Ostkaka means cheese cake, but it bears little resemblance to the New York kind. It is a warm baked pudding of fresh curds, eggs, cream and almonds, delicate and only lightly sweet, and it is the treasured dessert of Småland, the province of forests, lakes and glassworks where the Anderstorp circuit sits. Traditionally the curds are made at home by warming a large pot of milk with rennet, and Småland families serve it at weddings, midsummer and Christmas.

Cottage cheese makes a very good shortcut, and it is the method we give here, with the traditional curd making in the variations for the ambitious. Warm from the oven with a spoonful of strawberry or cloudberry jam and a cloud of whipped cream, it is a dessert of quiet comfort, more in the tradition of a rice pudding than a showpiece.

The cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups (450 g) full fat cottage cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup (65 g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (60 g) blanched almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 teaspoon butter

Method

1. Rub the butter over the inside of the baking dish.
2. In the large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for 1 minute. Whisk in the flour until smooth, then the cream, milk, almond extract and chopped almonds. Stir in the cottage cheese.
3. Pour into the dish and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
4. Let it rest for 20 minutes before serving. It firms as it cools.

To serve

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
• 3/4 cup (240 g) strawberry or cloudberry jam
• 1 cup (150 g) fresh strawberries or raspberries

Method

1. Whip the cream in the small bowl until it holds soft peaks, bending over at the tip when the whisk is lifted.
2. Spoon warm ostkaka into bowls and top with a spoonful of jam, whipped cream and berries.

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