European Cheese Cake Recipes

AUTHENTIC GERMAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Combine sifted flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla sugar or extract.
• Cut in the cold butter. Add the beaten egg and then use your hands to form into a dough.
• Wrap dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for an hour.
• After the dough has chilled, form it into a disc and then roll it out on a floured surface. Shape dough into a disc again, and roll it out once or twice more. I found the dough very crumbly and hard to work with at first, but after I rolled it out twice, it became much easier to work with.
• Roll dough out once more and then transfer to a prepared 9-inch springform pan. (See photos above for how to fold and transfer the dough to the springform pan.) Use your fingers to press the dough so that it evenly covers the bottom and all the way up the sides of the pan.
• Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla sugar until pale. Add softened butter and continue beating until well combined. Add the heavy cream and beat again. Add quark (or Greek yogurt or pureed cottage cheese) and beat one more time until everything is thoroughly combined.
• Beat egg whites and salt to stiff peaks in a separate bowl. Fold egg whites and sifted cornstarch into cheesecake batter.
• Pour cheesecake batter into a 9-inch springform pan and bake on 300F for about 60 minutes. (My cheesecake needed 70 minutes.) The cheesecake is done when the edges are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. The center of the cheesecake will be a bit wiggly and it will fall as it cools - that's normal.
• Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for an hour and then several hours in the fridge. It's best to make this cheesecake the day before you want to serve it. Enjoy!

ISOLDE'S GERMAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch springform pan.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in 1 egg, then stir in the baking powder and flour. Knead together into dough. Press into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
• Mix together the quark, oil, 3/4 cup white sugar, vanilla sugar, and pudding mix in a large bowl until smooth. Blend in the egg yolks, egg, milk, and lemon juice; pour mixture into the prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until the filling no longer moves when you shake the pan, about 1 hour.

AUTHENTIC GERMAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and flour and set aside.
• Combine the cream cheese and cottage cheese; beat with an electric mixer at high speed until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the softened butter. Gradually add the sugar mixture, beating until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla and mix just until smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake rest in the oven with the door closed for 2 hours. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

EUROPEAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar well.
• Add egg, salt and vanilla.
• Blend in baking powder and flour.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 inch square cake pan.
• Beat together cheese and sugar.
• Add eggs, juice, and salt.
• Blend well.
• Pour over crust.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon if not using pie filling.
• Bake 40 mins at 350F.
• When cool, spread pie filling over cake and let chill.

GERMAN CHEESECAKE (KäSEKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl and give everything a stir with a spoon.
• Cut up the cold butter into small cubes and add them into the bowl. Also, add the vanilla extract and the egg into the bowl.
• Mix everything with the spiral dough hooks of your electric mixer or your clean hands until the dough is well combined and forms a ball. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in the fridge.
• In a separate large bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar using the normal beaters of your electric mixer until you have a creamy mixture. Add the pudding powder and vanilla extract and mix again until everything is well combined. Then add the oil and the lemon zest and mix again.
• In another bowl, whip the cream using clean (!) beaters of your electric mixer.
• Fold the whipped cream and quark into the mixture in the large bowl little by little using a spatula or large spoon. Make sure everything is well combined and there are no lumps. Set the mixture aside.
• Line the bottom of your 9 1/2 inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Also preheat the oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Take out the dough from the fridge and sprinkle your countertop with a little bit of flour. Roll out your dough using a rolling pin until it is just a bit larger than your springform pan. Place the rolled out dough into the pan and press it into place. You should have a crust of approx. 1 inch going up the sides of the pan.
• Once your crust is fitted well, pour the filling into the pan and make sure it is evenly distributed using a spatula or spoon.
• Bake the cake in the lower third of your oven for 60-70 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool fully before removing the ring of the springform pan. You can dust the cheesecake with powdered sugar before serving (optional).

AUTHENTIC AND EASY GERMAN CHEESECAKE (KäSEKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9" round springform pan. Add in a parchment round, then liberally grease the parchment round and sides of pan.
• For the crust: In a medium bowl, combine 2/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 egg and the flour with a spoon until combined. Press into the bottom of the pan and lightly up the sides of the pan.
• For the cheesecake filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together remaining butter and the remaining granulated sugar with the paddle attachment until creamy, about 1 minute. Separate the eggs - one bowl of whites, and one bowl of egg yolks, and add in the egg yolks to the cheesecake batter one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the quark or ricotta. Beat in the vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice, followed by the vanilla pudding powder. Set aside briefly.
• In another stand mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until stiffened, about 5-7 minutes. Fold the stiff egg whites into the cheesecake batter until fully incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
• Bake for approximately 1 hour, then turn off the oven and crack the door, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for 10 minutes. Gently remove the cheesecake and allow to come to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 2 hours to set and chill. Serve with whipped cream and berries, if desired.

BASQUE-STYLE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Lay one 16-inch piece of parchment across the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and lay another 16-inch piece on top crosswise. Press the parchment into the bottom of the pan and crease along the sides, making it as flush as possible to the sides of the pan and allowing the parchment to come at least 2 inches above the sides. Put the pan on a baking sheet.
• Combine the cream cheese, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the bowl once halfway through to ensure there are no lumps of cream cheese, until the mixture is very smooth and light, a full 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer running, beating 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl, turn the mixer to low and add the cream and vanilla; raise the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Remove the mixer bowl. Sift the flour over the batter and fold the flour into the batter with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake until the cheesecake is deep golden brown on top but the center is still quite jiggly, about 2 hours. Let cool completely (the cake will fall dramatically as it cools).
• Release the pan to remove the cake and gently pull the parchment from the sides. Transfer the cake to a serving platter using an offset spatula.

GERMAN FARMER'S CHEESECAKE TOPFENTORTE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 325°F Lightly butter a 9-inch round springform pan.
• TO MAKE THE CRUST: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla and pour into the well. Stir with a fork until the mixture is well moistened and the crumbs hold together when pressed between your fingers. Gather up the dough. Press it firmly and evenly into the pan, bringing the dough about 3/4 inch up the sides. Pierce the dough all over with a fork and refrigerate for 2 minutes.
• Bake until the crust is set and barely beginning to color, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
• TO MAKE THE FILLING: Rub the farmer's cheese through a wire sieve into a medium bowl. Add the sour cream, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the milk, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt and beat with a handheld electric mixer on medium speed until combined. One at a time, beat in the egg yolks.
• Using CLEAN beaters, beat the 5 egg whites in a medium bowl on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Stir about one fourth of the whites into the cheese mixture, then fold in the remainder. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle the raisins and almonds over the top.
• Bake until the sides of the filling are gently puffed and barely touched with golden brown, even though the center will seem unset when the pan is give a jiggle, about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and immediately run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to release the cake. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Remove the sides of the pan. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve chilled, using a hot, wet knife to slice the cake. Makes 12 servings.
• MAKE AHEAD: The cheesecake can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated.
• Kaffeehaus.Rick Rodgers.