Käse-Sahne-Torte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •26cm springform tin
• •Cake ring or cleaned springform ring
• •Long serrated knife
• •Electric mixer
• •Fine sieve or cloth for draining quark

Instructions

1. 1

   Bake the sponge

   Heat the oven to 180C. Line the base of a 26cm springform tin with baking paper, but leave the sides ungreased so the sponge can climb instead of sliding down fat. Beat the egg yolks with 80g sugar and the vanilla until pale and thick. Whisk the whites with the salt to soft peaks, then beat in the remaining 40g sugar until glossy; this trapped air is the lift of the cake, so don't knock it out. Fold the whites into the yolks, sift over the flour, cornflour, and baking powder, and fold only until no dry streaks remain. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until the top springs back and the edge has just pulled from the tin.

2. 2

   Cool and split

   Cool the sponge completely on a rack, then split it into two even layers with a long serrated knife. Don't fill warm sponge. Warm cake softens the cream before the gelatine can set, and the bottom turns wet instead of tender. Put the bottom layer back into the clean springform ring, or set a cake ring around it.

3. 3

   Prepare the gelatine

   Soak sheet gelatine in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes until floppy, then squeeze it dry. If using powdered gelatine, bloom it in the cold water until it swells. Warm the gelatine gently in a small pan just until dissolved; boiling weakens its set and gives you a filling that slumps when sliced. Take it off the heat.

4. 4

   Mix the quark

   Stir the quark with the icing sugar, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth. Taste it now, because later the whipped cream will soften the sharpness. Quark should taste fresh and lightly sour, not like sweetened cream cheese. If your quark is wet, drain it in a sieve lined with cloth for an hour first; loose water fights the gelatine and makes the slice weep.

5. 5

   Temper the gelatine

   Stir 3 tablespoons of the quark mixture into the warm dissolved gelatine until smooth, then scrape that back into the main bowl while whisking. This is the step that saves the torte. Warm gelatine poured straight into cold quark seizes into strings; tempered first, it spreads evenly and sets the cream cleanly.

   If you see gelatine threads, set the bowl over barely warm water and whisk until smooth. Don't heat it hard, or the cream will lose its lift when it goes in.
6. 6

   Fold in cream

   Whip the cold cream to soft peaks, not stiff lumps. Soft cream folds through quark without breaking, and stiff cream leaves little butter grains in the finished slice. Fold it into the quark mixture in three additions, turning the bowl and lifting from the bottom until the filling is even and light.

7. 7

   Fill and chill

   Spread the quark cream over the bottom sponge in an even layer, pushing it right to the ring so there are no gaps at the side. Lay the second sponge on top and press gently, just enough to level it. Chill at least 6 hours, overnight if you can. Das braucht seine Zeit. Cut it early and the gelatine hasn't finished its work.

8. 8

   Dust and serve

   Run a thin knife around the ring and lift it away. Dust the top with icing sugar just before serving, because sugar left overnight pulls moisture and goes patchy. Slice with a long knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts, so the cream shows clean against the sponge. Nicht aus dem Glas, not from a packet mix. This one is simple enough to make properly.

Chef Tips

• •Use real quark, full-fat if you can get it. Low-fat quark works, but it tastes sharper and thinner, so drain it well and don't cut the cream.
• •Gelatine sheets are easier to control than powder. Soak them in cold water, squeeze them dry, and melt them gently; heat is useful only until they dissolve.
• •For the mandarin version, drain canned mandarins very well and fold 250g through the finished cream before filling. The fruit must be dry on the surface or it waters the filling.
• •Make it the day before. The sponge softens slightly against the quark cream, the lemon settles, and the slice stands straighter.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the sponge one day ahead, wrap it once cool, and split it when you are ready to fill; a rested sponge cuts cleaner than a fresh one.
• •Assemble the torte at least 6 hours before serving, preferably overnight, so the gelatine sets through the whole filling.
• •Dust with icing sugar only at the end; done early, it melts into the top sponge and looks tired.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)