Sour cherry, vanilla, and white chocolate squares

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Assemble the sour cherry squares with two cake layers, sour cherry filling, vanilla cream filling, and whipped cream.

   

2. Start with the vanilla cream filling. Pour 550 ml of the milk into a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. In a bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks thoroughly, then gradually add the remaining milk, vanilla sugar, vanilla pudding mix, and cornstarch, whisking to prevent lumps. When the milk in the saucepan comes to a boil, quickly whisk about 5 tbsp of it into the egg yolk mixture. Remove the saucepan from the heat and very carefully pour the egg yolk mixture into it.

3. Return the saucepan to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a thick cream. Remove from the heat and, while it is still slightly warm, add the white chocolate and 50 g of the butter. Once they have melted, set the cream aside to cool completely.

4. For the cake, beat the egg whites with the granulated sugar and vanilla sugar until stiff peaks form, then gradually add the lemon zest, oil, and water. Mix the flour with the baking powder and cornstarch, then gently fold into the beaten egg whites. Pour the batter into a 22 × 35 cm pan and bake in an oven preheated to 200 °C (400 °F) for about 10 minutes. Bake 2 layers this way.

5. For the sour cherry filling, blend the cherries into a purée. Add the juice, sugar, pudding mix, and cornstarch, mix well, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once thickened, remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then stir in the Palmarin shortening or butter. Once the fat has melted, pour the still-hot filling over the first cake layer placed in a deep-sided pan.

6. Using a mixer, beat 100 g of the butter until creamy. Add the sour cream and mix again. Add the cooled vanilla cream and beat thoroughly.

7. Spread the beaten vanilla cream over the cooled sour cherry filling and smooth the surface. Cover with the second cake layer, spread the whipped cream over the top, and sprinkle with grated white chocolate.

8. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour and serve chilled.

   

Tip: Cut the top cake layer into squares before placing it on the cream filling, then arrange the squares snugly side by side. This makes the finished cake easier to slice without squeezing out the filling.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Višňové kocky s vanilkovým krémom a bielou čokoládou