Savillum (Roman Cheesecake)
Ancient Roman cheesecake drizzled with honey and sprinkled with poppy seeds
City/Region: Rome
Time Period: 2nd Century BC
Ancient Romans took their feasting very seriously. If you had the money, a feast could be made up of several courses, starting with hors d’oeuvres and aperitifs and ending with sweet dishes. These dessert-type foods were sweetened with fruit or honey, like this cheesecake.
This savillum is very dense, and also quite flavorful and tasty. With the amount of honey I used, it’s not as sweet as a modern cheesecake, but you can see how it has evolved over the last two thousand years. What type of cheese you use will make a big difference in the flavor of your cheesecake. I used ricotta, and my cheesecake was smooth and mild with a prominent honey flavor, but if you choose a stronger flavored cheese, I think it’ll be the main note coming through.
“Make the savillum this way. Take half a pound of flour and two and a half pounds of cheese, and mix together as for the libum. Add 1/4 pound of honey and 1 egg. Grease an earthenware dish with oil. When you have mixed the ingredients well, pour into the dish and cover it with an earthenware lid. See that you cook it well in the middle, where it is thickest. When it is cooked, remove the dish, coat with honey, sprinkle with poppy seeds, and put it back beneath the lid for a short while, then remove from the fire. Serve it in the dish with a spoon.”
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups (165 g) whole wheat or barley flour
- 3 1/3 cups (820 g) cheese*, I used ricotta
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (80 g) honey, plus more for drizzling on top
- Poppy seeds**, for sprinkling on top
*The ancient recipe isn’t specific, so use what you like. Any cheese, hard or soft, should work, but you probably want to steer clear of super salty cheeses.
**Black and white poppy seeds were both used in ancient Rome. If you use white, I recommend toasting them in a dry pan for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and cheese until combined. If you’re using a harder or dryer cheese than ricotta, try grating it or chopping it fine. The consistency of your mixture will be different from mine, so if you try it, let me know how it turned out in the comments.
- Add the egg and stir it in, then stir in the 1/4 cup (80 g) of honey.
- Coat a baking dish, I used a 9-inch round ceramic one, with a little olive oil. You can use a smaller dish for a taller cheesecake, you'll just need to bake it for a little longer. Pour the cheese mixture into the dish and smooth out the top. If you have an oven-safe cover for your dish, go ahead and put it on, but I don’t think it will make much of a difference with this recipe if you don’t use a cover.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour (closer to an hour if you made a taller cheesecake), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean.
- Remove the cheesecake and immediately drizzle honey over it. The amount for this is up to you and depends on how sweet you want your cheesecake. Sprinkle it with poppy seeds, and again, the amount of poppy seeds is up to you and your preference.
- Cover the dish again (if you’re using a cover) and place it back in the oven for 10 minutes, then take it out of the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool completely.