Baked Cheesecake

If you love food, baking, cooking or even just eating, you should join Google+ because there are some fantastic people on there, sharing their ideas, recipes and very often, advice. As well as the myriad of food communities that you can join, there are also individuals that post wonderful, inspiring recipes  for you to try out and the best thing is, they are usually more than willing to answer any queries you may have about the recipe.

Another benefit if Google+ is the ease in which you can share and view other peoples food related images as well as taking part in "Cook-a-longs" and Hangouts where you can chat specifically about food to other enthusiasts, cooks and chefs.

One of my favourite "food posters" in the G+ community is +Dirk Reul ...he has a long list of recipes, all of which you will probably want to try. He's also extremely helpful should you need to ask about any aspect of the recipe, preparation or ingredient substitution.

For example, I decided to make his German Cheesecake recipe because I do so love this type of baked cheese cake; it reminds me of when I lived in Germany. However, quark is not widely available in the UK and when it is, it's usually low fat or virtually fat free. Would this affect the success of the cake? I asked Dirk and he felt that it would work but the texture may not be perfect because of the lack of fat. 

Well, I decided to take the risk and it was worth it. It turned out perfectly, despite my terrible pastry making skills. 

You can see a little more here, including the link to the recipe.