Russischer Zupfkuchen is a classic German cheesecake with a rich chocolate crust and creamy filling made from farmer’s cheese, eggs, and vanilla.

Scale

Mix chocolate dough: Sift in the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Mix with a hand mixer using dough hooks. Add white sugar, vanilla sugar, softened butter, and egg, and mix until well combined.
Rest: Form a ball out of the chocolate dough, wrap it in cling film, and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Melt butter: Place 250 g butter in a pot and bring it to low/medium heat. Stir while cooking until melted, then set aside to cool.
Coat springform pan: Grease a 26 cm springform pan with butter. Take the chocolate dough out of the fridge, divide in half, and press one half into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
Mix filling: Combine eggs, white sugar, vanilla sugar, melted butter, farmer’s cheese, instant vanilla pudding, and scraped vanilla bean in a bowl. Mix on low speed until homogenous, then pour into the coated springform pan.
Scatter chocolate dough: Take the other half of the chocolate dough and scatter it around the top of the filling.
Bake: Preheat the oven to 165°C (329°F) with the upper and lower heat function. Place a bowl with about 500 g water on the bottom of the oven. Bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes, then turn off the oven and slightly open the door.
Cool: Cool the cheesecake slowly by leaving the oven door slightly open for 60 minutes, then place it on the counter for 3 hours, and finally chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Keywords: Russischer Zupfkuchen, German cheesecake, baking, dessert recipe