Today I’m finally tackling Grandma’s recipe for Ost Kaka – the Real Kind from Scratch. If you’re not familiar with what this dish is, it’s a Swedish treat that is a cross between a cheesecake and a custard, and I have seen recipes where it is even baked like a cheesecake. The ladies and farm wives that belonged to the church in the little town near where Grandma and her family lived were famous for making this delicious delicacy, and so were the ladies in Grandma’s family! There is a recipe on Plenty Sweet Life for Ost Kaka – the Easy Kind that I make quite often, but this one is the ONE. This one starts with milk and rennet (to curdle and make the cheese) and takes a little more effort to make. I never did watch Grandma make this, and I’m determined to figure this out and make it from scratch. I never saw my mom make it this way, either, but she did try to do it once after Grandma passed away and she said Grandpa told her, “I never saw anything look like that!” Haha! As you can see from the many recipe cards involved here, that there was an evolution of her recipe over time. I read and re-read all of these notes (written on scratch paper and on the back of that scratch paper, and by the way – she was making it long before 1985) many, many times in the last year or so, knowing that the time was coming for me to try to make this.
Now we come to the fond farewell part of the post. This will be my last one. As of July 22, I have officially been doing the blog for 10 years. It was done as a way to honor my Grandma by making all of her old recipes that were so important to our family. There have been over 1200 posts, making not just Grandma’s (both of my grandmas) recipes, but my mom’s, my sister’s, other family members’, friends’ and recipes that were either ones I had been making for years or that I just felt like trying. There have been very few duds in the over 1200+ recipes, and it’s been A LOT of fun! But there are only a few recipes left to do – one that involves a salad made with lemon Jello and includes other non-salad (not fruit) type ingredients (a retro favorite of Ladies Aid luncheons and NOT my family) and a few pickle recipes (some that involve beets – NOT a favorite of my husband) that make huge batches and I assume would have used surplus from the gardens of the Great Depression era to feed the large family that Grandma grew up in (and would make waaaay too much for just me and my husband). Plenty Sweet Life will stay right here, and any time you need the perfect recipe, I hope you’ll check back and see if you can’t find something here. I have to leave it here – my kids use it as their personal recipe file! 🙂 You never know, I may still put a new recipe on from time to time, if I try something new that I want to share. I appreciate each and every one of you who came along with me and read my ramblings and tried Grandma’s recipes – I have learned a lot and had a lot of fun. The time has come to move on to other adventures. But there’s time for more tears and sentiment later – at the end of this post. Now, let’s get on with the adventure that was – making this Ost Kaka – the Real Kind!
Here is the recipe as I made it:
Ost Kaka – the Real Kind
These notes were just written out on scratch paper for Grandma to keep track of, for herself, what she did and for when. It was hard to figure out, but I went by the original card and just adjusted when I felt it necessary. I only used 1 gallon of milk instead of 1 1/2 gallons because it looked like she used more when making two pans of Ost Kaka for her church’s 4th of July celebration.
To make the cheese:
Heat to lukewarm (I actually checked the temperature here to make sure it was at least 98.6 degrees):
1 gallon of 2% milk (1 1/2 gallons if making two pans)
Add:
1 cup flour mixed with about 3/4 cup water
1 rennet tablet soaked in water (the card says 1/2 of a tablet, but since further on she used 2 tablets, it seemed like 1/2 of one might not be enough)
(The card also says to add 2 eggs here, but I added them later as her notes indicated to do that.)
Let the milk, flour mixture, and rennet sit for at least 30-45 minutes (I had to go at least 60 minutes). I had a problem here and had to do it again – see below).
To make the Ost Kaka:
Combine:
4-5 eggs, beaten (I used 5 because I think our eggs are larger now than they used to be)
3/4 cup sugar (the card says 1/2 cup, but her notes later say 3/4)
1 pint whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
(The card says to add a little nutmeg, but I never knew Grandma to put that in. She later also said to add the cream plus a pint of half-and-half, but that seemed like it would be too much for just one pan, so I only used the cream.)
Mix this mixture with the cheese mixture.
Pour into a 9″ x 13″ pan.
Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours (she says to start at 275 degrees and stir halfway through, but we like it with more of a browned top than she did, so I baked at 300 degrees the whole time and I don’t stir it).
While the milk was warming, I got the flour mixture and the rennet ready to go.
This is the other reason I only used 1 gallon of milk instead of 1 1/2 gallon – it would have been too much for my pot!
It’s not the most appealing-looking mixture, but we’re making cheese here – think cottage cheese. This is curds and whey. I had to do this part twice as I let the milk get too hot the first time and the rennet didn’t work. The milk needs to stay lukewarm, or 98.6 degrees. I probably could have also let it sit a bit longer – the curds were a bit softer than I remember Grandma’s being. Hers turned out more like the curds in cottage cheese.
The next mixture is where I added ALL the eggs, instead of adding half of them with the flour and rennet.
You can see the curds, or cheese, here. Combine it all and that’s it.
The pan was pretty full with everything combined. This is why I think her notes were for two pans.
Because the pan was so full, I maybe could have baked it just a bit longer. It was a little watery, but maybe that was because the pan was so full and it needed a bit more time. We like it this brown on top, but Grandma would never let it get this brown. 🙂
Not bad for a first try! It was a little watery, but it was still delicious!
This smelled like Grandma and Grandpa. There is a definite scent of the cream – amazing!
While this recipe is very tasty, I have to say I might like the easy kind better. Maybe it’s just that we’re used to having that more often. I can’t get over how the kitchen smelled while this was baking. Family recipes are so important for many reasons, and it’s important to document them, so we can bring back those flavors and smells and the memories of those loved ones once they’re gone. They’re really NOT gone, then, are they? Grandma was very proud of her Swedish heritage, and she made sure our whole family was, too. There aren’t a lot of Scandinavian recipes on the blog, but this one and the easy recipe are pretty important, and I’m so glad I tried to make this myself. You know how they always say, “it doesn’t taste as good as Grandma’s”? Now I know. I know what the secret ingredient is – it’s love. That’s what Plenty Sweet Life has been all about. It’s about sharing the recipes with my family and sharing the love. These recipes haven’t been just about feeding them, it’s been about feeding the soul and sharing the love and bringing back the memories we all have with Grandma and Grandpa, and then making more memories of our own. That’s why it was important for me to save this one for last. This is one of the most special recipes Grandma had and the one we loved the most. I hope you all try this Ost Kaka – the Real Kind from Scratch, and make some memories to share with your family.
Plenty Sweet Life 