Käsekuchen
Description
Home baking for tea. Any home cook, even a beginner, can make the traditional German Käsekuchen, because it is very simple. The pie turns out quite large—enough for a whole family. This step-by-step recipe will help you prepare it. Serve cooled or slightly warm.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
First, make the dough for the shortbread base and prepare your ingredients.
- 3
Step 3
Mix the egg with the sugar (80 grams).
- 4
Step 4
Add the butter, cut into pieces (60 grams).
- 5
Step 5
Zest the lemon, squeeze out the juice, and add both to the dough.
- 6
Step 6
Sift flour with baking powder and vanilla sugar into the dough.
- 7
Step 7
Mix all the ingredients without overworking them—just until everything comes together.
- 8
Step 8
Prepare a springform pan 25 cm in diameter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Press the dough into the pan with your hands to form edges about 3–4 cm high. To make the dough easier to handle, you can rub your hands with vegetable oil.
- 9
Step 9
Prepare the ingredients for the filling.
- 10
Step 10
To get a more tender texture for the filling, rub the cottage cheese through a sieve or purée it with an immersion blender together with the sugar and vanilla sugar.
- 11
Step 11
Add cream cheese (or full-fat sour cream) to the cottage cheese. Pour in melted butter; it should not be hot. Beat in 4 eggs and mix with a mixer until smooth. Do not whip vigorously with the eggs until fluffy—just achieve a uniform texture.
- 12
Step 12
Last, sift the starch into the dough. Mix until smooth and uniform.
- 13
Step 13
Place the dough in the prepared tin with a shortcrust base. By then the oven should be preheated to 170°C.
- 14
Step 14
Bake “Käsekuchen” at 170 °C for 1 hour. Don’t worry if the center of the cake jiggles slightly when you touch it. Leave the cake in the pan until it has cooled completely. If you can wait, it’s a good idea to chill it in the refrigerator overnight.
- 15
Step 15
Run a knife carefully along the inside edge of the pan and unmould the “Käsekuchen”. Before serving, you can decorate it with fresh berries. Still, even without berries it is extraordinarily delicious!
- 16
Step 16
“Käsekuchen” is best sliced with a hot, dry knife (dip it in hot water first), wiping the blade with a napkin after each cut.