Imagine a cheesecake, that is actually good for you… Well, enter quark, the star of today´s bake! This cake is a Czech classic, but every family makes it a little differently. This version uses beaten egg whites to lighten up the quark layer, almond slivers for a bit of crunch and fruit on top for another bit of flavour.
I spoke about the benefits of quark before but I cannot stress it´s goodness enough. If you can get it where you live, make sure to give it a try and get a load. If you can´t, you could replace it with some soft cheese, but try something not too runny. Add fresh or tinned fruit, or make it without, and make sure to have enough, as everybody will be coming for more 🙂
For the pastry you will need:
- 270 g fine flour
- 70 g confectioners sugar
- 250 g butter
- 4 egg yolks
- pinch of salt
Quickly work the ingredients into a smooth dough. Add more flour if the mixture is sticky, but do not overload it, so it stays soft and delicate. Put 1/3 away and wrap both parts into cling foil and put them to the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then roll out the 2/3 of the dough so it fits a 24×34 cm baking tin lined with baking paper.
For the filling you will need:
- 750 g quark
- 120 g confectioners sugar
- some vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 40 g all purpose flour
- 50 g almond slivers
- 4 egg whites, divided
- 1 small tin of tangerines
Preheat your oven to 160°C.
Mix quark, sugar, vanilla extract, cream and flour. Whip 3 egg whites until soft peaks form and fold them into the quark mixture. Spread the filling on the base and sprinkle the almond slivers over the top. Make long rolls out of the remaining 1/3 dough and make a lattice on top of the filling. Divide the tangerines and cover the lattice strips with the remaining egg white.
Bake the cake for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the top is golden and the filling is nicely set. As usually, tastes the best when refrigerated.
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Berries and Yarn 
Great recipe! Just wish I can find quark in the US….I am not sure.
according to Wiki, you may be lucky in Polish or German shops, if you have some of those around!
oh wow, that looks SO delicious!!
looks yummy, fresh an super tasty
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I’m going to have to look into quark. My husband is a huge cheesecake fan but it is so fattening!
I like the criss-crossed dough on top of your cake–nice touch! Thank you for stopping by and linking with See Ya in the Gumbo. Nice to have you!