German Quark Cake Recipes

EASY-MADE GERMAN QUARK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Line a colander with cheese cloth and place over a large pot in the sink.
• Gently mix buttermilk and cream together in a 2-quart ceramic casserole dish.
• Cook in the preheated oven for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
• Pour buttermilk mixture into the prepared colander; drain for 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer drained cheese to a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Store in the refrigerator.

GERMAN CHEESECAKE (KäSEKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl and give everything a stir with a spoon.
• Cut up the cold butter into small cubes and add them into the bowl. Also, add the vanilla extract and the egg into the bowl.
• Mix everything with the spiral dough hooks of your electric mixer or your clean hands until the dough is well combined and forms a ball. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in the fridge.
• In a separate large bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar using the normal beaters of your electric mixer until you have a creamy mixture. Add the pudding powder and vanilla extract and mix again until everything is well combined. Then add the oil and the lemon zest and mix again.
• In another bowl, whip the cream using clean (!) beaters of your electric mixer.
• Fold the whipped cream and quark into the mixture in the large bowl little by little using a spatula or large spoon. Make sure everything is well combined and there are no lumps. Set the mixture aside.
• Line the bottom of your 9 1/2 inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Also preheat the oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Take out the dough from the fridge and sprinkle your countertop with a little bit of flour. Roll out your dough using a rolling pin until it is just a bit larger than your springform pan. Place the rolled out dough into the pan and press it into place. You should have a crust of approx. 1 inch going up the sides of the pan.
• Once your crust is fitted well, pour the filling into the pan and make sure it is evenly distributed using a spatula or spoon.
• Bake the cake in the lower third of your oven for 60-70 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool fully before removing the ring of the springform pan. You can dust the cheesecake with powdered sugar before serving (optional).

AUTHENTIC AND EASY GERMAN CHEESECAKE (KäSEKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9" round springform pan. Add in a parchment round, then liberally grease the parchment round and sides of pan.
• For the crust: In a medium bowl, combine 2/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 egg and the flour with a spoon until combined. Press into the bottom of the pan and lightly up the sides of the pan.
• For the cheesecake filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together remaining butter and the remaining granulated sugar with the paddle attachment until creamy, about 1 minute. Separate the eggs - one bowl of whites, and one bowl of egg yolks, and add in the egg yolks to the cheesecake batter one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the quark or ricotta. Beat in the vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice, followed by the vanilla pudding powder. Set aside briefly.
• In another stand mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until stiffened, about 5-7 minutes. Fold the stiff egg whites into the cheesecake batter until fully incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
• Bake for approximately 1 hour, then turn off the oven and crack the door, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for 10 minutes. Gently remove the cheesecake and allow to come to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 2 hours to set and chill. Serve with whipped cream and berries, if desired.

GERMAN QUARK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
• Beat together the first seven ingredients till well blended.
• Mix baking powder with flour and sift. Fold into the quark mixture.
• Butter and flour a loaf pan. Pour batter into it.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes until top is lightly browned. Remove from heat - it will flop down again when cool; that's normal.
• (Variations: Add small slices of apple, maraschino cherries cut in halves or raisins or cranberries pre-soaked in rum.).

AUTHENTIC GERMAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Combine sifted flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla sugar or extract.
• Cut in the cold butter. Add the beaten egg and then use your hands to form into a dough.
• Wrap dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for an hour.
• After the dough has chilled, form it into a disc and then roll it out on a floured surface. Shape dough into a disc again, and roll it out once or twice more. I found the dough very crumbly and hard to work with at first, but after I rolled it out twice, it became much easier to work with.
• Roll dough out once more and then transfer to a prepared 9-inch springform pan. (See photos above for how to fold and transfer the dough to the springform pan.) Use your fingers to press the dough so that it evenly covers the bottom and all the way up the sides of the pan.
• Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla sugar until pale. Add softened butter and continue beating until well combined. Add the heavy cream and beat again. Add quark (or Greek yogurt or pureed cottage cheese) and beat one more time until everything is thoroughly combined.
• Beat egg whites and salt to stiff peaks in a separate bowl. Fold egg whites and sifted cornstarch into cheesecake batter.
• Pour cheesecake batter into a 9-inch springform pan and bake on 300F for about 60 minutes. (My cheesecake needed 70 minutes.) The cheesecake is done when the edges are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. The center of the cheesecake will be a bit wiggly and it will fall as it cools - that's normal.
• Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for an hour and then several hours in the fridge. It's best to make this cheesecake the day before you want to serve it. Enjoy!

CHEESE-CREAM CAKE / KäSESAHNETORTE

Steps:

• Put the Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla and Salt into a large bowl and start whisking at high speed while slowely adding the hot Water. Whisk for 10 - 15 minutes!
• Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F (convection oven).
• In a small bowl, mix the flour and starch. Then use a sieve to add it to the egg mix.
• Carefully mix the flour-starch mix into the egg mass, folding it in by stirring from the bottom to the top while turning the bowl.
• Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper and fill the batter into the baking pan.
• Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. Maybe more, depending on your oven.
• Let the baked cake cool completely in the pan. Then, either cover it and let rest overnight or put it into the fridge for one hour before continuing.
• Strain the tangerines from the cans and keep 75ml of the juice.
• Chose 13 of the best tangerines and set them aside for the decoration later.
• In a small bowl, add some tablespoons of cold water and add the gelatin. Mix and let it soak.
• In the meantime, put the Quark into a large mixing bowl. Add lemon zest from the lemon and also some juice of the lemon and the sugar. Mix it until the sugar is dissolved.
• Heat the tangerine juice that you had set aside but don't heat it over 70°C /158°F!Add the soaked gelatine to the juice and mix it until it is dissolved.Now, add 2 tbsp. of the quark mixture to the gelatine, mix and add another tbsp. to it until the temperature of the gelatine is about the same as the quark.Next, add the entire gelatine mix to the Quark mixture and mix on high speed for 5 minutes.
• Put it into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
• Whip the cream until it can hold its shape.
• Add the cream to the Quark and stir until it is mixed well.
• Cut the biscuit cake into two, using one half as the bottom of the cake by putting it onto a cake plate.
• Put the cake ring around the cake, then fill some of the quark onto the biscuit.
• Now place the remaining tangerines to the bottom (see video).
• Add the remaining Quark mix on top.
• Precut the other half of the cake into 12 triangular slices and place them on top of the cake as if it was one piece.
• Put into the fridge for at least 5 hours, better overnight.
• Sprinkle a good amount of confectioners sugar on the top of the cake, then remove the cake ring.
• Whip the 100 ml of cream and put it into a piping bag with a star tip.
• Set cream decorations around the edge of the cake and add one of the tangerines that you have set aside on each precut top slice.
• Put some cream decoration in the center of the cake and add a tangerine.
• Optional: Sprinkle some chopped green pistachios on the cream to make the colors even pop more.
• Keep cooled, serve cold. Also, this cake can be frozen very well but it takes time to thaw.

CLASSIC GERMAN QUARK CREAM CAKE WITH MANDARIN ORANGES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 10-inch (26cm) springform tin with baking parchment and set aside. Remove the curd (quark) from the fridge and let it come to room temperature while the sponge bakes or cools down.
• p id="instruction-step-2″>2. Add the eggs to a large bowl and whisk until slightly foamy. Add the sugar gradually while whisking on high speed until the mixture looks pale and thick (do not overbeat the eggs or the cake will probably collapse when baked). Add the vanilla extract and stir in. Mix the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Sift a small portion onto the egg mixture and fold in very gently. Repeat the process several times until all of the flour mix is incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, give it a small shake to allow air bubbles to rise up, and bake for about 18-20 minutes. The sponge should have risen nicely with a golden brown color. Take out of the oven, loosen the sponge from the edge of the springform tin with a knife and let cool down completely.
• p id="instruction-step-3″>3. For the filling let the gelatin leaves soak in a bowl with cold water for about 5-8 minutes. Whisk the (cold) heavy cream until stiff peaks form and set aside. Add the quark and confectioners' sugar to a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice, the orange zest, and limoncello (optional) to the bowl and mix in. Squeeze the gelatin to remove some water and add to a small saucepan. Heat up gently until the gelatin is dissolved completely. Gradually add some of the curd mixture and mix to combine. Remove from heat and stir in some more curd mixture, then transfer to the large bowl and mix until well combined - if the temperature differences are too great, the gelatin may clump. Gently fold in the whipped cream in 2-3 batches. Pour the mandarin orange slices into a sieve and drain well.
• id="instruction-step-4″>4. Remove the top of the sponge cake if is domed or sunken in so you get a straight surface, then cut horizontally in half. Lay one of the cakes on a serving plate and place a cake ring tight around it. Add about 1/3 of the curd mixture on top and spread evenly. Place half of the mandarin orange slices on the filling and top with another 1/3 of the cream. Repeat this step with the remaining mandarin orange slices and finish with the last 1/3 of the filling. Smooth out the top and place the second cake layer on top inside the cake ring. Place the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Before serving, use a sharp knife to divide the top sponge cake into 12 pieces - try not to cut into the filling. The cuts are just to prevent the filling from being compressed too much when you try to cut into the cake later on. Carefully remove the cake from the ring, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

KäSEKUCHEN - GERMAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Sift together all purpose non bleached flour and baking powder into a medium size mixing bowl.
• Add and combine: salt, vanilla sugar, lemon zest and sugar.
• Add 100 g of refrigerated butter and cut into the mix using a pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal.
• Add the egg to the mixture and toss around with wooden spoon until somewhat incorporated. Knead with your hands briefly until just held together. Work as fast as you can to prevent softening the dough. Add 1 tbsp of chilled water if necessary.
• Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Butter 230 mm (9") spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
• Take the dough out of refrigerator and let sit for 5 minutes to acclimatize.
• Roll the dough between two plastic wraps, into a circular shape with an approximate diameter of 355 mm (14").
• Transfer the dough to the spring form pan, plastic wrap on the top until dough is shaped to the pan.
• Peel off the plastic wrap and trim the dough sticking past the spring form side edges.
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate while making a filling.
• Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF) with the rack in the middle.
• Separate egg yolks and egg whites into two separate medium size mixing bowls.
• Using a hand held mixer whip egg yolks at low speed gradually adding approximately 1/2 of the sugar. Increase the speed to high and mix until fluffy and tripled in volume, 5 minutes.
• Whisk in lemon juice, salt and lemon zest.
• Add Quark to the mixture and whisk until fully integrated and smooth.
• Mix approximately 1 cup of Quark mixture with the melted butter and then add it back in and incorporate to the rest of the Quark mixture.
• Add cream of tartar to egg whites and mix at high speed until soft peaks are formed.
• Gradually add the sugar and mix at high speed until stiff peaks.
• Mix in vanilla extract.
• Transfer approximately 1/4 of whipped egg whites to the Quark mixture and stir to lighten it up.
• Fold gently the rest of the egg whites using a rubber spatula. Fold just long enough until fairly uniform mixture is obtained.
• Pour the filling into a dough lined spring form, level the top using the rubber spatula.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until the top is lightly browned.
• Turn the oven off and crack the oven door open. Let it cool for 2 hours.
• Remove cake from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.
• Run the sharp knife around and release the spring form. Remove the bottom pan and parchment paper.
• Cover the cake with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.
• Serve chilled and dusted with confectioner's sugar. Keep refrigerated and covered.