This is how cheesecake should taste: creamy, with a fresh citrus flavor, without any base fuss – just stir, bake, chill, be happy. This classic from our kitchen fairies is guaranteed to succeed and is suitable for any occasion: coffee party, Sunday dessert or “I-feel-like-cheesecake-today” days.
Ingredients
-
130 g butter (soft)
-
300 g sugar
-
1 packet vanilla sugar
-
1 kg quark (German curd cheese)
-
Zest of one lemon
-
1 pinch of salt
-
1 packet of vanilla pudding powder
-
6 eggs
Preparation
-
Preparation
Preheat oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat. Grease a springform pan or line with baking paper. -
Cream butter & sugar
In a large bowl, cream together the soft butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar until the mixture is light and creamy. -
Add eggs
Stir in the eggs one at a time until everything is well mixed. -
Incorporate quark & lemon
Add quark, lemon zest, a pinch of salt, and the vanilla pudding powder and stir until smooth. -
Bake
Pour the cream into the prepared pan and bake for 40–45 minutes until the surface is lightly golden brown. -
Let cool
Let the cake cool in the pan first. Best served well chilled – then the texture is perfect.
Optional: Prepare the Base
For a crispy cookie base, finely grind 200 g of butter cookies (alternatively oat cookies, speculoos or gluten-free cookies) and mix with 90–100 g of melted butter. If you like, add 1 tbsp of sugar and a pinch of salt. Line a springform pan with baking paper, pour in the crumb mixture and press firmly with the back of a spoon or glass (also pull up a small edge). Bake at 170–180 °C for 8–10 minutes, let cool briefly, then add the cheesecake mixture and bake as described. Tip: Cool the base for 5–10 minutes before filling, then it will remain nice and compact
Tips & Variations
For a fine citrus note, stir an additional 1–2 tsp of lemon juice into the mixture. If you like it lighter, replace some of the sugar with fine honey (flavor!) or reduce the amount of sugar by 10–15%. Let it rest in the slightly opened oven for 5–10 minutes after baking, this prevents cracks. Topped with fresh berries, cherry compote, or some powdered sugar, it’s ready for the café – and the leftovers (if any remain) taste even better the next day.