Skip to Content

German Cherry Cheesecake

German Cherry Cheesecake

This German cherry cheesecake with the right amount of sweetness is easy to follow and looks and tastes amazing.

Made up of a nutty, chocolatey, and moist crust, filled with cheesecake filling that’s flavored with vanilla and finished off with canned sour cherries (preserved in water) thickened with cornstarch (corn flour).

Made it yesterday for my mum in law’s birthday and it was as always, a huge hit.

What I love about this cheesecake is that there is no need to pit fresh cherries, since it’s made with canned cherries preserved in water. So, you can make it at any time of the year. Made this cake with gooseberries as well and it turned out well.

What you’ll need to make cherry cheesecake

For the chocolate nut crust

  • 150 g (1 ¼ cups/ 5.3 oz) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
  • 1 medium egg
  • 125 g (about ½ cup/ 4.4 oz) butter, soft
  • 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons/ 2.6 oz) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened plus extra for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 100 g (1 cup/ 3.5 oz) ground nuts, hazelnuts or almonds, or the mixture of the two
  • 70 g (2.5 oz) milk chocolate

For the vanilla cheesecake filling with quark

  • 500 g (1.1 lbs) quark, room temperature
  • 300 g (0.66 lbs) sour cream, room temperature
  • 175 g (6.2 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 100 ml (about 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon/ 3.4 fl.oz) milk, room temperature
  • 2 medium eggs, room temperature
  • 125 g (about ½ cup/ 4.4 oz) butter, soft
  • 40 g (1.4 oz/ ⅓ cup) cornstarch (corn flour)
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 125 g (4.4 oz/ ½ cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar

For the cherry pudding

  • 700 g (1.5 lbs.) canned cherries preserved in water, not drained
  • 30 g (1.1 oz/ ¼ cup) corn flour (cornstarch)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

How to make cherry cheesecake

Make cocoa powder and hazelnuts crust

Start off by lining a 26 – cm (10.2 inches) springform cake tin with a parchment paper at the bottom and grease the sides with butter and dust with cocoa powder.

Next cut chocolate into chunks. In a bowl combine sugar, butter, flour, hazelnuts, cacao powder, baking powder and an egg.

Using your hands combine all the ingredients together until you have a firm dough. Add chocolate chunks and combine well. Crumble the dough into the prepared springform (or cake tin with removable base).

Using your hands dusted with flour, press the cake base until the bottom of the cake tin is covered. Make the dough high on the sides as well and set aside.

Next preheat the oven to 180 ° C (356°F), with both top and bottom heat.

Make cheesecake filling with quark

Using the tip of the knife split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla seeds. Mix the scraped-out seeds with sugar very well.

Next add butter, vanilla sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs to an empty bowl and beat until creamy. Add cornstarch, quark, milk, cream cheese and sour cream and whisk to a smooth cream.

Pour the cheesecake filling into the cake base and bake for 60 minutes.

Make the cherry sauce for the topping

About 5 minutes before the 60 minutes baking time is over, mix a little bit of cherry water with cornstarch. Add the remaining cherries including cherry water and sugar to a pot, mix well and bring to a boil.

Then add cornstarch – cherry mixture to the pot and keep stirring constantly until it starts to bubble and has thickened. Immediately after making the cherry pudding/ sauce, spread it on the cheesecake and let cool completely. Enjoy!

Cherry Cheesecake Recipe FAQ

Can I use fresh or frozen cherries to make this cherry cheesecake?

Yes, you can. You can use fresh, canned, or even frozen cherries to make it. if you’re using fresh or frozen cherries, just make sure to cook them first for about 10 to 15 minutes, before adding cornstarch for thickening.

Can I use other fruits instead of cherries to make this German cherry cheesecake?

If you’re having trouble finding canned sour cherries, you could also gooseberries for instance. Made this cake using gooseberries that we froze last summer, and it still turned out fantastic. Currants, strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries make a great substitution as well.

What can I use instead of quark?

This German cheesecake calls for quark. Quark is a creamy and firm kind of cheese that looks like thick yogurt. It’s very low in fat and high in protein.

It’s made by warming soured milk (for about 24 hours) until milk separates into solids (called curd) and the liquid (known as whey). The milk mixture is then strained through cheesecloth for at least 2 hours to form quark. 

But if you don’t have access to quark or it’s too expensive where you live, simply use Greek yogurt, just like this cheesecake recipe with sour cream topping or this easy cheesecake.

Can I use vanilla extract?

This recipe calls for vanilla seeds from vanilla bean, but feel free to use about ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or about 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar. Just reduce the amount of sugar if you’re using vanilla sugar.

Can I refrigerate this cherry cheesecake?

Yes, you can refrigerate this cheesecake, just like any other cheesecake on this blog up to 1 month. Simply let it cool completely.

Then you put the cheesecake in a freezer friendly glass or plastic container, uncovered und refrigerate for an hour. Then you take it out of the freezer, cover it and refrigerate for up to one month.

Don’t forget to label the box. If you’re using a meta box, simply line it with parchment paper, so that it will be easier to remove the cake.

How to defrost cherry cheesecake

Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge overnight. Then take the defrosted cheesecake out of the fridge, put it on the counter and it come to room temperature.

Now you can serve your cheesecake just like that. Or you could warm it up for about 15 minutes at 150 °C (°F) in the oven or warm it in the microwave for about 45 to 60 seconds.

German Cherry Cheesecake

This German cherry cheesecake with the right amount of sweetness is easy to follow and looks and tastes amazing. Made up of a nutty, chocolatey, and moist crust, filled with cheesecake filling that’s flavored with vanilla and finished off with canned sour cherries (preserved in water) thickened with cornstarch (corn flour). Made it yesterday for my mum in law’s birthday and it was as always, a huge hit.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: cakes and desserts
Cuisine: European, German
Keyword: berry recipes, cherry cheesecake, German baked cheesecake recipe, summer
Servings: 12 Servings
Author: Ester | esterkocht.com

Equipment

  • 26 cm(10 inch) spring-form (or cake tin with removable base)

Ingredients

For the cocoa - hazelnut crust

  • 150 g (1 ¼ cups/ 5.3 oz) plain flour (all purpose flour)
  • 1 medium egg
  • 125 g (about ½ cup/ 4.4 oz) butter soft
  • 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons/ 2.6 oz) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 100 g (1 cup/ 3.5 oz) ground nuts hazelnuts or almonds, or mixture of the two
  • 70 g (2.5 lbs.) milk chocolate

For the fillling

  • 100 ml (about 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon/ 3.4 fl.oz) milk room temperature
  • 2 medium eggs room temperature
  • 175 g (6.2 oz) cream cheese room temperature
  • 40 g (⅓ cup/ 1.4 oz) cornstarch (corn flour)
  • 125 g (4.4 oz/ ½ cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 300 g (0.66 lbs) sour cream room temperature
  • 500 g (1.1 lbs) quark room temperature
  • 125 g (about ½ cup/ 4.4 oz) butter soft

For the topping

  • 700 g (1.5 lbs.) canned sour cherries preserved in water undrained
  • 30 g (1.1 oz/ ¼ cup) cornstarch (corn flour)
  • 2 tablepoons sugar

Instructions

  • Start off by lining a 26 – cm (10.2 inches) springform cake tin with a parchment paper at the bottom and grease the sides with butter and dust with cocoa powder. Next cut chocolate into chunks. In a bowl combine sugar, butter, flour, hazelnuts, cacao powder, baking powder and an egg. Using your hands combine all the ingredients together until you have a firm dough. Add chocolate chunks and combine well. Crumble the dough into the prepared springform (or cake tin with removable base). Using your hands dusted with flour, press the cake base until the bottom of the cake tin is covered. Make the dough high on the sides as well and set aside.
    Next preheat the oven to 180 ° C (356°F), with both top and bottom heat.
  • Using the tip of the knife split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla seeds. Mix the scraped-out seeds with sugar very well. Next add butter, vanilla sugar (that ypu've just mader), and eggs to an empty bowl and beat until creamy. Add cornstarch, quark, milk, cream cheese and sour cream and whisk to a smooth cream. Pour the cheesecake filling into the cake base and bake for 60 minutes.
  • About 5 minutes before the 60 minutes baking time is over, mix a little bit of cherry water with cornstarch. Add the remaining cherries including cherry water and sugar to a pot, mix well and bring to a boil. Then add cornstarch – cherry mixture to the pot and keep stirring constantly until it starts to bubble and has thickened. Immediately after making the cherry pudding spread it on the cheesecake and let cool completely, preferably overnight. Enjoy!

Did you make this cherry cheesecake German style? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a review and add rating to it.

Recipe Rating