Pauline Sikorski Nowaczyk’s Prize-Winning Cottage Cheese Cake

The focus of a September 28, 1935, Saginaw News weekly recipe contest was cake. The news reported: 

“Cakes! Cakes! Cakes! Hundreds of ways to make delicious cakes were revealed in this week’s contest. Many of them are published here, including the prize winners. Try them on your family – on your guests – see how they like them.”  (The Saginaw News, September 28, 1935.) 

The competition was fierce and submissions diverse – recipe titles ranged from the literally poetic:  Poetic Devil’s Food, to the overly prosaic – although descriptive: Large Quantity Cake Recipe for Storing. However, it was Mrs. John Nowaczyk’s Cottage Cheese Cake that took the blue ribbon.  

The article accompanying her recipe noted: 

“Mrs. John Nowaczyk, 2120 Mercer street, was the fortunate winner over many participants in this week’s recipe on Cottage Cheese Cake. 

In 1924 she was married in Grand Rapids, which is also her birthplace, and the above picture of Nowacyzk happens to be her wedding photograph. Baking and cooking come rather as second nature to her as she has several small children to properly feed and care for.  

Mrs. Nowaczyk belongs to the Parent Teacher’s association in which she is very interested, and also St. Rita’s Altar Society. Up to this time she had never failed to file all Saturday Recipe pages.  

Her husband is an employee of the Chevrolet Foundry, working there as a trucker. (The Saginaw News, September 28, 1935.) 

When Pauline passed away in 1980, her funeral was held at St. Rita’s Catholic Church. Her obituary emphasized the central role the parish had played in her life. When she and her husband moved to Saginaw in 1924, her brother. Rev. F. Stanley J. Sikorski, had already been the priest at St. Rita’s for two years.  

St. Rita's Catholic Church

Founded to serve the Polish immigrant community in the northeastern Saginaw neighborhood, the parish was only two years old at the time of his arrival in 1922: 

“Rev.  Fr. Sikorski came to St. Rita’s from a Standish parish which he had served since 1917. His arrival in Saginaw saw St. Rita’s church building still in its embryo stage of development - merely  the basement and shell of the upper section completed. Under the new pastor’s direction, the parishioners quickly finished the building and before long the congregation was occupying quarters on the first floor of the structure.  

When Rev. Sikorski came to St. Rita’s parish, the district was without its present sidewalks, sewers and running water, none of the modern improvement of the day having reached the section. Hardships with which the people had to cope were many.  

Handicapped as he was by conditions, the new pastor took to constructive work with a vigor which soon brought results. The church was soon completed [.] (The Saginaw News, January 26, 1935.) 

Location of St. Rita's - 1935 Sanborn Map

1935 Sanborn Map indicating changes in Streets

Pauline and John Nowaczyk  lived on Mercer Street – today’s Narloch Street- only a few blocks from St. Rita’s and an easy commute to John’s workplace at the Chevrolet Foundry.  

The lives of Pauline Sikorski Nowaczyk and her brother, Rev. Sikorski, whose parents were born in Poland, remind us of Saginaw’s rich and diverse heritage. And how closely each life story is interconnected.  

St. Rita’s parish was consolidated with other eastside parishes in 1992.  

The Recipe: Mrs. John Nowaczyk’s Cottage Cheese Cake:  

1 pkg of zwieback  

1 pkg. graham crackers 

1 Cup Sugar 

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/3 cup butter 

Filling for Cottage Cheese Cake: 

4 Eggs 

1 cup sugar 

2 lbs. cottage cheese 

2 tabs. of flour 

½ pint sweet cream 

1 tsp. Vanilla 

For lining: take zwieback and graham crackers, run through a food chopper, add sugar, then melted butter and cinnamon, mix together with your fingers, take a square pan, butter it real good, then line the pan with the first mixture, No. 1, about half inch thick – be sure to line the corners good, and a save a cup of this mixture for the top. 

The filling, beat eggs and sugar, then add cheese and vanilla, mix flour with cream add to the rest and pour into your lined pan. Sprinkle the top with the mixture left in the cup and bake in oven 45 minutes to one hour. (Delicious) Mrs. John Nowaczyk, 2120 Mercer Street. 

CTK Interpretation: 

Crust:  

1cup of plain breadcrumbs* or zwieback  

1 cup  graham cracker crumbs 

1 cup Sugar 

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/3 cup butter 

Filling: 

2 Eggs  

½ cup sugar 

1 lb. of cottage cheese  

1 T. flour  

½ cup heavy cream 

½ tsp vanilla  

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375. Excessively grease pan – we used a 7 ¼”  springform pan which was just under 4 inches deep. 

Combine both crumbs – graham and bread (or zwieback)– with sugar; add melted butter and cinnamon. Mix with spatula and fingers. Retain about a quarter cup of mixture and use the remainder to line pan about ½ thick – extending up sides.  

For Filling: 

Beat eggs and sugar, then add cottage cheese and vanilla. Mix flour with cream and add to mixture and pour into crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top. 

Place in preheated oven and bake. We started checking at 45 minutes. It took about 70 minutes in the CTK convection oven. Done when knife comes out clean.  

Cool and unmold.  

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CTK Notes: The observant reader will note that we have made half a batch of filling. We are uncertain exactly how much crust the original recipe made – exactly how much did 1935 packages of zwieback and graham crackers contain?  After making the crust, we decided to adjust the filling quantity and made a half batch. The proportion worked perfectly.  

CTK confession: the CTK staff made a rare mistake and accidentally omitted the sugar from the crust. Although we wouldn’t suggest doing so, it worked fine – perhaps we should suggest omitting it.  

*As we were unable to easily procure zwieback, we substituted dry breadcrumbs.  And this shortcut tempted us to fall into the slothful use of prepared graham cracker crumbs.  

Note: In addition to having her recipe published, Pauline Nowaczyk received a 72” x 108” India print piece of fabric suitable, according to the supplier for use as a wall handing, couch throw, or bed spread. It was furnished by the Condrade P. Fude Company on East Genesee Avenue – a store specializing in draperies.