Russischer Zupfkuchen Traybake | German Baking Classic

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“Russischer Zupfkuchen” is another German Baking Classic that is a favourite from my childhood! It is a type of baked cheesecake with a chocolate pastry base and a light cheesecake filling that is made with quark. Unlike other classic German cakes, you are less likely to find this “Zupfkuchen” in a bakery. Instead, it is more commonly found as a ready-mix or ready-made from the freezer section in the supermarket.

Traditionally, this cake would be made in a round tin, and I have adapted this recipe from a round 20cm version of this cake already on my blog, which you can find here. Being British as well as German though, I do love a good traybake and this is a much handier form for bake sales, pot lucks, or just for taking somewhere to share with work colleagues or friends! So here is my British Traybake version of a traditional German Russischer Zupfkuchen!

What is a “Russischer Zupfkuchen”?

“Russischer Zupfkuchen” literally translates to “Russian “pulled” cake” – do not ask me where that name came from! I have no idea about the Russian part, but I assume the “pulled” part comes from the extra pieces of chocolate dough that are torn into small pieces and scattered over the cake before baking.

This cake is lovely and light and the remaining chocolate dough scattered over the cheesecake filling makes for a nice pattern and great texture for eating! In my opinion, like a Classic German Baked Cheesecake, this “Russischer Zupfkuchen” tastes best once it has cooled completely and – even better – been chilled in the fridge for a while. Once cold it is also a lot easier to slice. This traybake can also be cut into pieces and frozen, and then just defrosted for a few hours in the fridge before serving.

How do you make a “Russischer Zupfkuchen”?

A Russischer Zupfkuchen is made from a chocolate shortcrust-like base and topped with a cheesecake filling. Roughly ⅔ of the chocolate dough are used to make the base of the cake and the rest is pulled apart and scattered over the cheesecake filling once that has been added. I made this cake in a traybake tin from Lakeland (see here) which I absolutely swear by and make most of my cakes in!

The filling for the “Zupfkuchen” is made with quark, a dairy product that is very commonly found in German baking. Luckily, it is readily available in the UK now, too. I buy mine in Morrisons or Tesco. Quark makes for a lighter cheesecake filling than if you were to use cream cheese and/or cream. To the quark you add eggs, single cream, a little butter and sugar to sweeten, cornflour to thicken and some vanilla extract and lemon zest for flavour!

More German Baking Recipes

If you are new to my blog, you won´t know yet, but my dad is German and I grew up in Germany, so I have had my fair share of German cakes and know quite a lot about German baking! It is very different from British baking (I love both though for different reasons) and I always like to share these German recipes with my friends and family that are unfamiliar with them. Here are some of my other favourite German baking classics:

“Russischer Zupfkuchen” | German Baking Classic

Recipe

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BASE:

350g plain flour
200g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
30g cocoa powder
3 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING:

170g caster sugar
500g Quark
200mL single cream
70g butter, melted
3 large eggs
25g cornflour
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt

TO FINISH:

icing sugar, to serve (optional)

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

30x22cm traybake tin (I use this one)

Method:

Start by lightly greasing and lining a 30x22cm traybake tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
To make the chocolate base, add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and knead together to form a smooth dough. Use about two thirds of the dough and press it into the base of the tin, using a metal spoon or your hands to make sure it is even. Reserve the remaining third of dough for later and chill both the base and remaining dough in the fridge whilst you prepare the filling.
To make the filling, whisk together all of the ingredients for the filling using a balloon or electric whisk until well combined. The mixture will be quite runny but that’s normal!
Remove the prepared base from the fridge and carefully pour the cheesecake mix into the tin. Take the reserved third of the dough, rip it into small pieces, and evenly scatter it over the cheesecake filling, gently pushing it into the mix.
Bake the “Zupfkuchen” in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until the filling has set and no longer “wobbles” when you give the tin a shake.
Leave the cake on a wire rack until completely cooled before carefully removing it from the tin. Transfer to a serving plate and carefully remove the baking paper underneath.
Dust with icing sugar just before serving and cut the cake into approximately 24 squares.

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