Kuba cake: Slovak chocolate banana cream cake

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. This cake with bananas and cocoa whipped cream is also known as Kuba rezy, or Kuba cake bars. Briefly beat the whole eggs with the sugar, pour in the milk, and beat until thick and foamy.

2. Mix the flour with the cocoa powder and baking powder.

   Tip: Use good-quality dark cocoa powder in both the sponge and the filling; ordinary cocoa powder will give a noticeably different color.

3. Add the flour mixture to the egg foam a spoonful at a time, beating continuously. Butter the bottom of a 21 cm cake pan, line it with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom, butter the paper, and dust the pan with flour. Pour in the batter and bake at 160°C (325°F) for about 20 minutes.

   Check for doneness with a skewer. If the sponge needs more time, cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking as needed.

4. Cocoa whipped cream

   Pour the heavy whipping cream into a saucepan, add the sugar and vanilla sugar, stir, and bring to a boil. Boil for only about 1 minute, turn off the heat, add the cocoa powder, and whisk thoroughly. Chill well; the mixture will thicken as it cools and will whip more easily.

   Tip: For best results, cook the cocoa cream a day ahead.

5. Let the baked sponge cool, remove it from the pan, peel off the parchment, and transfer it to a cake board or serving plate. If desired, place a decorative paper doily beneath the sponge, with strips of parchment over the doily that you can pull out after decorating. Gently scrape off the top crust with a table knife if desired, and level the sponge as needed.

6. Spread the sponge generously with jam, preferably a tart variety such as currant. Halve the bananas lengthwise and place them cut-side down on the jam so they stay in place and the cake is easier to slice. Transfer the chilled cocoa cream to a tall container and whip for at least 2 1/2 minutes.

7. Spread the whipped cream over the bananas and around the sides of the cake, then refrigerate. Chill the cream thoroughly before covering it with chocolate.

8. Chocolate glaze

   Melt the chocolate with the Cera in a double boiler, stir, add the oil, and mix until smooth. Let the glaze cool slightly so it does not melt the whipped cream, then spread it over the top and sides of the cake. Let it set at room temperature, marking the slices with the tip of a knife if desired, then transfer the cake to the refrigerator.

   Tip: Refrigerate the cake for about 5 more hours.

Tip: Whip the cocoa cream only until it holds its shape and soft peaks remain on the beaters. Whipping it longer will make it grainy and cause it to separate, making it difficult to spread over the sides of the cake.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Kubánska torta s banánmi a parížskou šľahačkou