Lemon Blueberry Quark Cake Recipe

Lemon-Blueberry Quark Cake

The Spruce/Karin Engelbrecht

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 55 mins
Cooling time: 2 hrs
Total: 3 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 12 to 16 servings

This fruity blueberry and lemon ring cake is a joy to behold and tastes, deliciously, of summer. Ring cakes are the ideal take-with-you treats for picnics and potlucks because there's not much to get mussed up. In fact, this is also the perfect coffee cake to prepare a day in advance.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) superfine sugar

  • 2 lemons

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 1/4 cups (300 grams) whole French quark

  • 1/2 cup (100 milliliters) whole milk

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 3 1/4 cups (400 grams) self-rising flour

  • 1 2/3 cups (250 grams) blueberries

  • 2 1/2 cups (250 grams) confectioners sugar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease a large ring mold.

  3. Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy (about 5 minutes).

  4. Turn the beater to the lowest setting and add the eggs, one by one. 

  5. Zest the lemons and squeeze out the juice. Set the lemon juice aside to use later. Add the lemon zest, quark, and milk to the butter mixture. Don't be alarmed if the mixture looks slightly curdled at this stage. 

  6. Sift the baking powder and flour into the batter and gently fold through the mixture. 

  7. Pour the batter into the ring mold. Arrange most of the blueberries on top of the batter (they will sink while cooking). Keep some blueberries aside to decorate the top of the cake later. 

  8. Bake the cake until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 50 to 55 minutes.

  9. Allow to cool in the mold on a wire rack for 1/2 hour and then invert on the rack (still in the mold) and allow to cool for 1 1/5 hours. 

  10. To make the lemon glaze, mix the powdered sugar and half the lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until completely lump-free. It should be opaque and pourable. Add a little extra lemon juice, if the consistency is too thick. 

  11. When the quark cake is stone cold, remove it from the mold and set the rack with the cake over a piece of wax paper or paper kitchen towels, for easy clean-up. Drizzle the cake with the lemon glaze, decorate with blueberries and finish with a dusting of powdered sugar.

  12. Place the cake on a cake stand and serve in generous slices.

Tips

  • You can use any ring mold, Bundt®, or tulband mold (the Dutch version) here, but if you don't happen to have one, a regular cake tin will do, too.
  • You will need a stand mixer or hand beater.
  • The addition of quark, a popular fresh cheese in the Netherlands, makes the cake moist and moreish. If you can't find quark where you live, simply see our tips below. 
  • What is quark? The word actually means "curd". Quark is a type of whole or skimmed milk cheese made without rennet. It is popular in Europe and can be found at some US delis.
  • Can't find quark where you live? Here's a good substitute: Whip ricotta cheese and sour cream together, using a ratio of 9 parts ricotta and 1 part sour cream. Guide to German Food also offers some advice on where to buy quark and how to make it from scratch.
  • When blueberries are not in season, you can use frozen blueberries in the cake itself. Simply leave it off the top and decorate with lemon zest instead.
  • If you're making the cake a day ahead of time, simply allow it to cool in the mold and cover with aluminum foil. 
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
347 Calories
9g Fat
62g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 16
Amount per serving
Calories 347
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 12%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 57mg 19%
Sodium 359mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 62g 23%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 38g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 33mg 164%
Calcium 154mg 12%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 198mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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