Sweet Pasta Bake with Quark and Apples Recipe
This is a sweet bake that in many Polish homes is served either as a dessert after dinner or as a sweet main course for children. It combines pasta, quark, and apples – a bit like cheesecake, a bit like apple pie, but in a pasta version. It tastes great warm with cream or yogurt on the side.
This sweet bake is the essence of the Polish idea of a “sweet dinner” – it combines quark, apples with cinnamon, and pasta in a form best described as a cross between cheesecake and apple pie. A delicate, vanilla-scented cheese mixture coats the pasta, while the apple layer in the middle adds juiciness and the aroma of baked apples from an autumn market. Thanks to the whipped egg whites, the texture is light and fluffy, and the whole thing is not overly sweet.
Chef's tips
The pasta really needs to be slightly firm after cooking, because it will continue to cook in the oven – if you overcook it, the bake will turn dense. It’s worth mashing the quark with a fork or briefly blending it beforehand so the mixture is smooth and lump-free; it then combines better with the pasta and the foam. Mix the apples with cinnamon immediately after grating so they don’t turn brown, and add the beaten egg whites in batches, gently, using upward folding motions.
How to serve
It tastes best slightly cooled, topped with sour cream or thick natural yogurt, which balance the sweetness. It goes well with cocoa, coffee with milk, or tea with lemon – an ideal set for a lazy, rainy afternoon. I often serve it as a warm afternoon snack for children after their activities, instead of store-bought sweets.
Ingredients
- pasta e.g. fusilli or penne - 250 g
- semi-fat quark ground or well mashed - 400 g
- apples medium, sweet-and-sour, peeled and coarsely grated - 3 pieces
- eggs yolks separated from whites - 3 pieces
- sugar for the quark mixture - 80 g
- vanillin sugar for aroma - 1 teaspoon
- cream 12–18% - 100 ml
- butter for greasing the dish and on top - 30 g
- cinnamon for the apples - 1 teaspoon
- breadcrumbs for dusting the dish - 2 tablespoons
- salt for the egg whites - 1 pinch
Preparation
- Cook the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package so it is slightly firm. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Grease an ovenproof dish with butter and dust with breadcrumbs so the mixture doesn’t stick.
- Peel the apples, remove the cores and grate them on the coarse side of a grater. Mix with cinnamon.
- In a bowl, mix the quark, egg yolks, sugar, vanillin sugar and cream until you get a smooth mixture.
- Add the cooked pasta to the quark mixture and mix thoroughly so the pasta is evenly coated.
- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff – when you turn the bowl upside down, the foam should not slide out. Gently fold the foam into the pasta-and-quark mixture using a spoon or spatula so as not to deflate it.
- Spread half of the pasta-and-quark mixture over the bottom of the ovenproof dish and smooth the surface.
- Spread the grated apples with cinnamon on top in an even layer.
- Cover with the remaining pasta-and-quark mixture and smooth the top. Dot the surface with a few small pieces of butter.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the bake feels springy when gently pressed with a spoon.
- After removing from the oven, wait 10–15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Storage
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can eat leftovers cold or reheat individual portions briefly in the oven or microwave; avoid long reheating so the bake doesn’t dry out.
