Farmer’s Cheesecake

In Vienna, Budapest, and Prague, cheesecakes are made with farmer’s cheese (Topfen), not cream cheese. Topfentorte is a light, even delicate, alternative to the dense American classic. Some bakers consider a cracked cheesecake a disaster, but a few shallow hairline cracks are fine. Deep cracks are caused by overbaking, so don’t be tempted to bake longer than necessary, even if the center seems underdone. Residual heat will continue to cook the cake outside of the oven, and it firms u