Käsekuchen (German Quark Cheesecake)
A buttery shortcrust base and rim filled with low-fat quark, lemon juice and cornstarch, lightened with whipped egg whites and whipped cream, baked low and long at 320°F and cooled in the turned-off oven so it stays tall, pale and tangy.
Germany's Käsekuchen is made with quark, a soft fresh cheese, not cream cheese. German Wikipedia says the oldest German-language recipe in the modern sense is in Anna Wecker's cookbook of 1598, made with quark, eggs, sugar, butter and cinnamon; the Nuremberg cookbook of 1691 has several "Eyer-Käß-Dorten," and Henriette Davidis described a Silesian Käsekuchen on yeast dough in 1845. The German food code (the Lebensmittelbuch, as German Wikipedia summarizes it) even sets a minimum: at least 150 kg of cheese filling per 100 kg of dough, and at least 30 percent of that filling must be quark. In Austria the cheese is called Topfen, and in German-speaking Switzerland "Käsekuchen" means a savory cheese tart, so the sweet one is called Quarkkuchen.
This recipe is Dr. Oetker's classic Käsekuchen, from the German baking company's recipe site: a shortcrust shell, then quark folded with stiffly whipped egg whites and whipped cream. Those whipped whites matter to this hub. Metropolis, the Tokyo magazine, says a Kobe confectioner tasted käsekuchen in Berlin in 1969 and set out to make it in Japan, which is where our Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake begins.
Why it works the kitchen science
Whipped whites and cream
The air folded into the quark lifts the filling as it bakes, which is why a Käsekuchen is tall and light rather than dense like a New York cheesecake.
Cornstarch and a slow cool-down
The starch binds the watery quark so the filling sets clean, and cooling in the turned-off oven avoids the sudden temperature drop that King Arthur says makes cheesecakes crack and sink.
Step by step
- Step 1
Butter the bottom of a 10-inch (26 cm) springform. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), conventional heat, with a rack in the lower third.
- Step 2
Make the shortcrust: mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl, add the sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, egg and butter and work it with the dough hooks of a hand mixer, briefly on the lowest speed and then on the highest, into a dough. Shape it into a log.
- Step 3
Roll a good two thirds of the dough over the springform base, close the ring around it and prick the dough several times with a fork. Prebake in the lower third about 10 minutes, until pale gold. Cool on a rack and lower the oven to 320°F (160°C).
- Step 4
Roll the rest of the dough into a long rope, lay it around the edge of the base and press it up the ring into a rim about 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) high.
- Step 5
Make the filling: whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then whip the cream stiff in a second bowl. Stir the quark with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and yolks until smooth, then fold in the whites and the cream. Spread it evenly over the base.
- Step 6
Bake in the lower third about 70 minutes, until the top is set and pale gold, only a small circle in the center jiggles when you nudge the pan, and the center reads at least 160°F.
- Step 7
Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside 15 minutes with the door slightly open. Cool it completely in the pan on a rack (no more than 2 hours at room temperature), then refrigerate.
Käsekuchen (German Quark Cheesecake)
Serves 12 · one 10-inch (26 cm) cake · 2 hr 15 min total
Shortcrust (Mürbeteig)
- 225 g (about 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 level tsp baking powder
- 75 g (1/3 cup plus 2 tsp) sugar
- 1 packet (8 g) vanilla sugar, or 2 tsp sugar plus 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 100 g (7 tbsp) soft unsalted butter
- Butter for the pan
Filling
- 3 large egg whites
- 250 g (about 1 cup plus 1 tbsp) cold heavy whipping cream
- 750 g (about 1 lb 10 oz) low-fat quark (Magerquark)
- 150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 50 g (about 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp) cornstarch
- 3 large egg yolks
Method
- Butter the bottom of a 10-inch (26 cm) springform. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), conventional heat, with a rack in the lower third.
- Make the shortcrust: mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl, add the sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, egg and butter and work it with the dough hooks of a hand mixer, briefly on the lowest speed and then on the highest, into a dough. Shape it into a log.
- Roll a good two thirds of the dough over the springform base, close the ring around it and prick the dough several times with a fork. Prebake in the lower third about 10 minutes, until pale gold. Cool on a rack and lower the oven to 320°F (160°C).
- Roll the rest of the dough into a long rope, lay it around the edge of the base and press it up the ring into a rim about 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) high.
- Make the filling: whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then whip the cream stiff in a second bowl. Stir the quark with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and yolks until smooth, then fold in the whites and the cream. Spread it evenly over the base.
- Bake in the lower third about 70 minutes, until the top is set and pale gold, only a small circle in the center jiggles when you nudge the pan, and the center reads at least 160°F.
- Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside 15 minutes with the door slightly open. Cool it completely in the pan on a rack (no more than 2 hours at room temperature), then refrigerate.
Adapted from Dr. Oetker, "Käsekuchen" (about 12 pieces), in German. We follow it as written: a 26 cm springform; shortcrust of 225 g flour, 1/2 level tsp baking powder, 75 g sugar, 1 packet vanilla sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 egg and 100 g soft butter, two thirds rolled over the base and prebaked about 10 minutes at about 200°C (top and bottom heat) in the lower third, the rest pressed into a rim about 3 cm high; a filling of 3 egg whites and 250 g cream whipped stiff and folded into 750 g Magerquark (low-fat quark) stirred with 150 g sugar, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 50 g cornstarch and 3 yolks; about 70 minutes at about 160°C; and 15 minutes in the turned-off oven with the door ajar. The Fahrenheit rounding (400°F and 320°F), the US measures, the 160°F check and refrigerating the cake are ours. History from German Wikipedia, "Käsekuchen". oetker.de. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Dr. Oetker's raisin version: scatter 50 g raisins over the prebaked base before the filling goes in.
- Dr. Oetker's streusel version: rub 100 g flour, 75 g sugar, 1 packet vanilla sugar and 75 g soft butter into crumbs and scatter them over the filling before baking.
- In a convection oven, Dr. Oetker gives about 180°C (355°F) for the base and about 140°C (285°F) for the cake.
- Quark is sold in many US supermarkets. If you can't find it, nonfat dry-curd (farmer-style) cottage cheese pressed through a fine sieve is the closest stand-in (our suggestion, not Dr. Oetker's).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- A German cheesecake has to contain quark. Documented as German Wikipedia's summary of the German food code: at least 30 percent quark in the filling.
- Käsekuchen and "Cheesecake" are the same thing in German. Documented as different: German Wikipedia says cakes made with double-cream cheese instead of quark are called "Cheesecake."
- The oldest German cheesecake recipe is from 1598. Documented as German Wikipedia's account (Anna Wecker's cookbook).
- In Switzerland, Käsekuchen is sweet. Documented as false for German-speaking Switzerland, where German Wikipedia says the word means a savory cheese tart.
- Japanese cheesecake began with a Berlin käsekuchen. Disputed: see Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake.
Every other cheesecake
Crostata di Ricotta (Italian Ricotta Cheesecake Tart)
A lemon-scented shortcrust shell filled with drained whole-milk ricotta, sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, a pinch of cinnamon and dark chocolate chips, closed with a second sheet of pastry and baked low on the rack at 350°F for 70 minutes until deep golden.
Sernik Krakowski (Polish Lattice-Top Cheesecake)
A rich filling of triple-ground full-fat twaróg, butter, powdered sugar, egg yolks and orange zest with raisins and candied orange peel, lightened with beaten whites, baked in a sweet shortcrust under a pastry lattice at 350°F and finished with a lemon glaze.
Basque Burnt Cheesecake (San Sebastián Style)
No crust and no water bath: cream cheese, eggs, sugar, a spoonful of flour and cream stirred together by hand, poured into a crumpled parchment-lined pan and baked hot at 410°F until the top is nearly black and the center still trembles.
Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake (Cotton Cheesecake)
Cream cheese, butter and cream melted together, enriched with yolks and cake flour, folded into a firm meringue and baked slowly in a water bath at 320°F, then cooled in the oven so the tall, wobbly, cottony cake doesn't crack, with an apricot glaze.
Ube Cheesecake (Filipino Purple Yam Cheesecake)
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Brooklyn Sponge-Crust Cheesecake (Junior's Style)
A thin, golden sponge cake baked in the springform as the crust, covered with two pounds of cream cheese beaten with sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, eggs and heavy cream, and baked in a water bath at 350°F until the top is lightly tanned and the center still jiggles.
No-Bake Icebox Cheesecake
No eggs and no oven: cream cheese beaten with sugar, lemon juice, sour cream and vanilla bean, lightened with whipped cream, spread into a brown sugar graham crust and chilled overnight, then finished with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Mini Cheesecakes (Muffin-Pan Cheesecakes)
Twelve little cheesecakes in a muffin pan: a pressed graham crust under a smooth cream cheese, sour cream and lemon batter, baked at 325°F for 15 to 18 minutes, 30 minutes of hands-on work and about an hour start to oven-off, then chilled at least 3 hours and topped with berries or jam.
Original-Style Restaurant Cheesecake (Inspired by The Cheesecake Factory, Not Official)
Inspired by The Cheesecake Factory's Original, not its official recipe: a thick graham crust up the sides, a filling of a full pound of sour cream with two pounds of cream cheese baked in a water bath at 325°F, and a sweet sour cream layer baked on top for a clean white finish.
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