Have you ever heard of Spaghetti Cheesecake? It’s a take on a Romanian dish. In Romania, is not called a cheesecake, but macaroane cu branza. That is funny, because almost nobody uses macaroni to make this dish, but spaghetti. In Romania another type of cheese is used, but I didn’t have any, so I used mascarpone. Soft cheese can be used also.

My husband likes this dish a lot, he used to have it as a child. I wasn’t keen on it, because a salted cheese was used and I didn’t think it works. If unsalted types of cheese would have been used, like mascarpone and soft cheese, I would have eaten a lot of it. If calories aren’t your concern, then add a spoon of chocolate spread (like I did) or a nice cherry preserve. It’s delightful like that too.

Spaghetti Cheesecake. Ingredients for 4 servings:

150g spaghetti
250g mascarpone cheese
3 eggs
75g demerara sugar
25g muscovado sugar
1tsp vanilla flavouring

Boil the pasta as per the instructions on the package. I suggest boiling the pasta for the minimum amount required, as they will cook a bit more in the oven and they should keep their shape. After the pasta is boiled, drain and rinse with cold water. This is an important step, to make sure the pasta stops the cooking process.

Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C fan.

While the oven is heating, make the cheesecake. In a bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with the sugar. Whisk in the eggs and the vanilla flavouring. Toss in the pasta and mix, so all the pasta is coated in the cheese mixture. Scoop the pasta in an baking tray. Make sure the tray is deep enough for the mixture to cover the pasta. I’ve used a glass baking tray.

Bake the cheesecake for 30 min, turning it after 20 minutes, so the baking is even. If you are using a fan oven, this is not necessary.

What do you think of this recipe? Is it Spaghetti Cheesecake something you would like to try?