Varškės Apkekas is Lithuania's baked curd cheese pudding — curd cheese (varškė) mixed with eggs, semolina, raisins, and lemon zest, baked until golden and puffy. Eaten warm with sour cream, it is the festive Lithuanian dessert, the dish that appears at every name day and family gathering.
Varškės Apkepas (curd cheese bake) is the Lithuanian festive dessert, made whenever there is a celebration — a name day, a birthday, a family gathering. It uses varškė (the Lithuanian curd cheese), mixed with eggs, semolina (to absorb moisture and give structure), raisins, and lemon zest, then baked until puffed and golden. It is related to the broader Eastern European baked-curd tradition (Russian zapekanka, Polish sernik), but the Lithuanian version is simpler, less sweet, and always served with sour cream (not a sweet sauce). It is the dessert that every Lithuanian grandmother makes for guests.
A slice of warm, golden, puffy bake, the curd cheese making it dense and creamy, the raisins giving bursts of sweetness, the lemon zest a bright note. The top is slightly crusty; the inside is soft and spoonable. A dollop of cold sour cream on top — the tang cuts the richness. It is the most welcoming dessert in Lithuania.
The curd cheese must be well-drained (wet cheese makes the bake soggy). Semolina (or cream of wheat) absorbs the cheese's moisture during baking and gives the bake structure (it holds together when sliced). The eggs are separated — yolks mixed into the cheese, whites whipped and folded in for lightness. The bake puffs in the oven (from the egg whites) then settles as it cools. It is served warm, when the texture is at its best.
Variations
Some add cinnamon; some use different dried fruit; some add a layer of apples at the bottom; the semolina can be replaced with flour.
On the Palate
Where Varškės Apkepas sits in the Lithuanian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
7 steps · 25 min active + 35 min waiting
- 13 min
Preheat oven to 180°C; butter a baking dish.
- 28 min
Mix 500 g dry curd cheese (varškė) with 4 egg yolks, 80 g sugar, 50 g semolina, 50 g raisins, and zest of 1 lemon.
- 38 min
Whip the 4 egg whites to stiff peaks; fold gently into the cheese mixture.
Watch outWhip the whites to stiff, glossy peaks and fold them in gently — deflate them with rough stirring and the bake comes out flat and dense instead of light.
- 42 min
Pour into the dish; smooth the top.
- 535 min
Bake 35 minutes until puffed, golden, and just set.
Watch outIt's done when puffed, golden, and just set with the center no longer wobbly — overbake and the curd dries out crumbly.
- 610 min
Cool 10 minutes (it will sink slightly).
- 71 min
Serve warm with cold sour cream.
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