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Recipe: Myzithropita, A Greek Cheesecake For the Ages

Name: Myzithropita
Cuisine: Athens
Ingredients: 1 ½ kg fresh myzithra cheese (or ricotta cheese); 260 gr light brown sugar; 5 large eggs; Pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon powdered mastiha; Zest of one unwaxed and preferably organic lemon; 70 gr fine semolina; 1 tsp baking powder; Butter for greasing the pan; One round cake tin around 27 cm diameterHoney and cinnamon to serve

By Carolina Doriti

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Recipe Information

Around Greece you will find several variations on myzithropita, some even with different names but always with fresh cheese as the base. Best known are the Cretan versions, which are commonly eaten for breakfast. These are either similar in appearance (although not preparation or flavor) to pancakes, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon, or wrapped in a thick phyllo, dip fried and served with honey or sugar and cinnamon.

Skepasti on Tinos and melopita (“honey pie”) on Sifnos and Mykonos are more or less the same recipe: They are made with fresh cheese, eggs, sugar, flour and honey, and baked in the oven. The version I most often make is from Paros, where I grew up spending every single summer of my childhood and teenage years (although similar versions exist on other Cycladic islands). I love adding mastiha in the mix, as the traditional melitinia recipe from Santorini calls for.

If you can’t get fresh sweet myzithra cheese you can replace it with anthotyro (a similar Greek cheese), manouri mixed with a bit of yogurt to soften it up, or Italian ricotta. If you can’t get mastiha (although I recommend trying to find it at a Greek store or online) you can replace it with vanilla.

I love this cake because it’s not very sweet and can be quite refreshing (the fact that I keep it cold in the fridge certainly adds to this feeling). I particularly enjoy it for breakfast drizzled with good quality thyme honey from the island of Tinos and plenty of cinnamon, along with my large cup of morning coffee.

Ingredients

1 ½ kg fresh myzithra cheese (or ricotta cheese)
260 gr light brown sugar
5 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon powdered mastiha
Zest of one unwaxed and preferably organic lemon
70 gr fine semolina
1 tsp baking powder
Butter for greasing the pan
One round cake tin around 27 cm diameter

Honey and cinnamon to serve

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven at 170 C.

Step 2

Put the cheese in a large bowl and mash it with a big fork.

Step 3

Mix in the sugar and stir using the same fork.

Step 4

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them into the cheese mix along with the lemon zest, mastiha and baking powder.

Step 5

Mix well to incorporate and finally start gradually adding the semolina, while stirring constantly.

Step 6

Grease the pan with butter and pour in the mix.

Step 7

Bake on the lowest rack for about 45-60 minutes until all golden-brown on top. Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool.

Once it has cooled down, remove it carefully from the cake tin and serve drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon.

To convert metric measurements to US and British kitchen units, click here.

Written & photos by Carolina Doriti

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