similar to tvaroh they're not always available in the stores hence the ladyfingers (that taste almost the same). Blueberries can as well be substituted by any fresh berries of your preference, or best whatever is just ready to be harvested in your garden - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries ... or my favorite, red currants. I remember that when I was a kid my mom would make the cake with canned tangerines too 

If you can’t find tvaroh at your store, the best substitution would be a full-fat farmer's cheese (not mascarpone). The only downside of the recipe is the waiting time - the cake should set and ladyfingers soften and soak up the cream in the fridge ideally overnight. Still, licking out the bowls is allowed

Ingredients

  • 250g Tvaroh (or full-fat farmer's cheese)

  • 250g Sour cream

  • 30g Powdered sugar

  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

  • Zest from 1 lemon

  • ~ 16 Ladyfinger biscuits (more or less depending on the size of the form)

  • 3 tbsp. Blueberry jam (or tangy jam of your preference)

  • ~200g Blueberries

1. Into a mixing bowl add 250g Tvaroh, 250g Sour cream, 30g Powdered sugar, Zest from 1 lemon and 1 tsp. Vanilla extract and mix well until all ingredients are fully incorporated

2. Line a loaf pan/ spring form with parchment paper and place a layer of ladyfinger biscuits on the bottom (I was using a loaf pan and could fit exactly 8 biscuits on the bottom). Spread half of the cream evenly all over the ladyfingers and then smear 3 tbsp. of Blueberry jam on top of the cream

3. Cover the layer of cream & jam with the second layer of ladyfingers and then repeat with the remaining cream. Cover the cream with fresh blueberries, wrap the cake into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or ideally overnight. Serve with your favorite summer lemonade

Lenka Dhoju
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