Marble cake bars with pudding cream and whipped cream

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

2. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the oil and the flour mixed with the baking powder, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Divide the batter into two equal portions and stir the cocoa into one portion.

3. Line a 25 × 35 cm baking pan with parchment paper. Pour in the plain batter first, followed by the cocoa batter, and swirl them together with a fork to create a marble pattern. Bake in the preheated oven at 180 °C (350 °F) for 25 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick, then let the cake cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding cream. Mix the pudding powder and vanilla sugar with a little of the milk. Bring the remaining milk to a boil, pour in the pudding mixture, and cook until thick. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely.

   Beat the butter with the powdered sugar, then beat in the cooled pudding a spoonful at a time.

5. Spread the pudding cream over the sponge cake and smooth the top. Whip the cream with the stabilizer and powdered sugar, then use it to decorate the cake.

Tip: Swirl the light and dark batters together with just a few strokes of a fork, making waves or spirals. If you mix too much, the colors will blend into a uniformly brown cake instead of a marble pattern.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Kakaové rezy s pudingovým krémom a šľahačkou