Plăcintă, Romanian sweet-and-salty cheese pie

Ingredients

For the dough

• 600 g flour
• 30 g flour for dusting
• 150 g full-fat Greek yogurt 10%
• 100 ml milk
• 50 ml oil
• 45 g vanilla-flavored powdered sugar
• 10 g baking powder
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large eggs
• 5 ml lemon juice

For the filling

• 1 kg full-fat creamy fresh cheese
• 300 g creamy salty cheese
• 350 g telemea (Romanian brined cheese)
• mildly salted
• 3 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 5 ml rum essence
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 80 g raisins
• optional

For decorating

• 20 g powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. 2. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, the eggs for the dough, milk and oil. Add the vanilla-flavored powdered sugar, vanilla, grated lemon zest and salt. 3. Mix in the flour and the baking powder dissolved with lemon juice. Knead for a few minutes, until you have an elastic dough that doesn’t stick. If it does stick, use a little of the flour set aside for dusting. 4. Dust the work surface with flour, divide the dough in two and roll out two sheets the size of the oven tray. The dough is easy to handle and doesn’t tear. 5. Mix the fresh cheese, salty cheese, telemea, the eggs for the filling, sugar, rum essence, vanilla, lemon zest and raisins, if using. 6. Line the tray with baking paper or prepare it as you normally would. Lay in the first sheet and prick it with a fork, spread the filling over it and cover with the second sheet. Prick the top sheet too. 7. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 180°C, until the top sheet is browned. 8. Take the pie out of the oven, cover it with baking paper and then with a clean towel. Leave it for 60 minutes, until cool. 9. Cut the pie once it’s cold and dust it with powdered sugar.