Negresă with urdă cream (Romanian whey cheese)

Name: Negresă with urdă cream (Romanian whey cheese)
Ingredients: 150 g butter; 300 g chocolate with 55% cacao; 50 ml milk; 3 eggs; 110 g sugar; 250 g flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon fine salt; 50 g urdă; 100 g sugar; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dessert - Negresă with urdă cream (Romanian whey cheese) by Paraschiva E. - Recipia

Urdă, sweet and creamy, goes into a Negresă with urdă cream (Romanian whey cheese), baked for 25-30 minutes. The chocolate, butter and milk base stays dense, while the egg and lemon zest cream makes stripes when you run a fork over the surface; once cut, the middle is moist and compact, with pale streaks through the chocolate. I choose urdă for its creamy texture and because it doesn't make the base soggy while it bakes. Preparation: 20 minutes. Cooking: 30 minutes. Resting: 80 minutes. Total time: 130 minutes. Serves: 12. Approximately 410 kcal and 7 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

For the base

150 g butter
300 g chocolate with 55% cacao
50 ml milk
3 eggs
110 g sugar
250 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt

For the cheese cream

50 g urdă
100 g sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Put the butter, broken-up chocolate and milk in a saucepan. Heat over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth and glossy; let it cool for 20 minutes. 2. Beat the 3 eggs with 110 g sugar for 3 minutes, until pale, then mix in the cooled chocolate mixture. 3. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt, then whisk them into the chocolate mixture until no lumps remain. Pour the batter into a 30 × 20 cm pan lined with baking paper. 4. Beat the urdă with 100 g sugar and the egg, then add the lemon zest and vanilla extract. The cream should be smooth. 5. Spoon the cream over the batter in small dollops. Gently run a fork over the top, just enough to swirl the two mixtures together a little. 6. Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are firm and a toothpick no longer comes out with raw batter on it. Let the cake cool for 60 minutes before cutting it into portions.

Notes

You can replace the urdă with 50 g well-drained cottage cheese or 50 g mascarpone; cottage cheese that is too wet can release liquid into the cream. If the urdă is grainy, purée it first so the swirls come out finer. Chocolate with 55% cacao gives a balanced flavor; a more bitter one makes the base more intense. In a larger pan, the layer will be thinner and may bake faster than in a 30 × 20 cm pan. The cake contains gluten, dairy and eggs. There isn't really a way to rush the cooling, because warm Negresă breaks when you cut it. It goes well with unsweetened coffee and keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.