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Anne Whiteman was the mother of Michael Whiteman, a Brooklyn native and the business and creative partner of the legendary Joe Baum in designing and operating many restaurant projects, among them the food services of the World Trade Center, including Windows on the World, and the restoration and operation of the Rainbow Room. If this is the kind of food Michael grew up eating, then it's no wonder his palate is so finely tuned. This recipe is typical of highly evolved dairy noodle kugels, in that it is dessert-sweet and topped with corn flakes, although it doesn't call for the canned crushed pineapple that so many less refined recipes do. Here, the cottage cheese is pureed with the sour cream, milk, and eggs to form a silken custard to hold the noodles. Michael and I are not certain how his mother arrived at the odd amount of sour cream, but I have decided not to change it. It is called "birthday kugel" because his mother made it mainly for those celebratory occasions.

• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups 4-percent-fat cottage cheese (small or large curd, or California-style)
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 18 ounces wide, preferably flat egg noodles
• 1 cup coarsely crushed corn flakes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

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