Streusel-Mohn-Käsekuchen (poppy seed streusel cheesecake)

Method

1. Rub the cold butter into the flour, sugar and salt until it looks like coarse crumbs, then work in the egg yolk just until a dough forms. Press into the base of a 26 cm springform, about 2 cm up the sides, and chill for 20 minutes.
2. Blind bake the base at 190°C for 12 minutes, until just set. Reduce the oven to 160°C.
3. Grind the poppy seeds finely in a food processor or spice grinder, in short bursts.
4. Beat the quark, sugar, eggs, cornstarch, oil and vanilla together until smooth, then fold in the ground poppy seeds until evenly distributed.
5. Make the streusel: rub the cold butter into the flour and sugar with your fingertips until it forms coarse, pea-sized crumbs.
6. Pour the filling over the warm base, then scatter the streusel over the top in an even layer.
7. Bake at 160°C for about 55 minutes, until the centre wobbles only slightly and the streusel is golden. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar for 15 minutes before removing the tin.
8. Cool completely, then chill at least 2 hours before slicing.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers grinding the poppy seeds; the base, filling assembly, streusel and baking are the same as the hand method.

1. Poppy seeds into the dry bowl. Grind 1 min / speed 9, until finely ground.
2. Tip out and continue mixing the filling by hand or with a stand mixer, folding the ground poppy seeds through as in the hand method.

Notes

• Grinding the poppy seeds is not optional. Whole seeds sit gritty and mostly flavourless in the filling; ground, they turn the cheesecake a genuine speckled grey-blue and carry real flavour throughout.
• This cheesecake looks darker and duller than a plain one even when perfectly baked. Judge doneness by the wobble, not by how glossy the surface looks.
• The slow cool-down in the switched-off oven still matters here, the same as any water-bath-free cheesecake; a sudden change in temperature cracks the surface.
• It keeps for 4 days in the fridge, covered.

Ingredient substitutions

• Poppy seeds vary in freshness between shops; buy from somewhere with good turnover, since stale poppy seeds taste faintly rancid rather than nutty.
• Quark can be replaced with a mix of quark and ricotta for a slightly grainier, more distinctly poppy-seed-cake texture.
• A layer of poached pears under the filling is a classic pairing with poppy seed if a fruit note is wanted.
• For a lighter streusel, replace 30 g of the flour with 30 g of ground almonds.