Apfel-Quark-Auflauf (baked apple and quark pudding)
A soft, custardy baked pudding built on quark rather than flour for its structure, folded through with diced apple, closer to a crustless cheesecake than a cake. Quark has to be well drained before it goes in, or the pudding weeps liquid in the oven and never sets properly in the centre.
Prep20 min
Cook45 min
Oven180°C
Servings6
Christoph's apple quark bake, the quark well drained beforehand so the finished pudding sets rather than weeping in the oven.
Ingredients
Written for a 24 × 18 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
Pudding
- 600 g quark, well drained if very wet rounded
- 3 eggs rounded
- 90 g sugar rounded
- 40 g semolina rounded
- 30 g butter, melted rounded
- 5 ml vanilla extract rounded
- 1 lemon, zest only rounded
- 400 g apples, peeled, cored, diced 1 cm rounded
- 3 g ground cinnamon (optional) rounded
- 20 g icing sugar, for dusting (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- If the quark looks very wet, drain it in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for 20 minutes before starting; excess liquid stops the pudding from setting properly.
- Whisk the quark, eggs, sugar, semolina, melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest together until smooth and evenly combined.
- Toss the diced apple with the cinnamon, if using, then fold gently into the quark mixture.
- Pour into a buttered rectangular dish. Bake at 180°C for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the centre has only a slight, even wobble.
- Cool at least 15 minutes before serving, warm or at room temperature; it firms up considerably as it cools. Dust with icing sugar if using.
Notes
- Drain the quark first if it looks watery, especially with lower-fat varieties, which tend to hold more liquid; skipping this step is the most common cause of a pudding that never sets in the middle.
- Do not overbake looking for a fully firm centre. This pudding continues to set as it cools; a slight wobble when it comes out of the oven is correct, not underdone.
- Dice the apple small and even. Large chunks release more liquid as they bake and can leave wet pockets in the finished pudding.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge, covered, and is good cold straight from the fridge as well as warm.
Ingredient substitutions
- Quark can be a mix of quark and cream cheese for a slightly richer result, or Greek yoghurt, well drained, in a pinch, though the texture will be a little tangier.
- Apples can be pears, or a mix of both.
- Semolina can be replaced with the same weight of fine breadcrumbs or ground almonds if unavailable.
From Christoph Mayer