The Best German Cheesecake Recipe | Käsekuchen

You will love this authentic German cheesecake. With a light and fresh taste, it is also super easy to make! 

Have you ever had German cheesecake, also called Käsekuchen?

If you like a good American cheesecake, I am sure you will love its German cousin. This recipe is actually an old family recipe that I am so excited to share with you today. Mostly because I know that this is always the first cake to disappear when we have been serving it.

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How is German cheesecake different from American cheesecake?

If you haven’t had German-style cheesecake, I am sure you have been wondering about that.

While American cheesecake is traditionally made with cream cheese, German cheesecake is made with quark. Quark is a fresh, soft cheese, similar to ricotta or cottage cheese.

Quark can be hard to find in this country which is why I make my own. It is very easy to make and I highly recommend you check out my step-by-step recipe!

Other than that the ingredients are very similar to ingredients in American cheesecake.

This authentic German cheesecake recipe makes a crustless cheesecake – the way we have always made it – but you can always add your favorite crust!

The ingredients:

• Quark: Quark is the essential ingredient in German cheesecake. If you can’t find it in your grocery store, you can very easily make your own. Read down below for any substitutions. 
• Eggs: The recipe calls for 4-6 eggs. I would use 6 if they’re small and 4 if they are really big. But I think you could use 6 big eggs without any problems, especially since we will beat the egg whites stiff.
• Oil: You will need oil for this recipe. I prefer using avocado oil since it has a very neutral taste and is non-inflammatory. However, you can use any oil you have in your kitchen. I do not recommend strong-tasting oils such as olive oil, though!
• Sugar: I am using regular organic cane sugar for this recipe. 
• Lemon: In this recipe, I use both the juice and the lemon peel. I highly recommend using organic lemons – or lemons from your backyard if you happen to grow them.
• Vanilla sugar: The original recipe calls for vanilla sugar. If you don’t have it, check out my tutorial on how to make your own. Another very easy recipe! You can substitute vanilla extract for vanilla sugar. If you do, use only 1 ½ tsp of vanilla extract versus the 3 tsp of vanilla sugar.
• Corn starch: Corn starch helps the cheesecake stay together. 
• Baking powder: Very simple and straightforward baking powder to give it an even fluffier texture.

Useful tools and equipment

These tools will help you make this recipe successfully: 

• Large mixing bowl: Since you will make this whole cheesecake in one bowl, I recommend using the largest mixing bowl you have. 
• Electric mixer: For best results, I prefer using a handheld mixer for this recipe. However, you could use a large food processor as well.
• Spring form pan: Using a spring form pan gives this cake its classic shape.
• Parchment paper: While you can grease the springform pan, using parchment paper makes transferring the cake to a pretty cakestand and clean-up so much easier.
• Silicone spatula: I love getting every bit of cheesecake batter out of my bowl.

Substitutions and variations

This basic Käsekuchen recipe is perfect as is or with different ingredients and additions:

• Quark: If you cannot find it or make your own quark, you might try thick Greek yogurt. I recommend letting it drain through a cheesecloth overnight to get even closer to the consistency of quark. I have also thought about using cottage cheese. The biggest challenge with that is that most if not all cottage cheeses contain a lot of salt. Some people like to combine 9 parts of ricotta cheese with 1 part of sour cream. If you’re doing that, I still recommend putting the ricotta in your food processor to give it a smooth consistency.
• Separating the eggs: If you don’t have an electric mixer, you might like to skip beating the egg whites. I have made it both ways and no matter what, the taste is always delicious. 
• Vanilla pudding powder: This is actually part of the authentic German recipe. You can find vanilla pudding powder online or possibly at a local grocery store with an international section.
• Sour cherries: Many Germans love adding cherries to their cheesecake. If you can find them, simply place them in the spring form pan before adding the quark mixture. 
• Mandarin orange slices: Oftentimes you will find Käsekuchen in Germany with mandarin slices in it. You can either use fresh ones (without the skin) or use canned ones. 
• Crust: If you would like to add a crust you can easily make a shortcrust pastry or use a graham cracker crust. 

How to serve

While you might love to have this German cheesecake still warm, I highly recommend you wait at least one day. Then the flavors will really come together. We simply dust it with some powdered sugar. 

Either way, you can simply serve this German cheesecake as is or add some fresh berries on top. You can enjoy a slice or two of this for breakfast or have it in the afternoon with a cup of coffee – just like Germans do it. It also makes the perfect after-dinner dessert. 

Make ahead of time?

After a lot of testing, I think that this cheesecake tastes best the next day. 

You can easily keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I recommend covering it with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. 

If you’d like to keep it for longer, you can also freeze your cheesecake. It is best to cut your cheesecake into individual slices and place them in an airtight container. You can easily keep it in the freezer for 4 months before it starts losing some of its flavor. 

Other recipes you might like

How to make German Quark

Classic German Plum Cake

Easy German Schnitzel

How to make Onion Pie

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Common Questions:

How to make German cheesecake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F
2. Let all the ingredients come to room temperature.
3. Separate the eggs. Add the egg yolks to your large mixing bowl and the egg white to a smaller bowl.
4. Using a handheld mixer (or your KitchenAid) beat the egg whites very stiff.
5. To the large mixing bowl add oil, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice, vanilla sugar, corn starch, baking powder, and quark.
6. Mix the ingredients in the large bowl until well incorporated.
7. Gently fold the egg whites into the cheesecake batter.
8. Line a 10″ springform pan with parchment paper. Using a brush, oil the sides of the springform pan.
9. Pour the entire cheesecake batter into the oiled and lined springform pan. You can shake it gently so it flattens out.
10. Bake the cheesecake for 90 mins until gold-brown and until an inserted knife comes out clean.
11. Let cool. While you can enjoy this cheesecake immediately, I highly recommend letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight

Let me know if you have any questions or comments

Let me know how you like this cheesecake. You can also post all your questions and comments below!

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