Käsekuchen – Cheesecake
Makes: 12 servings
Ingredients for the Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 stick (7 tbsp/ 3 1/2 oz / 100g) butter
Ingredients for the Filling
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
3/4 stick (7 tbsp/ 3 1/2 oz / 100g) butter, softened at room temperature
6 ounces heavy cream
17 ounces/500 grams Quark (This is a light yogurt-type cream cheese. Substitutions: farmer's cheese, purée cottage cheese in a blender or food processor, or purée eight parts of ricotta cheese with 1 part of sour cream in a food processor)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
Directions for the Crust
Sift the flour, stir in the baking powder, salt, vanilla sugar, lemon zest sugar. Rub in the butter, add the egg and knead until smooth. Place dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 300F / 150C / Gas Mark 2.
Roll out the dough on a well-floured work surface, then form it into a ball again and roll it out a second time. Place dough in bottom of a 9 or 9 1/2-inch greased springform pan, pressing it up the sides almost to the top. Set aside.
Directions for the filling
Combine egg yolks, sugar and vanilla sugar, and beat until pale and foamy. Add the softened butter and beat well. Add the heavy cream and beat again. Add the quark and stir until the mixture is smooth and well-mixed.
Whisk the egg whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold very gently into the quark mixture, also adding the sifted cornstarch a little at a time. Pour the filling into the crust shell and gently shake to even it out.
Trim the dough, leaving about 1 inch (2 1/2 cm). Bake in preheated oven at 300F/150C/Gas Mark 2 for 50 to 60 minutes, or until well risen and golden. It will resemble a soufflé at this point, but sunken in the middle.
Turn the oven off, and let the cheesecake rest in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cool at room temperature for about an hour, and then refrigerate for several hours before removing from the pan and serving.
The cheesecake can be made a day in advance, and served with sliced strawberries, or a raspberry sauce. Store leftovers in refrigerator, covered.
(I’m adding the umlaut-free spelling of kaesekuchen in here to make it easier to search for this recipe.)