Are there any fans of licorice out there like me? I guess there are some… It took me a while to really like the licorice flavor in sweets – I guess you know it’s not the »easiest« flavor there is – but once you’re on the hook… Same for this delicious Licorice Marble Cheesecake. Once you have a piece, you want more!

I can easily eat half a package of licorice sweets at once – I really like the flavor. But so far I have never used it for cooking or baking. Well… for some decorations, but never incorporate the licorice flavor into a bake or something similar. So this is my first time here! And guess what – it’s delicious! The cheesecake is so good and I think it also looks quite nice.
The recipe for this Licorice Marble Cheesecake is based on a recipe I saw in a baking magazine called »Sweet Dreams« some time ago. They did not exactly make a cheesecake that had that »marble look«. Their cake was a zebra cake with nice even black and white layers. I am telling you this in private now: I attempted to make that cake look like a zebra cake, but guess what…?! I failed. :P

I suppose you have already seen »zebra cakes«. They come in many different shapes and forms. I made a Zebra Bundt Cake once and these kinds of cakes normally have nice and even layers so they look a bit like the fur of a zebra. In your imagination… Well, if you take a look at my bundt cake, you will see that the »zebra look« is not one of my strengths. That is why my cake turned into something that looks like… swirls in swirls. Well – the cheesecake here had to experience something similar. Even though it looks better this time I think.
What went wrong? Well… wrong is maybe not the right thing to say. What’s the difference between the zebra cheesecake and the marble cheesecake? It’s quite easy….
I adapted the recipe so it would fit the baking tins I wanted to use and to the ingredients I had at home – it seems that changed the consistency of the two fillings that create the layers too much. If the fillings have the same thickness, you will get even layers (in theory). My licorice filling was a bit more liquid, so the more »heavy« vanilla filling pushed the black filling to the sides and created thinner layers of licorice filling in between. That’s the whole secret of the marble look. So in case you want to make a zebra cheesecake with this recipe, I recommend to let the licorice filling thicken a bit more before using it. That should do the trick.
Anyway… the cheesecake is delicious. No matter how it looks. The licorice flavor is not overpowering. Even my friend liked it and he is not really into licorice sweets. So it’s definitely something I would bake again. The same way I did it. I like the marble look a lot.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the base:
9.5 oz. (270g) Oreos*
1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder*
2 tbsp. sugar
1.7 oz. (50g) butter, melted
For the licorice filling:
5 gelatin leaves*
6.7 fl. oz. (200ml) licorice syrup
0.7 oz. (20g) cornstarch
1 cup (240ml) water
For the vanilla filling:
9 gelatin leaves*
21 oz. (600g) plain yogurt
18 oz. (500g) curd cheese (quark)
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract*
1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
Für den Boden:
270g Oreos*
30g Kakaopulver*
2 EL Zucker
50g Butter, geschmolzen
Für die Lakritz-Füllung:
5 Blatt Gelatine*
200ml Lakritz Sirup
20g Speisestärke
240ml Wasser
Für die Vanille-Füllung:
9 Blatt Gelatine*
600g Joghurt (natur)
500g Quark
3 EL Zucker
1 EL Vanille Extrakt*
120ml heißes Wasser


DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Line a springform tin (23cm)* with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Add the Oreo cookies to a freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin or the back of a saucepan until you get fine crumbs. Add to a bowl and mix with the cocoa, sugar, and melted butter until well combined and evenly moist. Pour that mix into the prepared springform and press to the bottom and sides to get a nice cake base. Place in the fridge until needed.
3. For the licorice filling add the gelatin leaves to a small bowl with cold water and let soak for about 5-8 minutes. Add the licorice syrup with the water and cornstarch to a small pot, mix well and bring to a boil. Take off the heat, let cool down a bit, then add the drained gelatin leaves and mix in until completely dissolved. Set aside.
4. For the vanilla filling, add the gelatin leaves to a bowl with cold water and let soak again for about 5-8 minutes. Add the yogurt, curd cheese (quark), sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the hot water to a small bowl and add the drained gelatin leaves, mix to dissolve and let cool down a bit. Finally, add this mixture to the bowl with the yogurt mixture and mix well.
5. Take the cake base out of the fridge. To layer the two fillings in the cake base, add some of the yogurt filling first, then add a bit of the licorice filling on top. Continue adding more filling spoon by spoon switching between yogurt filling and licorice filling each time until all is used and the cake base is filled completely. Place the cake in the fridge overnight.
6. Before serving, remove carefully from the tin and decorate with some whipped cream or licorice treats (optional).
1. Eine Springform (23cm)* mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen.
2. Die Oreo Kekse in einen Gefrierbeutel geben und mit einem Nudelholz oder Topf zu feinen Bröseln zerdrücken. In einer kleinen Schüssel mit dem Kakao und Zucker vermischen, die geschmolzene Butter zugeben und alles gut vermengen. Die Masse in die vorbereitete Form schütten und am Boden und den Seiten zu einem Kuchenboden festdrücken und dann in den Kühlschrank stellen.
3. Für die Lakritz-Füllung die Gelatine in kaltem Wasser einweichen – etwa 5-8 Minuten. Den Lakritz Sirup mit dem Wasser und der Stärke in einen Topf geben und unter Rühren einmal kurz aufkochen lassen. Vom Herd nehmen und etwas abkühlen lassen, dann die ausgedrückte Gelatine unterrühren. Zur Seite stellen.
4. Für die Vanille-Füllung die Gelatine einweichen lassen – wieder etwa 5-8 Minuten. Den Joghurt mit dem Quark, Zucker und Vanille Extrakt in einer großen Schüssel verrühren. Das heiße Wasser in eine kleine Schüssel geben, die ausgedrückte Gelatine darin auflösen, etwas abkühlen lassen und dann unter die Joghurt-Quark-Masse ziehen.
5. Die beiden Füllungen jetzt nacheinander in Schichten in die vorbereitete Form geben. Dazu als Erstes etwas Vanille-Crème in die Form füllen, dann etwas Lakritz-Crème, dann wieder Vanille-Crème usw., bis beide Füllungen aufgebraucht sind und die Form voll ist. Über Nacht in den Kühlschrank stellen.
6. Vor dem Servieren vorsichtig aus der Form lösen und mit etwas Sahne und Lakritzkonfekt dekorieren (optional).


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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Licorice Marble Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 00:40
- Cook Time: 00:00
- Total Time: 09:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cheesecakes
- Method: -
- Cuisine: International
Description
Delicious cheesecake for licorice lovers with a marble look that looks stunning, when you cut the cake into slices.
Ingredients
For the base:
9.5 oz. (270g) Oreos*
1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder*
2 tbsp. sugar
1.7 oz. (50g) butter, melted
For the licorice filling:
5 gelatin leaves*
6.7 fl. oz. (200ml) licorice syrup
0.7 oz. (20g) cornstarch
1 cup (240ml) water
For the vanilla filling:
9 gelatin leaves*
21 oz. (600g) plain yogurt
18 oz. (500g) curd cheese (quark)
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract*
1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
Instructions
1. Line a springform tin (23cm)* with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Add the Oreo cookies to a freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin or the back of a saucepan until you get fine crumbs. Add to a bowl and mix with the cocoa, sugar, and melted butter until well combined and evenly moist. Pour that mix into the prepared springform and press to the bottom and sides to get a nice cake base. Place in the fridge until needed.
3. For the licorice filling add the gelatin leaves to a small bowl with cold water and let soak for about 5-8 minutes. Add the licorice syrup with the water and cornstarch to a small pot, mix well and bring to a boil. Take off the heat, let cool down a bit, then add the drained gelatin leaves and mix in until completely dissolved. Set aside.
4. For the vanilla filling, add the gelatin leaves to a bowl with cold water and let soak again for about 5-8 minutes. Add the yogurt, curd cheese (quark), sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the hot water to a small bowl and add the drained gelatin leaves, mix to dissolve and let cool down a bit. Finally, add this mixture to the bowl with the yogurt mixture and mix well.
5. Take the cake base out of the fridge. To layer the two fillings in the cake base, add some of the yogurt filling first, then add a bit of the licorice filling on top. Continue adding more filling spoon by spoon switching between yogurt filling and licorice filling each time until all is used and the cake base is filled completely. Place the cake in the fridge overnight.
6. Before serving, remove carefully from the tin and decorate with some whipped cream or licorice treats (optional).
Notes
Enjoy cooling!
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This is the most visually stunning cheesecake I’ve ever seen. Too bad I hate licorice: ( I wonder if I could recreate the unique marbling effect with thin chocolate-syrup like batter instead of licorice…
Hi Kate,
you actually don’t have to flavor the dark part with licorice syrup – chocolate would be absolutely fine :)
Cheers,
Marc