Also from our own site, https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cookin...ase-90885.htmlBelow is the recipe from the link (and is no longer available) in the early replies for this question. Notes in and below recipe are just some things that we have noticed in using the recipe several times. You may use or ignore the notes. My Navy friend who got me started eating this dessert, and whose mother was raised in East Baltimore and fed it to him for about 50 years—says that this recipe is the “real deal”. We found it being sold in a bakery in Ellicott City about 10+ years ago too.
German Smearcase (aka German Smear Cake)
Crust: (Note: pre-made crusts work fine unless you want it thicker like bakeries usually serve it)
1 cup flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ cup sugar
1 egg, 1 tablespoon butter, ¼ cup milk
Grease a 13-by-9 inch baking pan. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together until a dough is formed. Press dough into pan using floured hands.
Filling
1 pound cottage cheese (large curd)
8 ounces cream cheese (Note: Softening in microwave first helps)
8 tablespoons cornstarch
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 and ¼ cups milk
1 and ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon (Note: adding cinnamon after fully cooked works best for us)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Push the cottage cheese through a fine mesh. Cream the cottage cheese and cream cheese with the paddle of a mixer for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch. Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time until blended.
Add vanilla, butter, milk, and sugar, and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.
Carefully pour mixture over crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until cake has set.
Notes (not in original recipe): The bakeries we have seen smearcase sold in, normally prepare it thicker (like a cake) instead of thinner like a pie. If you just use graham cracker pre-made crusts or frozen pie crusts, this mix will probably make two “pies”. If you use a deeper pan, one thicker “cake” may utilize all the filling. Suggest having an extra crust and/or some small tart-type pans available the first time you use the recipe in case you have filling left over. Also, this is a very runny filling and it is best to finish filling the baking pan(s) after the pan has been set onto the shelf. We don't screen the cottage cheese--mixing pretty well liquifies it.
We cook for about 45 minutes (5 minutes more than recipe calls for) but maybe less in different ovens.
Even when fully cooked, it will be somewhat “liquidy”, but sets up as it cools.
If you see any brown spots at all start to appear on the surface (we don't add cinnamon until we have taken out of the oven so that we can see the top of the cake/pie better) but if any brown spots appear-remove from oven. We had one occasion where we got our timing off and it didn't set properly. Splenda works in place of sugar but changes taste a little. Checking with a toothpick should produce some residue on toothpick but watch for brown spots. If seen, take out of oven.