German cheesecake is made with quark. It is super creamy and delicious. You will find it with and without fruit or raisins and it will be served chilled right from the fridge.
German cheesecake has a lighter texture than American cheesecake and comes often with the addition of fruit or raisins.
How is Cheesecake called in German?
Cheesecake is called "Käsekuchen".
How to pronounce "Käsekuchen"?
Listen to this audio file to hear how to say "Käsekuchen".
Authentic German Cheesecake Recipe
Recipe
German Cheese Cake
German cheese cake is creamy soul food best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ⅔ cups flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 6 tbsp. butter, soft
- 1 egg large
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
Filling
- 9 tbsp. butter, soft
- 1 ⅛ cups sugar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar or 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 box vanilla pudding 3.5 oz.
- 3 eggs large
- ½ tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 cups quark alternatively 5% fat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line the bottom of 10-inch spring form pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
- Add all ingredients for the dough to a bowl and mix until just combined and set aside.
- For the filling add soft butter, sugar, vanilla pudding powder and the eggs to a large bowl and mix well.
- Whisk in lemon juice, quark and sour cream.
- Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form and fold into the quark mixture.
- Place half of the dough into the pan and spread evenly.
- Roll the rest of the dough into 4 rolls and place them around the rim and pull it to form a rim of about 1-inch.
- Pour in the filling.
- Bake cake in a 350F preheated oven for about 1 hour.
- After one hour turn the oven off and place a wooden spoon into the oven door. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan.
- Place the completely cooled cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Nutrition
Yield: 1pieceCalories: 430kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 10gFat: 24gFiber: 0.5gSugar: 31gNet Carbohydrates: 44g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
German Cheesecake Variations
Add a handful raisins or a can of drained peaches, mandarin oranges, cherries or apricots to the filling, this will give the cheesecake a special twist.
diane roesch says
dose not tell me how much lemon juice?
Angela Schofield says
Oops, thanks for catching this Diane. It is 1/2 tablespoon. Have a great day, Angela
Tess says
Is the oven temp supposed to be 350 or 305?
Also, the dough was VERY crumbly when I made it, was the butter supposed to be melted?
Thanks! 😊
Angela Schofield says
Hi Tess, sorry for the typo, it is 350 Fahrenheit. The butter should be soft but not melted, depending on the flour you might need an extra tablespoon of soft butter for the dough.
luke says
do I need instant or non-instant pudding?
Angela Schofield says
Hi Luke, great question, you can use either, both work. I hope you will enjoy the cake!
Gina says
Can you use a Graham cracker crust instead and can you freeze this cheese cake?
Angela Schofield says
Usually German cheesecake is not made with Graham cracker crust, but I think it would be working. I have never tried it. The cheesecake freezes well. I portion it into slices, this makes it easy to enjoy a piece whenever someone in my family in the mood for a piece of cake. I hope that helps.
Gina says
Thank you