Sweet semolina pudding with cottage cheese and baked apples
A warm breakfast from the oven brings just the right amount of coziness to the table on chilly mornings. When fine semolina flour combines with cottage cheese, the result is a mixture that bakes up beautifully in the oven.
- 400g cottage cheese
- 3 Owner
- 1 dash of lemon juice
- 1 dash of vanilla extract
- 50 g sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 70 g soft wheat semolina
- 1 pinch of cinnamon
- 1 apple
- 1 handful of berries (e.g. currants or raspberries)
- Icing sugar
- Puree the grainy cream cheese into a smooth mixture.
- Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks with the lemon juice, vanilla extract and sugar until frothy.
- Stir in the cream cheese.
- Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form and fold it into the mixture. Finally, stir in the semolina and a pinch of cinnamon.
- Lightly grease a casserole dish and preheat the oven to 180 °C (top/bottom heat).
- Core the apple and then cut it into thin wedges. Tip: It's best to use an apple corer for this 🛒.
- Fill half of the dough into the pan.
- Layer half of the apple slices on top.
- Repeat this process with the remaining dough and apple slices.
- Also, scatter the berries on top.
- Bake the cottage cheese and semolina casserole for 30-40 minutes.
- Let it cool down afterwards and sprinkle it with powdered sugar before serving.
Cottage cheese and semolina casserole with apples: a sweet breakfast
Warm desserts made from just a few basic ingredients have a long tradition. Milk, eggs, and grains were once used to create satisfying main meals that provided renewed energy after strenuous physical work. Today, we enjoy this uncomplicated preparation method right at the breakfast table. Complex carbohydrates and high-quality protein provide you with sustained energy for the day. And the dish is by no means heavy on the stomach.
Cottage cheese plays the starring role in this apple and cheese and semolina casserole. The small cheese curds don't melt completely during baking, but retain a slight texture. This gives the casserole an exciting bite and makes the filling particularly moist. Soft wheat semolina is better suited here than durum wheat semolina, as it is milled more finely and creates a softer consistency. If you let the mixture rest for ten minutes before baking, the grains can optimally absorb the moisture. This ensures the casserole bakes more evenly and doesn't collapse on the plate.
Apples bring a natural fruity sweetness and a welcome tartness to the recipe. It's best to choose tart varieties like Boskoop, Elstar, or Braeburn. These retain their shape in the oven and don't immediately fall apart into mush. You can fold the apple pieces directly into the semolina mixture or arrange them as a top layer on the casserole. The edges of the apples will caramelize slightly in the oven. Spices like cinnamon, a little freshly grated nutmeg, or the seeds from a vanilla bean round out the flavor. A pinch of salt in the batter further accentuates the sweet notes.
This recipe for cottage cheese and semolina pudding with apples can easily be adapted to the season. As soon as the temperatures rise, you can swap the apples for rhubarb pieces. In the height of summer, mix fresh blueberries or raspberries into the batter. When it gets chilly outside, serve the warm oven-baked dish with a generous dollop of plum compote or simply enjoy it straight from the dish.
Sweet casseroles are always a good choice for breakfast. Try a fluffy rhubarb semolina casserole or a quark casserole with cherries. Bread pudding is also a highlight on the breakfast table.
