Bienenstich

Adapted from Luisa Weiss's Classic German Baking 

Yeast Base: 

90g Herman Starter 

180g all-purpose flour 

1 egg 

1/8 tsp salt 

30g sugar 

50g butter

Topping:

150g butter
100g sugar
70g honey
45g cream
1/2 tsp salt
230g sliced almonds

Blitz Herman, flour, 1 egg and salt in food processor to develop gluten. Rest for 15 minutes.

Blitz with sugar. Check that the sugar crystals can no longer be felt with your fingers.

Blitz in the butter.

Tuck into ball and let rise in the fridge.

Remove about 3-4 hours before baking. When pliable, roll out it out to approximately 23cm by 33cm, and let rise again.

When the yeast base is fully risen, make topping by lightly caramelising all ingredients except for almonds. While still hot, pour over almonds and mix.

Spread over yeast base.

Bake at 230C.

Notes: 

The base came out a little dry. I will add more milk next time. I think between the cold rise and also Herman, it requires a little more moisture.

This recipe is too small for my Magimix.

I sliced it, then allowed my guests to split the pieces at will, and I served it with pastry cream. 

Quarkkuchen, or Matthias's Favourite German Cheesecake made with Quark

Adapted from German Kuchen

Ingredients: 
125g butter
200g sugar
4 egg yolks

1kg quark

Juice of 1 lemon

45g semolina
20g cornstarch
1tsp baking powder

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
50g sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Add yolks one at a time.

Add quark. Scrape the bottom several times.

When the quark mixture is fully combined -- and no longer has streaks of yellow but is a pale yellow through out -- add the lemon juice, followed by the dry ingredients.

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks with the cream of tartar and the sugar.

Fold the egg whites into the quark mixture.

Pour into a 25cm springform tin -- the German-style ones with the glass bottom are great -- and bake at 160C until done. The cake will rise, puff and then sink. It is done when a skewer comes out clean.

Notes: 
I used this recipe because it was the most similar one to Matthias's mom's recipe.

I added an additional two egg whites because I have found that when making cakes that puff and then sink, the addition of the extra egg whites makes for a better, smoother textured cake. If you do not have extra egg whites lying around spare, the cake should taste perfectly good without them anyway.

You cannot use a smaller tin without reducing the recipe. Even with a 25cm tin, there was plenty extra to make Matthias and I a small one tonight plus some extra batter for him to eat.

Tasting Notes: 
Matthias says that I do not need to finagle with the recipe any more, but I shall see what his mother has to say when I get her recipe.