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Classics, Cakes

My Moist Quark Cake from Grandma's 1953 Recipe

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Golden German quark cake on a shortcrust base, baked from Grandma's 1953 recipe

4.9 (15)out of 5, 15 ratings

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Bake
1 hr
Rest
12 hr
Total
13 hr
Makes
12 pieces

This recipe is a true family treasure from 1953, written in pencil in Grandma's notebook and already a little yellowed. I bake it just the way she did back then, with shortcrust pastry kneaded by hand and a quark filling that gets its firm, velvety texture from well-drained quark.

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I did add one professional trick from my years in the pastry shop, though: I whip the egg whites with part of the sugar so they stay stable and don't break up into little flecks when you fold them in. Be sure to drain your quark beforehand, for at least an hour in a cloth, otherwise the filling soaks the base and the cake turns soggy. Here is my quark cake recipe the way Grandma made it:

Ingredients

Makes 12 pieces

Shortcrust pastry

  • 1 ⅓ cups170 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • ½ tspbaking powderGerman baking powder is sold in 15 g packets, each meant for about 500 g (4 cups) of flour. In the US and the UK use baking powder, 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp per 15 g packet.
  • 7 tbsp90 ggranulated sugar
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g). Sugar flavored with vanillin (artificial vanilla), sold in small packets of about 8 g. In the US use 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar for each 8 g packet; in the UK, vanilla sugar sachets, or 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar per sachet.
  • 1egg yolk
  • 7 tbsp100 gunsalted butterGerman butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter (European-style unsalted butter is closest); in the UK, unsalted butter.

Quark filling

  • 3 cups750 gquarkA fresh, mild and slightly tangy cheese with a spoonable texture, used in German cheesecakes, doughs and creams. In the US use full-fat Greek yogurt strained overnight, or farmer's cheese; in the UK, quark from the supermarket chiller (choose a full-fat one if you can find it).
  • 1 cup plus 1 tbsp220 ggranulated sugar
  • 3egg whites
  • 2egg yolks
  • 4 tbsp30 gcornstarchStarch for thickening creams and lightening cakes; in German recipes this means cornstarch unless stated otherwise. In the US use cornstarch; in the UK, cornflour.
  • ½ cup80 graisinsoptional

Method

Shortcrust pastry

  1. Knead the ingredients into a dough, cover and chill for about 30 minutes.

  2. After chilling, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and press the dough into it.

  3. There's no need to grease the pan, because the dough greases it all by itself.

Quark filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C) convection (fan).

  2. Mix the quark with the cornstarch, half of the sugar and the egg yolks.

  3. Whip the egg whites with the other half of the sugar until the meringue is creamy but not completely stiff.

  4. Fold the meringue into the quark mixture in 2 to 3 portions, then pour the filling into the pan.

  5. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes. It will rise quite a lot in the oven, but it also sinks again as it cools.

  6. When the baking time is up, switch off the oven and leave the cake inside, but wedge a wooden spoon between the oven and the door so it cools as slowly as possible.