Cottage Cheese and Cherry Pie

Make the dough. Cream the softened butter with 3 tbsp of sugar.

Separate the eggs into whites and yolks. Place the whites in a deep bowl and refrigerate (you'll need them for the cream), then add the yolks to the creamed butter and mix well.

Add the flour and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Shape the dough into a ball (if needed, add 1–2 tbsp of cold water).

Press the dough into a pan (I used a 20 cm diameter pan), spreading it across the bottom with your hands and forming sides about 2 cm high. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan for 30 minutes.

Make the cottage cheese cream. Combine the cottage cheese with 3 tbsp of sugar and mix until smooth.

Take the egg whites out of the refrigerator and beat for 3–5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Fold the egg whites into the cottage cheese, gently stirring with a spoon.

Drain all the liquid from the thawed cherries and gently squeeze out the cherries themselves.

Spread the cherries over the dough in the pan and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of sugar.

Spread the cream on top and smooth it out gently with a spoon. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 50 minutes.

Let the finished pie cool completely.

A slice of cottage cheese and cherry pie in cross-section (dusted with powdered sugar).