German Chocolate Cheesecake | Recipe
"Russischer Zupfkuchen" combines delicious chocolate cake with cheesecake
Text:
Katharina Kuhlmann
Photography:
Theresa Kellner
5 March 2026
This recipe for the German classic "Russischer Zupfkuchen" is perfect for anyone who loves both chocolate and cheesecake. The interesting pattern of this cake makes it attractive for all occasions. The dark shortcrust pastry with aromatic VIVANI Fine Dark 75% Cocoa Chocolate with coconut blossom sugar is filled with a moist quark mixture and sprinkled with crumble made from the same dough, which is "pulled apart" from the dark dough (the literal translation of the cake is "Russian pull-apart cake"). The name comes from the fact that the crumble topping is visually reminiscent of the traditional onion domes of Russian Orthodox churches. The recipe contains wholesome ingredients such as spelt and buckwheat flour and coconut oil.
Why the "Fine Dark 75% Cocoa" is the perfect match for this Chocolate Cheesecake
The VIVANI Fine Dark 75% Cocoa variety is ideal for all cakes and snacks that require alternative sweetening. Instead of granulated sugar, the bar contains only coconut blossom sugar, which adds light notes of malt and caramel. These harmonise particularly well with the mildly aromatic organic cocoa from Panama used in this bar. Together with the fat-reduced Fine Cocoa Powder, the chocolate provides a strong cocoa flavour in the base and crumble topping of this Chocolate Cheesecake. This creates an exciting contrast in taste and appearance to the sweet, creamy cheesecake filling.
RECIPE: GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
Ingredients
For a springform pan with Ø 20–22 cm
For the dough:
100 g + a little extra
coconut oil
100 g
VIVANI Fine Dark 75% Cocoa Chocolate
100 g
white spelt flour
100 g
buckwheat flour
20 g
Fine Cocoa Powder (fat-reduced)
2 tsp
cream of tartar baking powder
1 pinch
salt
50 g
brown cane sugar
1
egg
For the filling:
250 g
quark (40% fat)
200 g
sour cream
50 g
brown cane sugar
2
eggs
pulp
of one vanilla pod
2 tbsp
cornflour
1 pinch
salt
making
working time
40 minutes
baking time
60 minutes
level of difficulty
easy
N°
01
For the dough, melt the coconut oil and chocolate in a bain-marie on a low heat. Stir thoroughly and set aside to cool.
02
In a bowl, mix the spelt flour with the buckwheat flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
03
Add the cane sugar and egg to the dry ingredients. Then gradually pour in the coconut oil and chocolate mixture and knead everything thoroughly into a dough.
04
Preheat the oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat.
05
Separate the eggs for the filling. In another bowl, mix the quark with sour cream, cane sugar, egg yolks, vanilla pulp and cornflour.
06
Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff and then carefully fold into the quark cream.
07
Grease a springform pan with a little coconut oil. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with two-thirds of the dough.
08
Pour the quark filling evenly into the pan and finally "pull-apart" the remaining dough into crumbs and sprinkle over the top.
09
Bake the cake on the middle shelf for approx. 1 hour until the quark filling has set. If the cake gets too brown, cover with baking paper if necessary.
10
Allow to cool after baking, then remove from the tin.
This is VIVANI
For 25 years, VIVANI has been developing high-quality organic chocolate from sustainably grown cocoa beans. The brand from Bochum (Germany) stands for ecological cocoa cultivation, transparent supply chains and responsibility along the entire value chain. VIVANI was awarded “The National German Sustainability Award” for this commitment.
Production takes place at the traditional Weinrich chocolate factory in Herford, where each bar is created with a great deal of expertise and craftsmanship.
Fine Dark 75 % Cocoa
Panama Cocoa | vegan | with coconut blossom sugar
Fine cocoa powder
Santo Domingo | fat-reduced cocoa powder | Biodynamic | vegan
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