Chocolate cheesecake

For this recipe, it is better to use soft, paste-like cottage cheese. I buy cottage cheese in buckets, it's just mashed, but without sugar. If the cottage cheese is lumpy, it needs to be slightly diluted with sour cream or add a piece of soft butter to make it easier to beat into a homogeneous mass. It is best to use fine sugar, it can even be ground in a blender or coffee grinder.

In a bowl, combine flour, 200 g of butter, 1 whole egg, sour cream, cocoa powder, and baking powder, as well as 130 g of sugar. Mix everything together until you get the dough. This can be done by hand or using a mixer.

At the final stage, it is better to knead the dough by hand. Roll the dough into a ball.

Put it in a bag or wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it into a disc. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 1.5 hours or in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Take half of the dough and press it into a heat-resistant baking dish. The syrniki will be quite large, so you will need a big dish or multiple dishes. Leave the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat until fluffy and stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl, beat the cottage cheese, egg yolks, and sugar. Add vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, or vanilla essence. Add a packet of vanilla pudding mix (or substitute with cornstarch).

Carefully add beaten egg whites, stir to keep the mixture light and airy.

Distribute the cottage cheese mixture onto the dough. Gently shake the mold to release any air bubbles.

Grate the remaining dough using a coarse grater. Spread it evenly over the cottage cheese mixture.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool.

Cut the cheesecake into squares and serve.