At the weekend we were invited to a traditional German ‘Kaffeeklatsch‘, which is a gathering around a collection of cakes under the pretext of meeting up with friends, but really for the sole purpose of eating cake. Christiane served up this delicious cheesecake, or rather cheese gateau, a delicious combination of sweet sponge and fresh and slightly tart quark, which makes it the perfect cake for a warm and sunny afternoon.The preparation is straightforward and foolproof, as long as you are able to get hold of quark (usually on the same shelves as cream and ricotta cheese) and you remember to plan in time for the cheese mix to set (2 hours) and for the cake to warm up again (30 mins). If you haven’t got a 26cm tin, use a smaller springform and 2 jam jars, well oiled, to bake some mini sponges for a rainy day!
- 4 eggs
- 100g caster sugar
- 3 tbsp. water
- 100g plain flour
- 50g corn flour
- 2 level tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 160C. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and water to a creamy white mousse. Put the egg whites on top. Combine the flour, corn flour and baking powder and sieve it on top of the egg whites. Now use a spoon and gently combine all ingredients. It should still be a fluffy soft batter.
Line the bottom of a 26cm springform with baking paper. Pour in the batter and bake for 20 minutes. Use a wooden skewer to test if the cake is ready, the top should be just golden. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and let it cool before slicing it horizontally into two.
- 500g quark
- 1/2 pint whipping cream
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- juice and grated rind of 1 unwaxed lemon
- 1 small tin mandarin orange segments
- 1 pack Dr Oetker ground gelatine
- icing sugar to decorate
Mix the quark, sugar, grated lemon rind and juice. Open the tin of mandarins and discard the juice. Stir the mandarin segments into the quark mixture, they should break up into smaller bits.
Whip the whipping cream in a clean bowl until it has a firm texture.
Prepare the gelatine according to pack instructions by stirring it into 115 ml hot water. Once dissolved stir 3 tbsp whipped cream into the gelatine mix. When combined, pour the gelatine into the quark mix and mix thoroughly. Then fold under the whipped cream.
Put the bottom layer of the sponge onto a serving plate and place the ring of the cake tin around it. Line the ring with baking parchment to make it easier to remove afterwards. Pour the quark mix on top of the sponge and cover it with the second layer of sponge.
Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Take the cake out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving, remove the ring carefully (slice around it once with a knife) and dust the top with icing sugar.
Serve with coffee, tea, and more cakes.
Ginger&Bread 