German Cheesecake Cupcakes

Hello everyone!

This will be a short and simple instructable. I made some cupcakes at a party that were a hit, so I decided to share the recipe with everyone.

German cheesecake is traditionally made with quark, a soft german cheese also known as "Farmer's cheese". This makes it fluffier and lighter than the more common New York-style cheesecakes. In all my years of making german cheesecakes, though, I have never found quark in the US. This recipe uses cottage cheese and cream cheese as a substitute, so I apologize to any offended germans if I'm doing it all wrong.

This recipe makes 20 cupcakes. Before you start, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cheesecake Ingredients:

Wet ingredients:

1 pound small curd cottage cheese, full fat

2 (8 ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temp

4 medium eggs

1.5 tsp vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

.75 cups sugar & stevia blend

.75 cups white flour

or

1.25 cups sugar

.25 cups flour

I often use stevia blend as a sweetener when I cook, so I modify recipes calling for sugar. In this case, you want the same amount of dry ingredients in proportion to wet, and you want the same general sweetness level. Stevia blend is about twice as sweet as plain sugar. I've found no difference between different flour types, so long as they're finely ground, so if you're going gluten free, you can substitute wheat flour with coconut or other types.

Topping Ingredients:

Balsamic vinegar

4 oz pack of raspberries

For making the cheesecake, blend all of the wet ingredients in a large blender or food processor. I've found it's best to start with the eggs and cottage cheese, then work in the cream cheese a little at a time.

Once all of the wet ingredients have been added in, mix together your flour and sugar in one bowl, then (while mixing) slowly add the dry stuff into the wet mixture. Be sure not to let it fall in clumps, but just sprinkle over the surface to keep the texture smooth. Taste occasionally, to ensure it tastes right. The best time to fix it is now.

Once the mixture is fully blended and at a smooth consistency, begin pouring into a cupcake tin prepared with paper inserts. Fill each tin about 3/4s of the way.

Pop into the oven, and bake for 20 min at 350. Once done, turn off the oven and let them cool slowly with the oven.

The best time to make the topping is while the cupcakes are baking. To do so, take a small pot and fill with balsamic vinegar to a depth of about .5 to 1 inches. Reduce the vinegar on high heat, making sure to stir or swirl it so it doesn't burn. Once it's reduced by half or more, it should be ready. The best way to tell is if it doesn't smell very strongly of vinegar, and it takes noticeably longer to boil when place back over heat. It should be slightly sweet but still very tangy.

Add in raspberries and mash with a rubber spatula, and simmer over medium heat until it's at an even pasty consistency. Take off the heat, and let cool somewhat before adding to the top of the cupcakes.

When the cupcakes are cooled, they tended to have a sunken patch in the middle. This is a perfect place to dollop a dime-sized portion of raspberry balsamic.

Let the cakes cool in the fridge, then serve! They will last about a week in the fridge, or 20 minutes in plain sight.