Best German Cheesecake / Käsekuchen Recipe
German Cheesecake or Käsekuchen is a classic favorite that tastes fabulous! Traditionally it is made with Quark, but in other countries, you can substitute or make your own.
Equipment
- 9" or 10" round springform - Or 9x13 casserole dish for cheesecake bars (They'll be less high). If you're using a 9" form and you have a little too much filling, just bake it in a small, oven proof dish alongside your cake without the crust. It'll be your little taste tester.
- Large mixing bowl for the filling
- Medium mixing bowl for the crust
- Smaller bowl for beating the egg white, 1 qt minimum.
- Small bowl for beating the cream - I measure it in a 2 cup pyrex pitcher and use the same for beating the cream.
- Spatula
- Scale (optional). - I like to just put ingredients into the bowl that's sitting on a scale instead of measuring each separately.
- Hand mixer
- Egg beaters, optional - for off-grid cooking
- Wire whisk, optional - for off-grid cooking
- Parchment, optional - to cover the bottom of the baking dish.
Ingredients
For The Crust:
- 150 g Butter, softened - about 10½ tbsp
- 100 g Sugar ½ cup
- 200 g Flour - 1 cup + 1 tbsp
- 100 g Arrowroot or corn starch - scant ½ cup
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- pinch Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg yolk - Add the extra egg white to your filling's egg whites!
For The Filling:
- 50 g Butter - 2 oz or half a stick
- 120 g Sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp
- 60 g Flour - 1/2 cup
- 5 Eggs, separated
- 1000 g Quark 4 cups
- 200 g Whipping cream, roughly divided 1 cup
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 Lemon zest
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360℉.
- Grease your baking dish and line the bottom with parchment if you like.
Make The Shortbread Crust:
- Beat the butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead to form a soft dough. If you're non-electric, you can add the flour, sugar and salt to the bowl, cut in the butter, add the egg, and knead into a soft dough.
- Divide the dough in half.
- Take one half and either roll it out into a disk to cover the bottom or just press it into the springform till you have the bottom covered evenly.
- Roll the other half of the dough into a rope and lay it around the edge of the spring form. Press into an even rim all the way around the form.
- Set aside and make the filling.
Make The Filling:
- If your quark is lumpy or you're using a substitute such as cottage cheese, whisk or beat your cheese till it's smooth before adding it to the batter.
- Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks into the large bowl. Put the whites into a one quart or bigger mixing container.
- Place the sugar, butter, flour, baking powder, vanilla, lemon juice and zest into the large bowl. Beat till smooth. Add the blended cheese and half the cream, and beat till smooth and incorporated.
- Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites, and, using egg beaters or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites till very stiff and you can make a clean cut with a knife.
- Beat the rest of the cream until firm and peaks form, avoid over beating.
- Fold the egg white and then the cream very gently into the batter to keep it nice and fluffy.
- Pour the batter into the prepared crust, smoothe the top and place it into the oven on the lower rack. Bake for about an hour.
- Cheesecake is prone to cracking, but if you cut around the edge of the cake, between the batter and the crust about halfway through baking (after 30 minutes), it should help minimize cracking.I didn't do that, but I don't mind cracking, it's just cosmetic, but if you're serving it to guests you might care and can try this trick.
- Your cake is done when the center is set up and firm when pressed and a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Leave the cake in the oven for another hour with the door cracked slightly open.
- Take it out of the oven and cool completely, before taking it out of the form.
- Do not refrigerate until it is cooled all the way.
- Store in the refrigerator until use. If you cover it with berries, it's best to remove the berries before storing leftovers. It will be good for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Freeze any leftovers for up to 3 months.