Have a Happy Käsekuchen Birthday <3 - Signe 4/12/2011

Happy birthday to you~
Happy birthday to you~
Happy birthday Signe!
Happy birthday to you!!!

Here's to your 22nd birthday. =)

Käsekuchen
The käsekuchen is a German cheesecake made of quark (a yogurt type fresh cheese). It's a nice alternative to using cream cheese. It's light, delicately flavored and not overly sweet. Downside of trying to make a käsekuchen is that outside of Europe, quarks is hard to come by. There are however some handy substitutes: fresh farmer's cheese or blended cottage cheese. These can be easily spotted in the dairy aisle of your local grocery store. I made mine with cottage cheese and it turned out wonderful. Sorry Luke (aka my trusty German dessert guru) please don't kill me for messing with the traditional käsekuchen-goodness.

Käsekuchen recipe adapted from Diana's Desserts

For the Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
Grated lemon rind from 1 lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
7 tablespoons butter, cold
1 egg

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix in the lemon rind. Slice the cold butter then dice it in the flour mixture with a pastry cutter/ knifes or just rub it in with your fingers.
2. Whisk the egg then knead it in the flour/butter mixture to a smooth consistency. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
3. Roll the dough out on a well-floured surface, fold it back in a ball and roll it out a second time to a 16 inch round. This dough is very prone to tearing so do your best transferring the round to the 9 inch springform pan. Flatten the round on the bottom of the pan and press the dough up the sides to the top. The dough will inevitably fight you with the amount of ruffling on the side and breaking apart. Just tear off little pieces from the overhang to and press into the cracks. Press around the pan to have an even layer around the side. Take the rolling pin and roll over the top and take off the overhang. Set aside.
   

For the Filling & Assembly
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 oz. heavy cream
500g quark, blended cottage cheese, or fresh farmer's cheese
A pinch of salt
A pinch of cream of tartar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Beat the yolks with sugar and vanilla until pale and foamy. Beat in the butter, then heavy cream. Lastly, stir in your choice of cheese until the mixture is smooth.
3. Whisk the egg whites and salt until soft peaks forms. Sprinkle in the cream of tartar. Beat the whites until stiff.
4. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites and sift 1/4 cornstarch into the cheese mixture at a time until all the whites and cornstarch are added. Mix well.
5. Pour the filling into the crust shell. Turn the pan in a circular shape until the surface is smooth. Optional: trim the crust to 1 inch above the filling. Bake for 90 minutes or until well risen and golden. Turn the oven off and let the cake rest in the oven for at least 15 minutes; remove from the oven. Cool for an hour at room temperature. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.