Raspberry quark bars with cocoa sponge cake

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Cocoa sponge cake

   Beat the egg yolks with the granulated sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour in the milk and oil, mixing constantly. Mix the flour with the cocoa powder and baking powder, then stir into the batter. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold them in. Pour the batter into a large, greased and floured baking pan with high sides. Bake in an oven preheated to 170 °C (340 °F) for about 25 minutes.

2. Raspberry pudding

   While the sponge bakes, heat the raspberries with the sugar and about 250 ml water. Stir the Zlatý klas pudding mix into the remaining water. When the raspberries come to a boil, pour in the starch mixture and cook, stirring gently, until a thick pudding forms. The raspberries do not need to break down completely.

3. Spread the pudding over the hot sponge

   Immediately spread the hot pudding over the sponge as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let the cake cool completely.

4. Quark topping

   Mix the quark with the sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla sugar until smooth, then spread over the cooled cake. Refrigerate overnight to set.

5. Slice and serve

   Before serving, sprinkle the cake with grated chocolate and cut into squares using a sharp knife dipped in water.

   Recipe by: Iva Vargová

Tip: The quark topping will set without gelatin if the cake is refrigerated overnight. To slice it the same day, stir 5 g gelatin, dissolved according to the package directions, into the topping.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Malinovo-tvarohové kocky na kakaovom piškóte