Cheesecakes are very popular in Germany. I guess that’s pretty much everywhere in the world the same ;P In contrast to cheesecakes from around the world, German cheesecakes are often made with Quark. An ingredient you won’t find everywhere. I hope you can get hold of Quark to be able to bake this delicious German Apple Cheesecake (Quark Apfelkuchen). Fingers crossed!
I always try to make sure that my recipes can be prepared all over the world without special or fancy ingredients. Back to the roots u know?! ;P That does not work all the time. All of my recipes made with Quark are tricky for everyone outside of »Quark Country« aka. Middle and Eastern Europe. More or less. Outside this area, Quark is much less used (if at all) and hard(er) to get. In Spain, for example, you might get lucky when ALDI has Quark in their product line… in other Countries like the US it’s almost impossible. I am speaking from experience. I tried to find Quark in Florida when I was living there. An impossible task ;P
Luckily, you can make Quark quite easily at home – with milk, buttermilk, an oven and a little bit of time. The result is quite similar to what you can buy in German supermarkets. Surprisingly. Milk and buttermilk are much easier to get – almost all over the world. So that is an option. Just look for »how to make Quark« on YouTube and you will find many recipe videos that can help. It’s actually quite easy to do.
I hope that nobody here has to prepare their own Quark in order to bake this delicious cake here. Speaking of Quark – I usually prepare this cake with the low-fat version of Quark because I like the slightly tangy note. Theoretically, you could use the full-fat version for the cake. It has more fat (obviously), which contributes to a creamier texture… maybe that’s something you prefer ;P So the choice is yours.
Speaking of ingredients… I think we should also talk about the raisins ;P I know not everyone is a big fan of raisins. I have plenty of people around me that hate them. Really hate them. That’s why I try to use them less, but here in the cake they really fit. Especially when soaked in rum overnight ;P It’s just a great combination with the Quark and the apples. But if you have raisin haters at home you can leave them out, of course. No need to exclude the haters – everyone should be able to enjoy a delicious piece of cake ;P
Perhaps one last note on the ingredients I used: the apples. They can be found in the filling and on top for decorations. As you can see the ones on top are not peeled. I decided to leave the skin on for two reasons – I thought it would look better (and it does) and I was also too lazy to peel all of the apples ;P I guess this could be difficult for some people – similar to the raisins. Not everyone likes cooked apple peel. Some hate the texture, some don’t like how it looks… but there is an easy fix – peel the apples if you don’t like it ;P
The recipe doesn’t say exactly what type of apple to use, because you can basically use almost any type of apples, but something slightly tart is probably best here… just sayin’.
Anyway. For all cheesecake fanboys and girls and for everyone that likes apples, there is, of course, much more available here on the blog. I would highly recommend baking these two cakes here as well: my Apple Streusel Cheesecake is an absolute dream and the Baked Apple Cake with Sour Cream is also really good. A family favorite!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the rum raisins:
1.8 oz. (50g) raisins
1 tbsp. dark rum
For the quark filling:
3.5 oz. (100g) butter, melted
26.5 oz. (750g) low-fat quark (curd cheese)
3.5 oz. (100g) sugar
3 medium eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 organic lemon, juice and zest
1.4 oz. (40g) cornstarch
3 tbsp. durum wheat semolina, plus a little more
2 tsp. baking powder
For the filling/topping:
3 medium apples
some brown sugar
some hazelnut brittle
Für die Rumrosinen:
50g Rosinen
1 EL Rum
Für die Quark Füllung:
100g Butter, geschmolzen
750g Magerquark
100g Zucker
3 Eier (M)
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
1 Bio-Zitrone, Saft und Abrieb
40g Speisestärke
3 EL Hartweizengrieß, plus etwas mehr
2 TL Backpulver
Für die Füllung/Belag:
3 mittlere Äpfel
etwas brauner Zucker
etwas Haselnusskrokant
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. The night before mix raisins and rum in a small bowl and let them soak overnight. If you forget this step the night before you can actually mix raisins and rum and warm them in the microwave. Let them sit for a while – that should do the trick.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Melt the butter for the filling (e.g. in the microwave) and let cool down again.
3. Add the low-fat quark, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Combine cornstarch, semolina, and baking powder, add it to the bowl, and mix in. Add the cooled butter and stir in.
4. Peel the apples and remove the cores. Dice half of the apples and cut the rest into thin slices for the decoration. I left the skin on the apple slices – that’s up to you. Add the diced apples and rum raisins to the quark mixture and fold them in.
5. Line a 9.5-inch (24cm) springform tin with baking parchment, grease lightly, and sprinkle with some semolina. Pour the quark filling into the baking tin and smooth out the top. Arrange the apple slices in a fan shape on top of the filling. Sprinkle with some brown sugar and hazelnut brittle. Bake the cake for about 60-65 minutes. The center of the cake may still wobble a little when you shake the baking tin. Take the cake out of the oven and let cool down completely. Remove from the springform tin and transfer to a serving plate. Dust with some confectioners’ sugar before serving if you like.
1. Die Rosinen am Vorabend mit dem Rum in einer kleinen Schüssel vermischen und über Nacht ziehen lassen. Wer diesen Schritt vorab vergisst, kann die Rosinen auch mit dem Rum vermischen und dann in der Mikrowelle vorsichtig erwärmen – die Rosinen sollten dadurch auch etwas weicher werden.
2. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Die Butter für die Füllung schmelzen (z.B. in der Mikrowelle) und wieder etwas abkühlen lassen.
3. Magerquark mit Zucker, Eiern, Vanille Extrakt, Zitronensaft und Zitronenabrieb in einer großen Schüssel gut verrühren. Stärke, Grieß und Backpulver vermischen, zur Schüssel dazugeben und gut unterrühren. Die abgekühlte Butter ebenfalls zur Schüssel dazugeben und unterrühren.
4. Die Äpfel schälen und die Kerngehäuse entfernen. Die Hälfte der Äpfel würfeln, den Rest in feine Scheiben schneiden für die Dekoration. Ich hab’ bei den Apfelscheiben die Schale dran gelassen – bleibt jedem selbst überlassen. Die Apfelwürfel und die Rumrosinen zur Quarkmischung dazugeben und unterheben.
5 Eine 24cm Springform mit Backpapier auslegen, leicht einfetten und mit etwas Grieß ausstreuen. Die Quarkmischung einfüllen und glatt streichen. Die Apfelscheiben fächerartig auf die Füllung legen und dann mit etwas braunem Zucker und Haselnusskrokant bestreuen. Den Kuchen für etwa 60-65 Minuten backen. Die Mitte des Kuchens darf noch ein klein wenig wackeln, wenn man an der Backform rüttelt. Aus dem Ofen holen und komplett abkühlen lassen, dann aus der Form lösen und auf eine Kuchenplatte umsetzen. Wer mag, kann den Kuchen vor dem Servieren noch mit etwas Puderzucker bestäuben.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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German Apple Cheesecake (Quark Apfelkuchen)
- Prep Time: 00:25
- Cook Time: 01:00
- Total Time: 12:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A simple and easy-to-prepare German apple cake like grandma used to make it. In Germany, it’s called Quark Apfelkuchen ;)
Ingredients
For the rum raisins:
1.8 oz. (50g) raisins
1 tbsp. dark rum
For the quark filling:
3.5 oz. (100g) butter, melted
26.5 oz. (750g) low-fat quark (curd cheese)
3.5 oz. (100g) sugar
3 medium eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 organic lemon, juice and zest
1.4 oz. (40g) cornstarch
3 tbsp. durum wheat semolina, plus a little more
2 tsp. baking powder
For the filling/topping:
3 medium apples
some brown sugar
some hazelnut brittle
Instructions
1. The night before mix raisins and rum in a small bowl and let them soak overnight. If you forget this step the night before you can actually mix raisins and rum and warm them in the microwave. Let them sit for a while – that should do the trick.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Melt the butter for the filling (e.g. in the microwave) and let cool down again.
3. Add the low-fat quark, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Combine cornstarch, semolina, and baking powder, add it to the bowl, and mix in. Add the cooled butter and stir in.
4. Peel the apples and remove the cores. Dice half of the apples and cut the rest into thin slices for the decoration. I left the skin on the apple slices – that’s up to you. Add the diced apples and rum raisins to the quark mixture and fold them in.
5. Line a 9.5-inch (24cm) springform tin with baking parchment, grease lightly, and sprinkle with some semolina. Pour the quark filling into the baking tin and smooth out the top. Arrange the apple slices in a fan shape on top of the filling. Sprinkle with some brown sugar and hazelnut brittle. Bake the cake for about 60-65 minutes. The center of the cake may still wobble a little when you shake the baking tin. Take the cake out of the oven and let cool down completely. Remove from the springform tin and transfer to a serving plate. Dust with some confectioners’ sugar before serving if you like.
Notes
Let the baking begin!
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