German Cheesecake with No Crust

My grandma was a wonderful cook and she baked the most amazing cakes. I was gifted a recipe booklet from her. She passed away a  few years ago so you probably can understand that this is a little treasure for me. Today I am introducing a German cheesecake recipe I found in this little booklet of hers. She titled it “Quarckkuchen”.  I was surprised she actually had written down measurements for the recipe, that is not always the case. A full kilo of German quark (similar to farmer’s cheese) has to go into the cake. Maybe you can find quark in Aldi or Lidl? Unfortunately, the steps involved in making this cake were pretty limited, e.g. no oven temperature or time was given. So I decided to give it a go and put into place what I have learned so far of cheesecakes and how to avoid cracks. I think the result speaks for itself, there were no cracks whatsoever, I am so proud. I wish I could hand a piece to my grandma for her to try.

This is definitely a denser cheesecake as quark tends to make a denser filling. If you want a German cheesecake, but prefer a creamier cheesecake, try this one. If you want a super fluffy cheesecake that is like a cloud, I would recommend this Japanese cheesecake. If you like it creamy, how about this American cheesecake. The recipe below is a classic German cheesecake in the sense that a full kilo of quark is used. You will definitely taste the quark. As is often the case in old-fashioned recipes, this one uses semolina as a binder. However, if that is hard to come by, you can replace with cornstarch. As dairy products you will only have quark and butter, no cream, sour cream or similar. So first you will beat the butter, then add the eggs, and lastly the remaining ingredients. So not too difficult to do.

How to avoid cracks in cheesecakes:

• Be sure for all ingredients to have room temperature, including the eggs, and quark.
• I know that the waterbath seems to be a pain, but it does make a huge difference. I find the easiest to place the springform into a bigger cake pan and both into a casserole dish filled with water. So easy! However, if you don’t have that, just wrap the springform in tin foil, you will be OK.
• If you are concerned, you can also just place a container with boiling water on the bottom of your oven.
• Bake your cheesecake at slightly lower temperature. This helps for the eggs to set and for the cake not to deflate too quickly. I would recommend 160 degrees Celsius. There is only one cheesecake from Spain where higher temperatures are desired, cheesecake from San Sebastian required a very brown, almost “burnt” surface, so higher temperatures are needed.
• Be patient. If your baked cake experiences a sudden change of temperature, it will develop cracks.
• For that reason I like my baked cake to cool in the turned off oven for half an hour, then I transfer to the counter (still with the waterbath and all) for another half hour until room temperature. Once at room temperature, it is OK to transfer to the fridge and chill, but it will take some time.

Print Recipe

German Cheesecake without Crust

Serves: One 24-26cm/8-9 inch ∅ springform

Prep Time: 20min – Cooking Time: 1hr – Total Time: 1hr 20min

This German cheesecake contains no crust and contains one kilo of quark. It is made in a waterbath so that it doesn't contain any cracks.

Ingredients

• 100 grams of butter at room temperature
• 200 grams of regular sugar
• 4 eggs
• Zest of one organic lemon
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 kilo of quark
• 60 grams of semolina (may be replaced with cornstarch)

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line a springform of 24-26cm with parchment paper and butter the sides. If you have a larger cake pan than your springform, this is the easiest as we will need to bake the cake in a waterbath. If you don't have a larger cake pan, wrap the sides in tin foil and look for a casserole dish to place the cake pan in. The casserole will be filled with hot water later.

2

Beat the soft butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in each egg separately, making sure it is well incorporated. Zest the lemon, add to the mix and add the remaining ingredients. Only beat until combined. Boil water separately.

3

Pour the prepared batter into the springform and the springform into another cake pan if you have or wrapped tin foil. Place everything into the casserole dish and fill the casserole dish with the hot water. Bake on medium rack for about an hour or so. The center still can wiggle a little. If still too runny, bake longer. My springform is 23cm in size and I needed 75 minutes in my oven. As a rule of thumb, the larger the springform, the shorter the baking time. Let sit in the turned off oven for half an hour, then let sit on the counter still including the casserole dish and water for at least half an hour. Once at room temperature, transfer to the fridge. If you are patient, your cake won't have cracks. Release from springform and enjoy plain, with som fresh fruit, compote, or whipped cream. Will keep for a few days if chilled.