For the longest time I've mourned the fact that you just can't get the insane variety of dairy products available in Germany in Canada. Particularly quark cheese, which is the backbone of a classic Käsekuchen, not to mention a key ingredient in countless other doughs, dishes, and fillings- I've seen one ultra-low fat 0.25% version for sale, but I don't want to make a pastry with that! Vastly superior would be something of at least around 10% fat.
Of course, there are other types of quark. Magerquark is, to my knowledge, any quark with less than 10% fat- but something to the higher end of that spectrum is better for baking, while that with less fat can be eaten like yogurt with fruit or jam. Topfenquark, which is used in a ton of strudels, Auflaufs, and pastry fillings, is about 20% fat. And Speisequark is about 40% fat, and can be used as a bread spread amongst other uses in giving richness to dishes.
When I found this recipe for homemade quark that didn't need rennet and could be done within the temperature range that my oven offers, I was suspicious that it was too good to be true. And while this isn't "true" quark in that it isn't cultured the same way... it's definitely a good enough approximation for me! I made mine with half 18% cream and half 3.8% buttermilk to get something with a slight amount of richness, but not too much- perfect for enhancing bread doughs, or for the Quarkstollen that I plan to be making. I'll definitely be trying the recipe out with different fat proportions, like a 20% fat version made partly with whipping cream... then I can try my hand at Topfenstrudel and Topfenpalatschinken. And delicious German cheesecake, of course.
I got just over 400 g. of quark out of this batch, but because I drained it in the fridge overnight, it was really a lot firmer than one would be used to for quark- but that's good, because you typically want to wring out as much whey as you can. Then, you can remoisten it to the desired level by adding some buttermilk or cream. I froze the majority of mine (hey, Google told me I could, but only time will tell if that was really a smart idea) but reserved a small amount to try right away. I added a spoonful of extra buttermilk, some chopped green onion, and some salt and pepper to make a spread for some freshly-baked buns, and it was received with great enthusiasm.
I never would have expected something so good to come of a recipe so simple and easy- any sort of homemade cheese always feels intimidating, but it's really not. My grandmother used to make her own fresh cheeses this way, and in my humble opinion, it tastes much better fresh and homemade.
You can also control the quality of all your ingredients very easily! I'm going to try my hand at other fresh cheeses in the near future. And get back on that Quarkstollen.
Adapted from chefkoch.de
(makes 400-500 g.)
500 mL.Buttermilk, 3.8%
500 mL Light cream, 18%
Mix both and let sit for about 15-30 minutes. Pour into a large Dutch oven or other baking pan. Place in an oven preheated to 100℃ and bake for 2 hours. Let cool.
After cooling completely, strain for 2 hours (or better yet, longer in the fridge- I drained it overnight) with cheesecloths over a pot or bowl. Squeeze the curds dry and add a little buttermilk or cream to get a suitable consistency- you usually want it to be about as thick as Greek yogurt.
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