A luscious, creamy, buttery German cheesecake in a delightful chocolate cookie crust with bits of the chocolate cookie floating amidst the creamy cheesecake. Yes, the recipe hails from Germany, but it’s named as if it’s Russian? If you’re puzzled by that and want to learn more, read on.
My son discovered this recipe after someone posted a picture of a slice of cheesecake they were enjoying on a train in Germany somewhere on the internet. (What a contrast from driving on stroads here in the US.) He was so taken with the idea of sitting on a train, sipping coffee and eating a slice of this lovely cheesecake. He shared the story with me, so of course we had to make it!
We found the recipe from a German baker who said this about the origins (translated into English):
The Russian plucked cake is not a recipe from a nice old Russian “babushka” – handed down from the good old days of the tsars. Anyone who thinks that is completely wrong. Anyone who thinks – maybe it comes from East Germany – is also wrong 😉 The name “Zupfkuchen” describes the pieces of dough that are spread on the surface of the cake before baking. The geographical assignment to Russia has nothing to do with the country. Some claim that the name comes from the shape of the “plucks”, which are supposed to look like the onion domes of Russian churches. Others say it’s simply an invention of a large manufacturer of baking mixes 😉 We’ll probably never know for sure 😛
from Bake to the Roots
Adjusting this Cheesecake to US Ingredients
I had to make a few adjustments to the recipe because, well, it’s a German recipe and we don’t have the same types of cheeses here that they have in Germany. I tried to approximate as best I could using things we have ready access to here in the States. I settled on a mix of whipped cottage cheese and cream cheese, to approximate the quark that he used.
I made a mini-sized cheesecake (only 7 inches in diameter) since we don’t eat a lot of desserts here. If you want a full-sized cheesecake, double the recipe. But limit the eggs to three.
The FIRST time we made this cheesecake, I added the chocolate cookie bits right at the beginning and they sunk into the cheesecake. Tasted fine, but didn’t quite LOOK like described. We also discovered a bit of glass in the first try — I had used a bowl that was in the cupboard when we broke a glass in the kitchen. Somehow a shard of glass got in the bowl. And thus into the cheesecake. So we had to throw most of that one away, not knowing if there were yet MORE shards of glass hiding in there. Needless to say, I didn’t take any photos.
So this is my second time making this cheesecake, made by request for my son’s birthday. This time, I let the cheesecake bake for 15 minutes before adding the cookie bits on top. And guess what? They didn’t sink! Also, I finally got pictures this time around. And we ate the whole cheesecake. Every. Last. Bite.
How does this differ from American cheesecake? You’ll find that creamy sweet flavor, but with a little softer texture, wrapped in a real cookie for the crust. Not crunchy crushed cookies mixed with butter and more sugar.
I adapted this recipe from Bake to the Roots. If you like to bake, you MUST go visit his web site. He makes ah-mazing desserts.
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German Cheesecake with Chocolate Cookie Crust (Russischer Zupfkuchen)
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 6 – 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: German
Ingredients
For the chocolate cookie crust:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/6 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 small egg (or 1/2 of a large egg)
- 7 Tablespoons butter, at room temp
For the filling:
- 9 Tablespoons butter, melted then cooled
- 4 oz. cream cheese or Neufchatel
- 5 oz. cottage cheese
- 2 small eggs (or 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/6 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the ingredients for the crust until it comes together into a smooth cookie-like dough. If your dough is too crumbly (mine was!), add a little sprinkle of water until it comes together. Put in a covered container in the fridge and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. and butter a 7-inch springform pan. Roll out half the dough to fit the bottom of the pan and press it into the bottom. Then roll the rest of the dough into a thin log. Set aside part of the roll, then put the rest in a ring around the sides of the pan and press it up the sides.
- Melt the butter and set aside. In a small blender or mini food processor, blend up the cream cheese, cottage cheese and eggs until smooth. Pour into the mixing bowl from earlier and add the remaining filling ingredients. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth, adding the melted butter in at the end and mixing that in as well.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Tear the remaining dough into bits and sprinkle them about the top of the cheesecake filling after 15 minutes of baking. Bake at 350 F. for 40 – 50 more minutes or until the top is golden brown and almost set.
Notes
For a 10-inch springform pan, double the recipe, except only 3 eggs in the filling.
RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2024, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Keywords: Cheesecake, German, Chocolate, Cookie
