Poppy Seed Cheesecake with Mandarins

Ingredients

• 310 g spelt flour type 1050
• 21 g fresh yeast (half a cube)
• 230 g whole cane sugar
• 100 ml lukewarm milk (3.5% fat)
• 5 medium eggs
• 180 g softened butter
• Salt
• 1 kg low-fat quark
• 1 packet vanilla pudding powder
• 0.25 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp orange zest
• 150 g poppy seeds
• 175 g mandarins (canned; drained weight)
• 2 egg whites

Instructions

1. 1.

   Add 300 g flour to a bowl, make a well in the center. Crumble the yeast into it. Stir in 1 tsp whole cane sugar and 3 tbsp lukewarm milk. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes. Add another 25 g sugar, the milk, one egg, 80 g softened butter, and a pinch of salt. Knead everything together and cover to rest for 30 minutes.

2. 2.

   If needed, grease a deep baking pan with high sides. Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface, then line the pan with it.

3. 3.

   For the cheesecake filling, beat the remaining butter with the remaining sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the remaining eggs. Stir in drained quark, pudding powder, baking powder, orange zest, and salt. Rinse the poppy seeds with lukewarm water and let them drain.

4. 4.

   Take two-thirds of the filling and spread it over the yeast dough. Drain the mandarins and scatter them on top. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the poppy seeds into the remaining quark mixture, fold in the beaten egg whites, and spread this over the mandarins. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (160°C fan or gas level 2–3) for about 50 minutes. Let cool, then dust with powdered sugar if desired.