Bretzeli Cheesecake with Apple Crumble and Vanilla Amaretto Sauce

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).

To make the base: Place the rings on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Melt the butter. Crush the Bretzeli in a bag. Mix the butter with the Bretzeli and sugar and divide between the rings. Pre-bake for about 10 minutes.

To make the filling: Mix together the cream cheese, quark, eggs, caster and vanilla sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually mix the sour cream with the flour. Fold the sour cream mixture into the cream cheese filling and stir until smooth. Core the apples and cut into thin slices. Divide the filling between the rings and arrange the apple slices on top. If desired, set aside some apple slices in lemon water for the decoration.

To make the apple crumble: Crush the Bretzeli in a bag. Mix the chilled butter with the Bretzeli, sugar, flour and chopped apple to form a crumble. Divide the crumble between the rings. Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes. Leave to cool thoroughly.

To make the sauce: Cut open the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Heat the seeds and the pod in the milk. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the vanilla to infuse the milk for 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod. Whisk together the sugar, egg, cornflour and Amaretto. Pour in the vanilla milk, stirring constantly. Pour everything back into the pan and heat until almost boiling, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and carry on stirring for a short time. Sieve the sauce into a bowl. Cover the sauce with cling film to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Shortly before serving, cut the cheesecakes into slices. Serve with the sauce, apple slices and Bretzeli.