KüMoKäKu

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g spelt flour
• 1 egg(s)
• 150 g butter
• 80 g cane sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp forest honey
• 250 g poppy seed cake
• some milk
• some rum
• 500 g low-fat curd cheese
• 800 g pumpkin flesh, pureed
• 6 eggs
• ½ sachet of baking powder
• 150 g cane sugar
• 4 tbsp forest honey
• ½ tsp all-spice
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours

Pumpkin poppy seed cheesecake, Best of x worlds, for a 28 cm springform pan

As a preliminary step, the pumpkin should be cooked until soft and pureed with just a little salt. For the base, process the ingredients quickly as usual and let the dough ball rest for about 30 minutes. The honey gives the shortcrust pastry a pleasant caramel flavor, but it is not necessary. Since the dough ball tends to stick slightly with the specified amounts, I achieve the optimal consistency by adding a little wheat flour while kneading. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C, grease the side of a 28 cm springform pan with butter, and line the bottom with a piece of baking paper, which is wedged into the rim. Mix the poppy seed mixture with the milk and rum until it is easily spreadable. Beat the eggs, sugar, and honey in a food processor, add the quark and pureed pumpkin on a low speed, then add the baking powder and spices and mix everything well. As usual, press 2/3 of the dough evenly into the springform pan for the base and shape the edge from the remaining dough. Blind bake the base for about 10 minutes (actually, the base should be weighted down with dried peas or something similar, but it hardly rises in that short time anyway). Then spread the poppy seed mixture over the base, right up to the edges. The pumpkin, quark, and egg mixture is very runny and can be easily spread over the poppy seeds. Now the cake just needs to be finished baking – and that took a good 1.5 hours at 180°C (350°F) (use a toothpick to test). If you’re feeding children, omit the alcohol. If the cake is too “spicy” for you, use a little less allspice. If the cake is too “Christmas-y,” use less cinnamon. We really liked the cake because the juiciness of the pumpkin freshens the cheesecake.