Cottage Cheese & Strawberry Cake

There’s nothing quite like the mix of creamy cottage cheese and fresh strawberries in a soft cake. This Cottage Cheese & Strawberry Cake (Vatrushka Style) feels light, comforting, and full of homemade charm. The sweetness of ripe strawberries blends beautifully with the tangy, creamy cheese, while the tender cake base makes every bite smooth and satisfying.

It’s the kind of dessert you can enjoy with a cup of tea in the afternoon, serve to friends when they visit, or bring to the table on a special day. Simple, fresh, and inviting—it’s a cake that always makes people smile.

These are the necessary ingredients:

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  Mix the softened butter (no need to melt it, just leave it at room temperature) with the sugar and egg.
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  If you do heat the butter due to lack of time, don’t forget to let it cool down so that the egg doesn’t coagulate when mixing the ingredients.
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  Add the dry ingredients; the flour should be sifted.
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  The dough is formed into a ball. After all the ingredients have been mixed, knead with your hands, but do not knead too much, otherwise it will be too hard. Wrap the ball in foil and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
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  Mix the cheese with the sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and egg.
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  Use a blender to obtain a smooth consistency.
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  Remove the stems from the strawberries and wash them with water. If fresh fruit is not available, frozen fruit can be used. However, in this case, they must be left to thaw and excess moisture must be removed, otherwise the filling will become liquid and will not bake, and the dough will become soggy. The strawberries can also be rolled in flour to absorb the juice they release.
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  Roll out the dough in the mold; you don’t need to use a rolling pin, you can do it with your hands. The dough is soft and malleable. Form the edges at the base so that the cheese filling doesn’t leak out when heated.
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  Pour the filling over the dough.
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  Distribute the strawberries, gently dipping them into the mixture. They can be arranged randomly or used to create a pattern on the surface of the product.
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  The cake bakes for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. It is recommended to let it cool in the mold so that it does not crumble when removed.