Cottage cheese and pumpkin casserole

Delicate dessert that will hardly leave anyone indifferent. Just look at how spectacular and appetizing the cut is in a tasty and healthy cottage cheese casserole. The sun pumpkin is carefully disguised with the aroma of orange peel, so even opponents of this orange fruit will definitely not refuse such a treat.

Such a cheerful and positive curd-pumpkin casserole has long been walking around the open spaces of the Russian Internet and for sure many hostesses prepared it according to the recipe of Olenka Stikhareva (thank you very much, dear!). So I finally matured: I took out last year's supplies of pumpkin puree from the freezer, bought cottage cheese and more likely to create in the kitchen!

If it seems to you that such a nice and clear pattern on the cut of a curd casserole is obtained solely by the wave of a magic wand, then it only seems. In reality, everything is simpler than simple: it is only important to observe some subtleties and nuances when kneading the filling and laying out the layers. Well, and the temperature in the oven is quite important - take your time, then you will have the same beautiful cottage cheese casserole with pumpkin as mine.

Ingredients

• •Curd layer:
• Cottage cheese(500 grams)
• Chicken eggs (2 pieces)
• SugarSugar (100 grams)
• Poppy seeds (25 grams)
• Potato starchPotato starch(1 tablespoon)
• Vanilla SugarVanilla Sugar(1 tablespoon)
• •Pumpkin layer:
• Pumpkin puree(500 grams)
• Chicken eggs(2 pieces)
• SugarSugar(70 grams)
• Potato starchPotato starch (1 tablespoon)
• Orange peel(1 tablespoon)
• •Pumpkin filling:
• Pumpkin puree(100 grams)
• Chicken eggs(2 pieces)
• Sour creamSour cream(100 grams)
• Sugar(30 grams)

Directions

1. To prepare this beautiful and delicious cottage cheese casserole, we need the following ingredients: cottage cheese (I use 1% fat, but you can use any), thick pumpkin puree, chicken eggs (I have quite large ones - about 55 grams each), granulated sugar and vanilla sugar, sour cream of any fat content (I took 20%), potato starch (can be replaced with corn), as well as poppy seeds and chopped orange peel. All foods should be at room temperature.
2. Immediately turn on the oven to warm up to 160 degrees and start making curd dough. To do this, put cottage cheese, sugar, vanilla sugar in a deep bowl (you can replace it with a pinch of vanillin), break the chicken eggs and add starch (take a little more cornstarch - 1 heaped tablespoon).
3. We punch all the ingredients with an immersion blender - in just a minute, everything will turn into a smooth and homogeneous mass. Of course, he can do almost the same thing in a food processor, but the most delicate curd mixture is obtained exclusively with the help of an immersion blender, believe me.
4. Add poppy seeds to the white dough (I did not steam them or cook them).
5. Mix everything - the first base for the casserole is ready.
6. We turn to the preparation of the second component - pumpkin. It's even easier here: put all the ingredients in a bowl (pumpkin puree, sugar, chicken eggs, orange zest, starch). I almost always cook pumpkin puree according to this recipe (I bake it in the oven) - so it is much thicker, sweeter and more aromatic than from boiled pumpkin.
7. We punch it with the same immersion blender (do not forget to wash it after the curd mass) to get a smooth and tender puree. It is clear that its color will completely depend on the color of the pumpkin itself, from which the puree was prepared (I have nutmeg). And the consistency is from the thickness of the pumpkin puree.
8. Now a very important point to get a beautiful cut in the finished casserole. Both types of bases (curd and pumpkin) should be the same consistency. For example, if one is thicker, it will drown in a more liquid one and settle to the bottom - then you can only dream of a striped beauty. I advise you to adjust the thickness of the curd base with milk, and pumpkin - by adding water. True, if you (like me) take dryish and crumbly cottage cheese, as well as thick pumpkin puree, you won't have to dilute anything! So, for baking, you can take dishes of any shape - I have a square one made of silicone (20x20 cm). Take a round one at least 20 cm, and preferably 22 cm in diameter. I almost never grease silicone dishes, but, for example, metal dishes must be treated with odorless vegetable oil. Alternatively, it can be creamy, but then additionally sprinkle it with wheat flour, shaking off the excess. We collect the pumpkin-curd casserole: take 1 tablespoon of each dough and alternately lay them in the center of the form on top of each other.
9. Thus, we fill in the entire form until both mixtures run out. Under its own weight, the workpiece will spread itself as it needs. Gently transfer the form into a preheated oven and cook at 160 degrees for 40-45 minutes. It is very important to understand that baking times can be very different from those indicated in the recipe! It depends not only on the oven (I have a gas - bottom heating, and you can have an electric one), but also on its nature, as well as the size of the baking dish.
10. It remains to prepare the pumpkin filling - this is not a necessary moment, but it turns out even tastier with it. In finished form, such a filling is very delicate, like a soufflé. To prepare it, simply combine pumpkin puree, sour cream, sugar and eggs.
11. We punch everything with an immersion blender - a completely homogeneous mass will be liquid and pouring.
12. When the cottage cheese-pumpkin casserole grasps properly and does not tremble when the mold is wobbling, it will take about 35-50 minutes, so after half an hour you can check the readiness. Mine was baked in 40 minutes.
13. Fill the casserole with a liquid mixture and send it to the oven for another 20-30 minutes.
14. When the top layer only shakes in the middle (like, for example, cheesecake), turn off the heat, open the oven and leave the mold to cool for 10-15 minutes in this position. After that, completely cool the dessert to room temperature - you can cut the cottage cheese and pumpkin casserole in portions. By the way, it is cut like clockwork.
15. This delicate delicacy will conquer you and your family: juicy multi-layered casserole with crispy poppy seeds and velvety filling ... Cook for your health and bon appetit, friends!