German style cheesecake

What is so special about German cheesecake? Instead of using cream cheese, a much lighter cheese, quark, which is similar to the French fromage blanc, is used. Because quark is difficult to find in the US, I've been experimenting to find a decent substitute. I found that Greek yoghurt by Fage or by Chobani comes close to the texture and acidity of quark, and can be used as a substitute. However, when using yoghurt the texture of the cake is a little different compared to a quark cheesecake. The cake and particularly the crust are a lot softer, and some people will miss the hard crust, but there will be other cheesecake recipes posted on this blog, so you might find one that suits you.

This specific recipe for German cheesecake is very simple because it doesn't require any specific crust. Rather, all ingredients are mixed together, filled into a springform, and the crust forms during the baking process.

Ingredients:
125 g butter (1 stick)
4 eggs
200 g sugar
3 tablespoons semolina flour
1 tablespoon potato starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1000 g quark (32 oz non-fat plain Greek yoghurt either by Fage or Chobani)
Juice of one lemon
Optional: some raisins, fresh fruit or a can of mandarins (drained and cut in half)

A large (10 inch/28 cm) springform

1. Grease springform and preheat oven to 350F (160 degrees Celsius)
2. Separate eggs. Beat egg whites until fully stiff.
3. In a separate bowl mix butter, egg yolks, and sugar. Add lemon juice, starch, semolina flour, and baking powder, and mix.
4. Add yoghurt or quark and blend until a smooth mixture has formed.
5. Carefully fold egg whites under batter.
6. Fold raisins or drained mandarin halves under the batter, fill the batter into the greased springform and bake for about 60 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Comments:
1. You can add all sorts of fruit to this cake. The raisins are the traditional addition, but the cake tastes great without them. Another great combination is with fresh or frozen raspberries.
2. To get some stronger taste, I had covered and soaked the raisins overnight in spiced rum.
3. I used the amount described in this recipe, but split the batter in half. To one half I added raisins, to the second half I added mandarins, and baked two cakes using small (8 inch/24 cm) springforms. With that in mind, you can easily make only half a portion of this recipe, and bake a small cheesecake (8 inch/24 cm).
4. If you miss the hard crust most cheesecakes have, you can certainly add that either using a regular crust (Muerbeteig) recipe or by using crumbled Graham crackers. 

5. The semolina flour is not essential. It adds a little texture to the cake, but leaving it out will turn this cake into a gluten-free cake. You might want to exchange the semolina flour with the same amount of potato starch as a binding reagent, though.

2014:

1. I recently made this cake again. This time I used 2% Fage Greek yogurt. It turned out even better.

2. I also made a sauce using Trader Joe's Morello cherries. These sour cherries come in a glass jar filled with sugary syrup for preservation purpose. I heated the cherries with the sweet syrup and thickened it with some arrowood starch. The warm cherries were added on top of the cheesecake just before serving.

Mutzenmandeln

Muzenmandeln are another traditional food during Karneval or Mardi Gras. Similarly to the Krapfen the purpose of Muzenmandeln was to get rid of butter and eggs before the beginning of Lent. Mutzenmandeln are known in all of Germany, but their names and recipes vary from region to region. The almond-shape (Mandel) gives rise to their name. However, they are also known as Nonnenfuetzchen (nun's farts) as the nun who was caught nibbling some raw cake dough dropped some batter into boiling fat, thus unintentionally inventing Muzenmandeln. Although sometimes compared to doughnut holes the Muzenmandel dough is entirely different.

Ingredients:
325 g wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
100 g sugar
some rum aroma
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
100 g soft butter
confectioners' sugar

a medium sized pot
oil for deep frying

1. Heat frying oil to 175 degrees Celsius (450 F). To test if the oil has reached the right temperature put the end of a wooden cooking spoon into the oil. If the oil is hot enough bubbles will form at the spoon.
2. Add flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add all other ingredients and whisk with knead hooks, first at lowest, then at highest speed until a solid dough has formed. With both hands shape the dough into a role. Do not overwork! This dough is rather sensitive and the heat from your hands is enough to "burn" the dough and make it crumble.
3. Using a teaspoon cut off a small piece of dough. Use a second teaspoon to form the almond shape by aligning the spoons head-to head with the hollow side facing each other, and pressing down. Remove excess dough. I found that after pressing down pulling the top spoon off gave a nice almond shaped dough piece, and removed excess dough at the same time. I then used the second spoon to peel the dough off the other spoon.
4. Deep fry the dough until golden brown on both sides. Remove from frying oil and drain on a paper towel.
5. Coat the Mutzenmandeln with confectioner's sugar while still warm.

Comments: I didn't have enough butter, and used 1/2 butter, 1/2 Chobani fat free Greek Yoghurt. If you want to cut some fat you might be able to use all Yoghurt. Because of the acidity of the yoghurt I added a pinch of baking soda.
I used about a teaspoon of rum. For a more intense flavor use more rum or a combination of rum and rum aroma.
Another thought I had was to exchange some flour (50 g) for almond meal. It might give the dough a finely nutty taste, but I'm not sure how well it will fry. Guess I'll have to try it next time.

Rheinische Krapfen

Krapfen are a traditional treat during Karneval, which is also known as Fasching, Fastnacht, Mardi Gras, and Carnival. Karneval is celebrated the week before Lent. Because during Lent people are discouraged to eat rich foods such as meat, dairy, fat and eggs, many countries prepare traditional foods that use up these ingredients before the start of Lent, e.g. the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is also known as Pancake day in England. In the area around Cologne we eat deep fried Krapfen that can be made with and without raisins. Don't mix up Berliner, which are like doughnuts, and Krapfen! They are related as both are deep fried, but that is about all they have in common.

Ingredients:
Fat for deep frying, a medium sized pot

250 g Quark (Because Quark is difficult to find and very expensive in the US I have been trying different substitutions. I found that the plain Greek yoghurts by Fage and Chobani work well as a substitute. They are not as sour as other types of yoghurt, and their creamy consistency is similar to Quark. I use the fat free versions, but the 2% fat one works, too.)
250 g flour
3 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
2 packages of vanilla sugar or some vanilla aroma
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Optional: raisins, confectioners' sugar

1. Whisk all ingredients except for the raisins until a smooth batter has formed, then stir in the raisins.
2. Heat deep frying fat in a medium sized pot to 175 degrees Celsius (350F). To test if the fat has reached temperature, submerge the handle of a wooden cooking spoon in the oil. The oil forms bubbles around the wood if it has reached the right temperature.
3. Take up batter with a teaspoon, then use a second teaspoon to scrape off the batter until it falls into the oil. The dough is heavy and will sink to the bottom at first. After a few seconds the Krapfen starts to float. Fry until golden brown, possibly turning the Krapfen as it is being fried.
4. Take out Krapfen and put on a baking rack, so excess fat can drip off. The Krapfen should be golden brown from the outside and fully cooked inside. If the frying fat was too hot, the Krapfen is golden brown outside, but raw inside; if the oil is not hot enough the Krapfen gets very soggy because it takes a lot longer for them to brown and this time allows them to absorb extra oil during the frying process.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve.

Comment: Letting the batter sit with raisins for a longer period turns the batter brownish. Thus, it is better to add the raisins fresh, and if you make up more dough, only add raisins to a portion of the batter.