Ronnie's Notes
When it comes to the food part, most of us associate Shavuot with cheesecake.
Who doesn’t like cheesecake?!
There are so many fabulous cheesecake recipes! I have several on my website. But one of them — my family recipe — is somewhat different than most because it’s made with cornmeal, a staple in Romania.
My grandmother made this, I never learned its proper name until a few years ago: Malai. All I know is how delicious it is.
So here, in time for Shavuot, is Romanian Cheesecake (Malai)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease an 8-inch cake pan.
Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Add the milk, eggs and cooled, melted butter and mix on medium speed for or until thoroughly blended.
Spoon one half of the cornmeal mixture into the prepared pan and spread the batter to make it even.
Top with the filling.
Top with the remaining batter (spread the batter to make a smooth, even top crust).
Bake for or until the top is golden brown and the cake is set.
Serve the cake warm, room temperature or slightly chilled.
Serve plain or topped with sour cream (traditional), whipped cream or ice cream. (I add about 2 teaspoons of sugar for each cup of sour cream used as a garnish). 1 pound farmer’s cheese 1 large egg 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel Mix the farmer’s cheese, egg, sugar and lemon peel until the ingredients are well blended.