Käsekuchen | Baked German Cheesecake | German Baking Classics

Hmmmmm, Käsekuchen!❤ My sister absolutely LOVES this German cheesecake!

Käsekuchen is another German Baking Classic! You´ll find it almost every German Bakery or coffee shop. They have a classic one with just the normal cheesecake filling and sometimes you can also find one with some fruit in it, orange mandarines (“Mandarinen Käsekuchen”) are a popular option, for example.

German Cheesecake has a lovely, crumbly base, which is blind baked first for a few minutes to ensure you don´t end up with a soggy bottom (Mary Berry wouldn´t approve of that…).
Whilst it´s baking you can prepare the filling, which is made with a German custard mix (Vanillepudding), Quark and finally stiff egg whites.

How can I make this German Cheesecake (when not in Germany)?

German baking often uses ingredients I find hard getting in the UK (which seems ridiculous when you think how huge the baking aisles are in the shops!). I try to bring things back from Germany when I visit, but I am also actively trying to find substitutes in the UK.
This German Cheesecake is no exception when it comes to the ingredients, but I think I have managed to find something that could work!

Quark looks a bit like cream cheese, but doesn´t taste like it. Haha, I´m sorry but that´s the best explanation I can give (check Wikipedia)! It´s a typical German dairy product, that you can use in baking as well as savoury meals (have it on bread, with baked potatoes, etc…). Luckily, you can now also buy it in the UK! I know, for example, that Lidl and Morrisons have it.

In Germany, their vanilla custard, or “Vanillepudding” as it is called is often made from a sachet (37g). In the UK, I have seen that you can buy also buy custard powder, for example from Morrisons. Just use 37g of that, and then continue as I explained in the methods section, by mixing it with sugar and a few tablespoons of the milk, before adding it to the remaining boiling milk.

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My sister´s favourite cheesecake…

Whilst some people (my mum, for example) like this German Cheesecake when it is still slightly warm from the oven, I much prefer serving it chilled from the fridge – it tastes a lot better when it´s cold in my opinion! That is also the way it is served in German bakeries and cafés.
The cake lasts about 3-4 days in the fridge – but I doubt it will last that long! This German Cheesecake cuts into about 10-12 slices, so it´s enough to feed a small crowd for afternoon tea (or “Kaffee und Kuchen” as it is called in Germany).

More German Baking Classics:

This fun little series of German Baking Classics is expanding more and more! Head over to my baking category for more German recipe inspiration, but I would really recommend trying these German Nussschnecken or a Classic Donauwellen Cake!

Baked German Cheesecake | German Baking Classics

Recipe

Ingredients:

FOR THE BASE:

• 250g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 80g caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp milk
• 100g margarine

FOR THE GERMAN CHEESECAKE FILLING:

• 250ml milk
• 1 sachet (37g) of vanilla custard powder
• 375g Quark
• 100g caster sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1 egg yolk, to brush on top

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

• 20 cm (8 inch) deep, round spring-clip tin
• (silicone) baking brush

Method:

1. Lightly grease a round 20 cm (8 inch) spring-clip tin with butter. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Put all the ingredients for the base into a large mixing bowl. Beat with the dough hook attachment of an electric whisk or with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together creating a soft dough. It might be easier to finish it off with your hands.
3. Take about half of the dough, roughly flatten it into a disk and lay at the bottom of the greased tin. Gently press down the dough and ease it towards the edge of the tin, creating an even layer at the bottom. Take the other half of the dough, roll into a sausage and lay around the sides of the tin. Ease the dough up the sides and try and make it roughly the same thickness as the base. The dough “case” of the Käsekuchen should be just under half a centimetre thick.
4. Prick the base and the sides all over with a fork, to prevent it from rising too much. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven.
   It will shrink down the edges slightly, if you like once you have removed it from the oven, use the back of a metal spoon to gently push the dough up the sides of the tin again.
5. Whilst the base is baking, prepare the custard and quark filling. Pour the 250ml milk into a pot. Remove about 3-4 tbsp of the milk and mix in a small bowl with the custard powder and sugar. Bring the remaining milk to the boil. Once boiling, take off the heat, stir in the custard powder mixture and whisk until smooth. Return to the heat and keep mixing for about a minute until it starts to thicken.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the quark with a whisk.
7. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites on high until they form stiff peaks. Stir in a tablespoon of the stiff egg whites into the custard and quark mix, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
8. Pour the cheesecake filling into the pastry case. Gently brush some of the egg yolk on top. Don´t put on too much, as otherwise, the top of the cake will get very dark.
9. Turn down the oven to 160°C and bake the German Cheesecake for about 1 hour. Then turn off the oven and leave to cool in the oven.
10. Whilst you can also eat this Käsekuchen when it is still slightly warm, I would recommend eating it chilled. Leave the cake in the oven until almost completely cool, then carefully remove from the baking tin and put on a serving plate. Leave it in the fridge to cool completely.
11. Just before serving, dust the cake with a little icing sugar.