Spinning Silver | Miryem’s Cheesecake

It’s February, which means we’ve had one winter, yes. But about second winter? All kidding aside, today’s post takes inspiration from a novel set in a land plunged into perpetual winter. I’m talking about Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver and main character Miryem’s favorite cheesecake.

Click here to skip to the recipe for Miryem’s Cheesecake.

Spinning Silver into Gold

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik takes place in Lithvas, a fantasy version of Lithuania, and follows the narratives of three young women. Miryem, the Jewish moneylender, attracts the attention of the Staryk’s ice-casting king with her (figurative) boast of turning silver into gold. Wanda, her servant, finds freedom from her drunkard father through service to repay his debt to Miryem. And the noblewoman Irina, through wearing magical jewelry procured by Miryem, not only marries the Tsar but tricks the hungry demon who possesses him. Their connection places them in a unique position not only to aid each other’s survival but save two kingdoms from devastation.

At its heart, Spinning Silver‘s story revolves around the balance of debt necessary for a community’s survival and the concept of value beyond the material. In a world corrupted by imbalance and exploitation, the greatest powers one can have are recognizing worth and keeping one’s word. I would go into it further, but I don’t want to spoil the story any more than I already have.

So why don’t we get to the delicious reason why I’m not allowed to use edible glitter anymore?

Apples and a bit of Sunlight

I based today’s dish on Miryem’s description of her visits to her mother’s family in the city as a child. She says her grandmother “would feed [her] to bursting three times every day, and the last night before [they] left she would always make cheesecake, her cheesecake, which was baked golden on the outside and thick and white and crumbly inside and tasted just a little bit of apples, and she would make decorations with sweet golden raisins on the top.”

Obviously, this cheesecake is not the graham cracker-crusted kind! No, this dessert is Sernik — a polish cake traditionally crafted with twarog, a crumbly farmer’s cheese. Twarog has a tanginess unique to itself, or so I’ve heard. That’s right, friends, I could not find it in any grocery store near me. Farmer’s cheese, however, has the proper consistency and is far easier to find.

Novik plays into the gold motifs in this cake’s description. I find this especially interesting since she later establishes that gold holds sunlight. 

With that in mind, I soaked golden raisins in chamomile tea. Egyptian mythology and Russian folklore associate chamomile with the sun for its color, daisy-like shape, and physical resilience. I also chose it since its scent amps the apple butter I blended into the batter. 

For some extra texture, I also added crushed hazelnuts because they are also Miryem’s mother’s favorite. The cake’s crumb is surprisingly light — mostly from whipping the egg whites into a meringue before folding it in. You could add a crust, but it’s not necessary. With a bit of parchment paper, baking spray, and a spring-form cake pan, you’re ready to go.

Finally, I wanted to use edible cake spray to stencil a snowflake on top of my cake to decorate. However, supply chain issues had me erroneously buying spray baker’s shimmer powder instead. The curtains in my dining room are still sparkly, and edible glitter is banned from my household. 

I make these mistakes so you won’t have to. 

Sing for your Supper!

If you plan to cook the recipe off the site, keep scrolling. However, while access to recipes on the blog will always be free, I also have printable PDF recipe cards and thematic cook-along Spotify playlists as rewards for those who choose to support the blog.

The printable recipe card and playlist for Miryem’s Cheesecake inspired by Spinning Silver will be available as a $2 donor reward on my Ko-Fi page until the next post goes up.

-OR-

You can instead join my Patreon community at the “Sing for your Supper” level ($1/month) for access to the playlists or the “It’s All in the Cards” level ($5/month) or higher for access to ALL of my blog recipe cards and playlists. To get you started, patrons of all reward tiers receive a welcome gift of my Lord of the Rings recipe cards and playlists from January 2019.

Edible Glitter Optional