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German Cheese Cake (Quark Kuchen)


I had some vague memories of how my mom used to make Quark Kuchen, years ago, before I knew about cheesecake. Recently I called her up and we made it again, two times in one day, just to get it right. She did not have her method written out and had forgotten certain details. So it was good to work through it and write it down.

Ingredients for Base:
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Method:
  1. Grease a 9x13 inch glass pan or 10 -11 inch springform pan. Preheat oven to 325°F
  2. Beat butter and sugar, adding in the egg, then the sour cream.
  3. Mix flour, baking powder and salt and stir into wet ingredients, shaping it into a soft ball with spatula. Wrap in saran wrap and chill half hour.
  4. Roll out on floured surface. Roll onto rolling pin and unroll into pan, going slightly up the sides or all the way up if using a springform pan. Prick with fork.
Ingredients for second layer:
  • 3 cups dry cottage cheese (I used 4% dry curd)
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1 packet Dr. Oetker vanilla sauce (powder)
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 1/4 tsp salt
Method:
  1. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut up the cottage cheese as fine as possible. This works best if pre-frozen and thawed.
  2. Mix fine cottage cheese with 4 egg yolks, vanilla sauce packet, whipping cream, ½ cup sugar and salt. (I have not tried it, but if you cannot get Dr Oetker vanilla sauce, you could try a small pkg of Jell-O vanilla instant pudding)
  3. Beat egg whites until stiff, slowly adding ½ cup sugar and continuing to beat until very stiff. Fold into cottage cheese mixture.
  4. Pour and spread onto first layer.
  5. Bake at 325° F for 1 hour. Add another 5 minutes if it still looks too light.
  6. Run a knife around the edge and allow to cool. This cake may fall slightly as it cools.
  7. Refrigerate leftover cake. Can be served with a dusting of icing sugar or with fruit topping. Traditionally we have eaten it plain.
If you cannot get dry cottage cheese, you could try regular cottage cheese or, preferably, ricotta cheese - draining the liquids using a cheesecloth.
from the kitchen of
recipe file

23 comments:

  1. BeanieAugust 17, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    I spent two years studying in Germany, and I LOVED Quark-anything :) I can't wait to try this recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. mary bethAugust 17, 2011 at 5:44 AM

    This sounds very much like something my Grandma used to make...can't wait to try it. I am wondering how to find the Dr.'s vanilla sauce though. Hope the pudding mix works just as well!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sue/the view from great islandAugust 17, 2011 at 5:52 AM

    These vintage recipes are so great, good for you for working it through with your mother, so many of them are never written down. I've been making 'blitzkuckens' from the Joy of Cooking lately, with summer fruits sprinkled on top, and I,m loving it. I have to try this one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KatieAugust 17, 2011 at 7:17 AM

    What is vanilla sauce?

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownAugust 17, 2011 at 7:57 AM

    That looks delicious. I've never tried or heard of German Cheesecake. This is something I will have to fix and try!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnnelieseAugust 17, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    Katie, the vanilla sauce pkg is used to make a vanilla sauce . . . but in this recipe it is used as a stabilizer and flavor enhancer.

    You could also use a pkg of Dr Oetkers vanilla sugar mixed with a Tbsp of cornstarch or flour.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SusanAugust 17, 2011 at 8:05 AM

    I was in Germany yrs ago and had cheesecake there. I have been wondering what kind it was and this must have been it!!! It was great. I'll be trying this recipe.Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 11:59 AM

    Oh I have e\never tried cheese cake. I am gonna try this, thanks.
    It looks GOOD!

    ReplyDelete
  9. cindyMNAugust 17, 2011 at 1:40 PM

    Where would one find the vanilla sauce? is it by the puddings? is it refigerated? I have never heard of it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. pamAugust 17, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    This sounds so good but I'm pretty sure we don't have that vanilla sauce stuff. Any thoughts on what I can substitute for that?

    ReplyDelete
  11. CarolineAugust 17, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    This is a flashback for me. My mom hasn't made this for years so I guess I will..

    ReplyDelete
  12. pamAugust 17, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    Oops, I didn't read all the directions to see that you made a substitute suggestion. Is that sauce a Canadian thing? What else do you do with that sauce....maybe that would help us decide what to use.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AngAKAugust 17, 2011 at 2:46 PM

    you can get Oetker products through Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Oetker-Vanilla-Sauce-2s/dp/B000NY6Q06/ref=sr_1_11?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1313617483&sr=1-11

    ReplyDelete
  14. MargAugust 17, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    I use Dr. Oketer's vanilla sauce for everything. I love it.
    This looks like a great recipe that my German family would love.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Magdalena PerksAugust 18, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    Is quark closer to ricotta? I've seen recipes for it, but I've never made it. I used to think Mennonite/Deutsch cooking would be so exotic! But after trying some recipes I've taken to it, as it isn't that much different from my own down-home Maine country cooking. I've even started writing my own cooking blog, incorporating some of those Mennonite methods. Fusion Mennonite/Yankee cooking maybe?

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownFebruary 19, 2014 at 7:28 AM

    My mom use to make this. She's gone now but I've been looking for this recipe for a long time. The only difference is that she topped it with meringue, lightly toasted. She used to do all this yummy baking on Sat. for our Sunday Fasba.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnnelieseFebruary 22, 2014 at 10:44 AM

    Thanks, Helga! That meringue topping sounds good and what a nice memory for you.

    ReplyDelete
  18. SarahMarch 4, 2014 at 6:32 PM

    Is quark the same cheese used in glums wraniki? Im Mexican mennonite and have never heard of this dessert. Sounds yummy though!

    ReplyDelete
  19. SarahMarch 4, 2014 at 6:32 PM

    Is quark the same cheese used in glums wraniki? Im Mexican mennonite and have never heard of this dessert. Sounds yummy though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnnelieseMarch 4, 2014 at 9:48 PM

      Sarah, yes it is. For the Quark Kuchen the cottage cheese just needs to be very fine... so like it says, if you freeze it, it is easier to make very fine crumbs.

      Delete
  20. AnonymousMay 7, 2015 at 12:25 PM

    Just curious as to why dry cottage cheese is used instead of actual Quark. Quark used to be available at Superstore, although I have not looked in quite some time. I had Quark Kuchen when I spent some time in Switzerland and it is delicious. Would the quantities be the same if I found actual Quark?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 14, 2015 at 7:54 PM

      You could probably just use ricotta cheese instead of quark. I was also surprised to see a recipe called Quark Kuchen that didn't actually use Quark. I have not seen Quark at Superstore for quite some time either, but know that they used to carry it. I have a recipe for Quark Kuchen if you want to email me at sjschrade2@yahoo.ca

      Delete
    2. AnnelieseNovember 14, 2015 at 8:54 PM

      Growing up speaking German, we referred to cottage cheese as Quark. I don't think there was something in the stores here called quark, but if there is now, yes, I would use the same quantity. I know the Quark used for this cake is a fine dry cottage cheese, but even that is not readily available. Apparently farmer's cheese is quite comparable to it, but I have not tried it.

      Delete

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