The BEST Fluffy German Cheesecake (Käse-Sahne-Torte)

Serves 12

20 mins prep

15 mins cook

180 mins Chill Time

215 mins total

If you've never had Käse-Sahne-Torte, you're in for a treat! This German cheesecake is delicate, fluffy, and refreshingly light with a creamy lemony quark and whipped cream filling. Unlike the dense American-style cheesecake, this one is airy, melts in your mouth, and isn’t baked after assembling, just chilled to perfection.

The sponge cake base is incredibly simple, coming together in just 15 minutes, and the filling is just as quick! If you want to add a fruity twist, you can fold in raspberries, apricots, or peaches for an extra burst of flavor. This is one of those cakes that looks fancy but is actually easy to make. Try it once, and you’ll be hooked!

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Sponge Cake

Preheat the oven to 390° Fahrenheit/ 200° Celsius and the bottom of your springform with parchment paper (mine is 9 inches in diameter and a darker, heavier metal. Depending on the size of yours and the type of metal, yours may bake a bit faster or a bit slower). Leave the sides clean.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks, placing the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in a smaller bowl. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat until almost stiff.Add about ¾ of the sugar and continue beating until stiff.

5 eggs

1 salt

100 granulated sugar

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until creamy.

Mix together the flour, cornstarch and baking powder and sift over the egg yolk-sugar mixture. Add the egg whites to the same bowl, and fold it the mixture carefully until no more white streaks or dry spots remain.

80 all-purpose flour

30 cornstarch

2 baking powder

Pour the batter into your prepared springform, even out the top by spreading it out with a spatula, then tapping your springform a few times on top of your counter.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden yellow. Exact bake time will depend on the size of your springform and the metal it’s made from. It will be done cooking when the middle springs back if you gently press on it using a finger.

Remove the pan from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. After 5 minutes, run a clean, straight-edge knife between the cake and the ring of your springform to release the cake and prevent cracks as it cools. Leave it in the springform with the ring attached and cover with the clean kitchen towel again to prevent the cake from drying out. Let cool completely before you proceed with making your filling, about 1 hour.

Prepare the Baked Cake

Remove the cake from the springform pan and peel off the parchment. The bottom side (the side the parchment was on) will become the top of the cake, while the top of the cake will become the bottom of the cake. So you will essentially flip the cake.

Cut the cake into two layers horizontally. It’s best to use a large serrated knife (like a bread knife) to do this job, although a large, straight edge knife will work as well. You will now have two layers. Cut the top layer into 12 cake slices.

Return the bottom layer to the bottom of your springform and secure the springform ring around it OR on a cake platter (it should fit in your fridge) and secure a cake ring around it. The latter is really my preferred option because the cake will shrink a little after baking, meaning you will have a small gap around the cake if using the springform to layer it. Cover the cake with a clean kitchen towel while you prepare your filling.

Quark and Cream Filling

Whip the heavy whipping cream with your whisk attachment of your handheld mixer until completely stiff, about 5 minutes. Using the same attachments (it’s okay if they’re not clean), whip together the quark, lemon zest and the powdered sugar until creamy and combined.

400 heavy whipping cream

1 quark

1 lemon

150 powdered sugar

Transfer 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the quark mixture (doesn’t need to be exact) to a small saucepan and heat until just starting to boil. Set aside. Juice the lemon and combine the juice with the gelatin powder using a whisk. Add in the hot quark mixture and whisk until combined and no more clumps are visible. Add the gelatin-quark mixture to the rest of the quark and whisk until combined. Fold in the whipped cream until incorporated.

20 gelatine

Optionally fold in drained fruit. I left my Käse-Sahne-Torte plain this time, which is a classic option.

150 frozen raspberries or canned, diced mandarin oranges, apricots or peaches

Assemble The Cake

Immediately add the filling to the bottom cake layer and even out the top using an angled cake decorating spatula or a butter knife. Place your precut top layer onto the filling.

Cover the cake with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Place in your fridge to set up for 3 hours.

When ready to serve, remove the cake from the fridge, cut around the edges with a straight-edge knife and remove the cake ring. Dust the top with powdered sugar. You can optionally clean up the sides of the cake using a wet, straight edge knife of an angled cake decorating spatula.

Cut the slices and serve cold. Return the cake to the fridge, so it stays cold. The cake will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months.