This German Blueberry Cheesecake contains a KILO of blueberries! And as you know, the best part about German cakes with fruit … well, besides that they are delicious… is that since they contain FRUIT, you can imagine that they are healthy to eat. Therefore, you may have another slice without feeling one bit of guilt. Ok sure, this is a German Blueberry cake is also a cheesecake, and certain people would say that cheesecake has no place in a healthy diet. Don’t listen to those people… you don’t need that kind of negativity.
The original recipe for this Heidelbeerkuchen, Blueberry cake came from the Dr Oetker Backbuch. Then my mother got her hands on it one day when there was a sale on blueberries, and she fixed it for an American kitchen in the 1980s. (You think Quark is hard to get NOW in the US…in those days it was flat impossible) She used Neuchatel Cheese, basically a lighter creamier cream cheese, and whipped the heck out of it to make it smooth.
(Note- if you have a ready supply of Quark, use it… just use the same amounts.)
And honestly, this cake is quite delicious. (Tech Guy says it hits his sweet spot, and is BETTER THAN BLUEBERRY PIE, but don’t tell his mother he said that…) It is loaded with fruit! So much fruit, that it gushes out, so unless you are careful, you probably will be washing your tablecloth like me. The fruit is topped with a creamy sweet cheesecake filling, and it all fits nicely into a cake crust that’s somewhere between a pie shell and cake. Altogether, you have a great dessert for Sunday Kaffee … or for your July 4th party.
German Blueberry Cake - Heidelbeerkuchen
Ingredients
Berries:
- 6 1/2 cups Fresh Blueberries 1 Kilo!
Batter:
- 100 gr. or 4 ounces or half a package or 1/2 cup Neufchatel Cheese a type of reduced fat cream cheese
- 1 Tbl Milk
- 1 Egg
- 4 Tbl Vegetable Oil
- 50 gr or 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 Tsp Vanilla Sugar or 3 tsp Sugar and 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 200 gr. or 1 2/3 cup Flour
- 4 tsp. Baking Powder
Topping:
- 2 Tbl. Butter
- 100 gr or 1/2 cup Sugar
- 226 gr or 8 oz. or 1 package or 1 cup Neufchatel Cheese
- 1 Egg
- 4 Tsp Vanilla Sugar or 3 tsp sugar and 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Tbl cornstarch
- 5 Tbl Cold Milk
Instructions
- Instructions-
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease a 9” Springform Pan (If you don’t have a Springform pan, it’s going to be tricky to get the cake out)
- Rinse the blueberries, and let them sit in the colander or on a towel to dry
- Put the Neufchatel cheese, milk, egg, oil, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt into the mixer and beat until smooth.
- Add flour and baking powder. Mix until the dough comes together.
- The dough will be sort of stiff.
- Press it into the bottom of the pan, and up the sides about 1 ½ to 2 inches.
- It’s not going to be very thick. Just do your best. Patch any holes and even off the top edge.
- Fill the unbaked crust with blueberries.
- In a mixer with a whisk, whip the Butter, Sugar, Neufchatel cheese, egg, vanilla sugar, cornstarch and milk until SMOOTH.
- (The filling is sweet, don't worry, the berries balance it out.)
- Pour the filling over the blueberries… even it out over the top it mostly covers them (a few peaking through is ok.) You don’t want it over the edge of the dough though.
- Bake 60 minutes and check.
- Does it look mostly done? A few brown spots are ok… it shouldn’t be too wobbly, but it's better to go too long than too short (I went 62 minutes, and could have used another minute or two).
- Don’t go longer than 70 minutes.
- Let cool completely in the pan on a rack.
- Refrigerate if you don’t eat it right away.
Notes
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Step by Step
Mix the dough, and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the Springform Pan
Fill with washed and dried blueberries.
Beat the filling until smooth… pour over the blueberries
Bake 60 minutes and check for wobbly center
Let cool in the pan.
Then pull away the sides and move to Serving Platter
Serve
Looks Wonderful wish it could be shared!
Are you wanting to share a piece of the cake itself? (There’s still one slice left in the refrigerator)
Or the post with the recipe?
You should be able to share it, no problem… copy and past the URL or click on the facebook or share icon at the top.
If you want the piece in the fridge, you’d better hurry, my guy has been eyeing it
My mom made that when I was growing up, her oma taught her the recipe =)
What a wonderful Mom u had & Oma ! Happy for you!
thank you!
Hello, this looks wonderful however wondering if the amount of baking powder is really 4 teaspoons for the crust or is that off?
You know, it was in the original Dr Oetker recipe that way, so that’s how we always made it.
What substitutes can be used if we are unable to find Neufchatel Cheese?
Low fat cream cheese… NOT non-fat
1/4 cup AND 3 tsp sugar?????
yes… I know it sounds odd… but it depends on whether you are using Vanilla Sugar (which is sugar with vanilla essence) or sugar plus Vanilla extract
I made it yesterday exactly per recipe except used frozen blueberries and it turned out great and was delicious! It found it easy to make, will definitely make it again!
oh good! I worried that frozen berries would be to wet
I only have frozen blueberries on hand. Would you be willing to give details on how you used them, any special instructions, (kept frozen, thawed, mixed with something, bake longer time, different baking temperature,…), etc.?
Also, were they too “wet”, which was one concern?
Any additional details outside of the recipe would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Perhaps thaw the frozen blueberries over a sieve, then toss with a few tablespoons of flour, and then bake longer?
Could I use frozen blueberries?
I think it would be too wet… the only way it might work is to let them thaw over a sieve, then toss them with some cornstarch or pudding powder
Any variation for high altitude?
oh boy… I’m at sea level… I don’t know. It doesn’t have to rise much.
Maybe bake for 65 minutes, and shake it? The center shouldn’t jiggle.
Can you bake it in a 9 x 13 pan instead and just serve it from there?
I don’t think it would work… just because the center pieces wouldn’t have structure.
You could bake it in a round pan and serve it from there
Could I substitute Almond Flour in this recipe?
I’ve never tried it… but I don’t see why not?
The cake part is a bit like a flavorful pie crust… so it could work.
If you try it, let me know. I will share the idea
i made this and the middle came out goo ey but it back to cook a little longer but it still was not cooked
I made this with good results, though the high humidity made the topping a bit looser. Thank you from Pennsylvania German country!
Good to know… it’s funny how things that work in one place come out so differently in others.
I added the zest of one lemon to the berries and the juice of half a lemon to the crust.
I also used gluten free all purpose flour.
I used a 10” springform pan and did a full 60 minutes.
It was set perfectly.
sounds good!
It’s blueberry season in my area, and I will Make The Recipe! Thank You!
I almost always use Neufachtel cream cheese (low fat), one time I tried it with Ricotta, also very good. I almost never make it with crust since watching my carbohydrates already for years. Who needs crust anyway, it‘s not because I don‘t like it really! Do it the way you like it, please!
Five Stars from my family. Taste is wonderful. Already planning on making a 2nd one. Only the crust was a little hard. Wonder if baking in a water bath would help since other cheesecake recipes ask it to be in a water bath?
hmmm… I’ve never thought of that… maybe if you wrap the springform in foil to keep the moisture out?
Can I substitute raspberries for blueberries in this recipie?
I would assume so
Have made this 4 times. So delicious!! We bake in a large round regular pan. Comes out easily and freeze 2/3 of it. Use Truvia sugar so use only half and regular vanilla. Out favorite!!! We serve warm with vanilla ice cream. I like mine warmed with milk on top.
oh! I’m so glad!
Your positive comments are just what I needed to decide to make the cake. I live in the south of Chile and we have strawberry myrthles (ugni molinae) berries, they are thick-skinned like blueberries but burgundy red and have a spicy cinnamon/clove sweet taste. I am sure cake will turn out perfect. Please Wish me luck
OHHH! I’d love to hear how it turns out. Chili has a similar climate to California… I wonder why we don’t have those here?
Could I substitute blackberries for the Blueberries?
I don’t see why not? Let me know how it goes! I love BLackberries.
Can you freeze this cake? I’ve made it once – I actually found quark! – but this time I couldn’t so I’ll be using farmers cheese. Last time it was delicious and I refrigerated but want to keep a few pieces in freezer. Would that work?
I’ve never done it, but I imagine you can freeze a few pieces if you keep it airtight.
I make this cake all the time..my husband’s favorite!
I add some lemon zest and juice off 1/2 a lemon..delicious with the blueberries !
ohhh! Great idea! Thank you