Shakin & Bakin Foodie Blog

I love making homemade cheesecakes for my family...matter of fact, it's my husbands favorite dessert item and I make them various ways to keep it interesting for him. This recipe comes from my dad's side of the family and today I thought I would share it with all of you.

German Cheese Cake Recipe

Crust:

18 pieces of zwieback
2-3 tablespoons of butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb. block of cream cheese, softened and cubed

Filling:

2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
thin rind of 1/2 lemon

Topping:

1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Break six pieces of zwieback into a blender container, cover and process on the grind setting until it becomes a semi-fine crumb consistency. Empty the crumbs into a medium sized bowl and repeat the process with the remaining zwieback. Mix the melted butter & sugar with the crumbs, press them onto the bottom of a 9" or 10" spring form cake pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Cool. Place the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and rind, vanilla extract and half of the cheese into a blender container, cover and process until smooth. Add in the remaining cheese, continue to process until the mixture is smooth. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold blended mixture into the egg whites, pour the mixture into the crumb crust and bake for 35-45 minutes. Put the sour cream, sugar and vanilla into the blender container, cover and process until smooth. Spread this mixture evenly over the top of the cake and return it to the oven for an additional 8 minutes. Cool before removing from the cake pan.