Cheesecake Maracuya

This cheesecake maracuya or passion fruit cheesecake is an incredibly flavorful and refreshing cake perfect for any occasion.

I’ve started the month on Where Is My Spoon with one of my favorite cakes ever: The Best Carrot Cake. I will continue with many other favorite cakes, today’s Cheesecake Maracuya followed by several other cakes, like the Raspberry Lemon Curd Cake or the Raffaello Cake.

All of them are the top of my list when it comes to cakes, my absolute favorites, cakes I have been baking dozens and dozens of times during the last 10 years or so.

Ingredients for maracuya cake

What is quark?

Quark is a very common ingredient used in cooking and baking in Germany. According to Wikipedia “Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made by warming soured milk until the desired amount of curdling is met, and then straining it. It can be classified as fresh acid-set cheese. Traditional quark is made without rennet. It is soft, white and unaged, and usually has no salt added.”

Quark is not only common in Germany, but also pretty much all over Europe, in all German-speaking European countries, but also in Poland and Russia.

In Germany, we can buy low-fat quark, which has very little fat, quark with 20% fat, or quark with 40% fat. I use low-fat quark in most of the cake recipes made with quark, I use it often in this Egg Salad.

I use it for many other bread spreads, I make desserts with quark, something like this Strawberry Mascarpone Dessert or this amazing Strawberry Tiramisu.

How to replace quark in recipes?

• If quark isn’t readily available in your area, there are ways to substitute it in a satisfactory manner. Similar products are cream cheese, Greek yogurt, fromage frais cottage, or farmer’s cheese.
• Try to use a product that has similar fat content to the type of quark indicated in a recipe.
• So, for instance, as I use low-fat quark in this recipe for the cheesecake maracuya, I would replace that with a smooth farmer’s cheese (which is normally pretty low-fat) or lower-fat cream cheese.
• However, that is not mandatory, this kind of no-bake desserts are pretty versatile, so if you use full-fat cream cheese or even mascarpone the cake will still taste great, but it will be more calorie-laden, so the choice is yours.
• Another wonderful way of replacing the quark in this recipe (or another no-bake cheesecake with quark) is with a mixture of full-fat cream cheese and yogurt, I use that combination for the Strawberry Yogurt Cheesecake recipe and I love it.
• When making a bread spread, for instance, I would definitely go for cottage or farmer’s cheese when unable to find quark.

Heavy cream:

• Otherwise, you will need double or heavy cream for the filling. Or whipping cream, whatever it is called in your part of the world.
• Make sure to use pure cream and not some sweetened or no dairy weird product. I am thinking of Romania when I say this, it is very common to use a no dairy, sweetened cream there, which is thoroughly disgusting and which will ruin anything you use it for.

Gelatin:

• For very detailed instructions on working with gelatin, have a look at this post: No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake.
• I use Dr. Oetker’s gelatine sheets, but a similar product should be fine. Just make sure you follow the packet’s instructions, especially if they are different than mine. (Amazon affiliate link)

Passion fruit or maracuya juice:

• I use passion fruit or maracuya juice to make this cake, not fresh passion fruit. I don’t normally drink this juice or any other kind of juice, but I find the juice wonderful here, it has a very particular and very aromatic taste.

Glaze:

• To make the glaze you will need more juice and the German Dr. Oetker clear glaze for the top of the cake. Use a similar kind of jelly powder, which will stiffen the glaze, if Dr. Oetker’s glaze is not available. (Amazon affiliate link)

How to make?

Base:

My old and trusted sponge recipe for the base, I must have baked this a million times, it is quite rare that I use another recipe. The recipe is easy, it tastes great and it always turns out the way it is supposed to be, no surprises.

• Line the bottom of a springform (26 cm/ 10 inches diameter) with baking paper.
• Separate the eggs.
• Beat the egg whites and the warm water until stiffer.
• Slowly start adding the sugar and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
• Carefully fold in the lightly beaten egg yolks.
• Mix the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together and sift them over the egg mixture.
• Fold in carefully.
• Pour the batter into the prepared springform and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Release the cake from the form and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling:

• Bloom the gelatin in cold water according to the packet’s instructions, in my case about 10 minutes.
• Mix the quark, sugar, vanilla extract, and juice in a bowl.
• Lightly squeeze the gelatin and add it to a saucepan large enough to hold the quark mixture as well later on.
• Turn the heat on and gently dissolve the gelatin. This will happen very quickly, so stand by and stir. Do not let the gelatin come to a boil.
• Remove the saucepan with the gelatin from the heat and slowly start adding the quark mixture, one tablespoon at a time, while stirring continuously.
• Place the mixture in the fridge and leave it until it just begins to set. Don’t let it set too much.
• In the meantime beat the cream until stiff. Gently fold the cream into the quark mixture.

Assemble:

• Assemble everything before making the glaze, as the hot glaze has to go directly onto the prepared cake.
• Slice the base once.
• Place one slice on a serving platter and place a cake ring around it.
• Pour in the filling and cover with the second cake slice.

Glaze:

To make the glaze for the maracuya cheesecake follow the packet’s instructions. When using Dr. Oetker clear glaze (Tortenguss) (Amazon affiliate link):

• Mix the two packets of Dr. Oetker Glaze with 2 tablespoons of sugar in a saucepan.
• Slowly add the fruit juice and the water while stirring to avoid the formation of clumps.
• Turn the heat on and slowly heat the mixture while stirring continuously. You will need about 2-3 minutes.
• Let the mixture come to a boil, remove from the heat, let stand for 1 minute.
• Carefully pour the glaze on top of the cake.
• Place the cheesecake maracuya in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours, until set, or even better let it in the fridge overnight.

Other cheesecakes:

Heart-Shaped Cheesecake

No-Bake Lemon Curd Cheesecake

Crustless Cheesecake

Apple Streusel Cheesecake

Nigella’s Chocolate Cheesecake