Custard Pastry (Quarkteilchen)

If a donut and a cheesecake had a baby, it would be this custard pastry! Traditionally named Quarkteilchen because they are made with German Quark, these are simple with a touch of lemon and the perfect weekend brunch addition!

What if I can’t get quark at the grocery store?

You have two options, the first is to make your own! Here is a recipe for making homemade quark – it’s so simple and I love to make a batch every weekend and then have it as a snack or use it in recipes throughout the week! The alternative is to use farmer’s cheese or cream cheese – neither of these will taste the same (or as good in my opinion) but they should work in place of quark.

Can these be made in advance?

Yes! Even if eating them the same day, letting them sit for an hour to allow the custard to set up is best. However, I recommend waiting to dust them with powdered sugar until you plan to eat them. As long as they are stored in an airtight container, keep them at room temperature as it will prevent the yeasted dough from going stale as quickly.

Tips for making Quarkteilchen

• As with most yeasted doughs, be sure to knead to dough until it is smooth. For me this took about 15 to 20 minutes on low speed.
• When shaping the dough into the individual ball portions, do your best to create a taught ball of dough with a smooth surface – this will create stronger and smoother pastries!
• Be sure to cover the surface of the dough during all of the resting times to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.
• When blending the filling, blend at medium speed just until smooth – if you whip too much air into it you will get a lot of visible bubbles on the surface. This is definitely not the end of the world but doesn’t look as pretty.
• If you decide to add raspberries to the filling, don’t over do it – just 3 or 4 fresh or frozen raspberries per pastry is perfect.

Additional Pastries to try!

• Krapfen | German Jam filled Donuts
• Lemon Blueberry Streuseltaler
• Himbeer Schnecken | German Raspberry Rolls

Ingredients for Quarkteilchen

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for these! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
• Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough as well as in the quark filling and can be optionally dusted with powdered sugar.
• Milk: The custard pastry uses milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
• Butter: The butter adds moisture to the dough, just be sure that it is soft!
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There is one whole egg in the dough and one whole egg in the filling.
• Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used – just be sure it is still active.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor to the dough and the custard filling.
• Lemon Zest: Lemon zest adds a hint of extra flavor to the dough.
• Quark: Quark is a German dairy product similar in consistency to greek yogurt but it bakes more similarly to cream cheese. If you can’t find it at your grocery store, make homemade quark here!
• Corn Starch: Corn starch helps to stabilize the custard filling and prevent it from splitting and curdling.
• Heavy Cream: heavy cream helps to thin out the corn starch and add a richness to the filling.
• Frozen Raspberries: The raspberries are optional but they add so much delicious flavor to the custard filling.

How to make Custard Pastries?

Dough

• In the bowl of a stand mixer add in the flour, sugar, and yeast, then whisk to combine.
• Add in the warm milk, butter, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla. Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on medium low speed until smooth and the sides of the mixing bowl are clean.
• Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl (can be the same mixing bowl). Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic and place somewhere warm to rise for 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F and arrange two racks so that they divide the oven into thirds.

Custard Pastry Filling

• In a blender, add in the sugar and cornstarch. Put the lid on and blend briefly until combined, if needed shake it a little while it’s not blending to mix the two together.
• Add in the heavy cream and vanilla and blend until combined. You may need to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula.
• Once mixed, add in the quark and egg and blend again. Pour the blended mixture into a bowl, cover, and set in the fridge until ready to use.

Shape and Bake

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Once doubled in size, lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and punch out the air from the dough.
• Weigh the dough and then divide the number by 10. Use a bench scraper or your hands to divide the dough into 10 equal portions.
• Shape each portion into a ball by gently flattening it out, and then tucking the edges under to create a taught surface. Roll the ball of dough in a clockwise direction under the palm of your hand on a clean work surface.
• Starting with the first portion that you shaped, roll the ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface to 4″ in diameter.
• Continue rolling out each portion of dough and then place 5, evenly spaced, onto the lined baking sheets.
• Lay a kitchen towel over top of both baking sheets and leave them to proof for about 15 minutes, somewhere warm.
• They don’t need to double in size, just become a little puffy.
• When ready, press a well into the center of each portion of dough that is about 3″ in diameter so that a 1/2″ border is created around each pastry.
• This is super important because it will help the filling stay inside.
• Use a 1/4 cup ladle or a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the custard filling into the well in each pastry.
• Optionally add a few frozen raspberries into the custard center.
• Place the two baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• Rotate and swap the baking sheets and bake for another 10 minutes. Once baked remove the baking sheets from the oven and place on wire racks to cool.
• Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small bowl in the microwave and use a pastry brush to brush the butter onto just the dough border of the pastry, avoiding the custard center.
• Leave to cool fully – these actually test best once set and chilled so don’t rush it! Dust with powdered sugar when you are ready to enjoy.