A longing for a tropical getaway inspired today's Pineapple Upside Down Käsekuchen recipe. It's just as good as it sounds.
Pineapple Upside Down Käsekuchen
About this Recipe
This Is A Sponsored Post That Contains Affiliate Links
I just returned from a month long trip to Europe (Germany for 3 weeks and Croatia for 1 week) and it was just so soul-soothing to be able to finally spend time with family and some friends again. While vacationing with littles isn't the most relaxing (9-month-old Eloïse tried to explore every pebble by mouth on Croatia's rocky beaches), it is making memories with them that I will never want to wish away. Don't get me wrong though: a getaway sans kids sounds heavenly right now! 😀 To get myself in a tropical mood, I created an American version of a German classic cake: Pineapple Upside Down Käsekuchen. Think brown sugar and butter drenched, fresh pineapple slices topped by German cheesecake filling made with lots of Wünder Creamery Quark! By the way, if you haven't petitioned yet to get quark to your local grocery store, complete this form NOW!
Because everything in life is better with quark, especially if you're cooking and baking German recipes you'll come across the German super dairy frequently. I love Wünder Quark for its velvety texture and non tartness if that's a word. It's delicious and if you're into flavored quark, they're the perfect amount of sweet (vanilla and coffee flavors are big winners for me and Zoë's favorite is blueberry!).
I chose mini cheesecakes because they're just so cute and I've always wanted to have a great reason to own a set of these super cute 4-inch springform pans! They also take less time to bake and cool down, which is a big win win when you're like me and don't always have a whole day to wait to eat something (and demanding a toddler in your ear!). If you choose to make a large version of this cheesecake, use double the ingredients and about double the bake time. You may want to cover the cake with some foil about halfway through the baking process. You'll also want to bake the cakes on a sheet pan because the brown sugar sauce is likely to drip out the sides of the springform.
Scroll on down for the recipe, now in printable version.
PIneapple Upside Down Käsekuchen Essentials
Drink Pairing:
Rum Punch
This one may become my number one summer cocktail. It's easy and quick to make ahead of time in a large batch, so all you have to do when your guests arrive is to pour it over ice and drop in a bit of grenadine. BUT most importantly: it tastes like a tropical beach vacation in a glass! The 'unaltered' Mezan rum adds the perfect complexity to this juice cocktail. What I love most about this rum is that it's uncolored, unsweetened and only lightly filtered, yet aged twice in oak barrels. It brings this rum punch to the next level!
To make 6 servings:
- 2 cups pineapple juice
- 2 cups orange juice
- 1 ½ cups gold or dark rum (I LOVE the new Mezan Chiriquí aged rum!)
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 3 Tablespoons grenadine syrup (plus more for serving)
- Garnishes (maraschino cherries, citrus and pineapple slices - optional)
To find out where Mezan rum is available in your area, fill out the short product finder form.
more Käsekuchen Recipes
Rhubarb Käsekuchen
Pumpkin Käsekuchen
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Next Up:
Schnitzel Hawaii
We continue with the pineapple trend! Make sure to subscribe to my blog now, so you're not missing out when my new Chicken Schnitzel Hawaii recipe goes live!
Pineapple Upside Down Käsekuchen
Equipment
Ingredients
Pineapple and Sauce Topping
- 4 pineapple slices I used fresh, but you can also use canned
- 60 g butter
- 85 g brown sugar
- maraschino cherries optional
Käsekuchen
- 120 g butter plus more for greasing pan(s)
- 126 g sugar
- lemon zest of ½ lemon
- 1 pinch salt
- 150 g eggs about 3 medium sized eggs
- 20 g cornstarch
- 20 g flour to make gluten free, use cornstarch instead
- 420 g quark
Instructions
Prepare your Pineapple
- If using fresh pineapple, wash the pineapple, trim the rind, cut into slices and use a round cookie cutter to cut out the hard core. You could also use a corer if you have one. Alternatively you can just open a can of pineapple slices. 🙂
Make the caramel topping
- Heat the brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly, several minutes. (After the sugar melts, don't stir.). Pour topping into bottom of greased springform (use either 4 mini springforms or one large one). Then top with whole pineapple slices.
Make Käsekuchen Filling
- Preheat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit / 160 degrees Celsius on the convection setting (Umluft). Bring all ingredients to room temperature, so they're easier to work with. Whisk together first 4 ingredients until smooth (you can also use an electric mixer). Add the eggs until combined. Sift in the flour and cornstarch and whisk until combined and lastly add the quark.
- Pour the quark mixture into the springforms over the pineapple and sauce. Place on a sheet pan covered with aluminum foil on the middle rack and bake for about 40 minutes if making 4 mini cheesecakes. For a large cheesecake, you will want to use double the sauce and Käsekuchen filling and bake for about 80 minutes. The filling will likely leak. If the top gets too dark, cover with aluminum foil.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool down completely. To serve, turn over and garnish with maraschino cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices (optional).
Nutrition
I received compensation from Niche Import Co. and Wünder Creamery in exchange for writing this post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may be compensated if you click certain links.
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