Moist cocoa dough, a delicate quark filling, and a fluffy light layer create an impressive dessert that stands out with three distinct colors when sliced. The three-color cake is perfect with coffee, for family celebrations, during holidays, or just for everyday indulgence at home.
Preparation is not complicated; you simply spread each part in succession on a baking tray approximately 30 × 40 cm in size. You can also add blueberries to the quark layer to give the cake a fruity note. After baking, let it cool down and cut it into neat slices.
What You’ll Need
For the dark dough:
- 300 g plain flour,
- 100 g softened butter,
- 100 g powdered sugar,
- 2 eggs,
- 5 tablespoons water,
- 3 tablespoons cocoa – 1 tablespoon black and 2 tablespoons brown,
- 1/2 packet baking powder.
For the quark filling:
- 1 block of quark,
- 3 tubs of full-fat quark,
- 1 egg,
- 2 egg yolks,
- lemon zest,
- sugar to taste,
- vanilla sugar,
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch,
- 2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks,
- optional: blueberries.
For the light dough:
- 200 g semi-coarse flour,
- 200 g granulated sugar,
- 3 eggs,
- 100 ml oil,
- 5 tablespoons water,
- vanilla sugar,
- 1/2 packet baking powder,
- 1 shot of rum.
The original recipe does not specify the exact amount of lemon zest, vanilla sugar, or optional blueberries, so adjust these to your own taste.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
1. Preparing the dark dough: Mix the plain flour with softened butter, powdered sugar, eggs, water, both types of cocoa, and baking powder. Knead all ingredients into a cohesive dark dough.
2. Rolling out the bottom layer: Roll out the prepared cocoa dough and transfer it to a baking tray about 30 × 40 cm in size. Spread it evenly to form a base for the quark filling.
3. Preparing the quark filling: Mix the block of quark with the full-fat quark from tubs, whole egg, egg yolks, lemon zest, sugar to taste, vanilla sugar, and cornstarch. Finally, gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites to keep the filling light.
4. Creating the quark layer: Pour the finished filling over the dark dough and spread it evenly. If you want a fruity flavor, add blueberries to this layer.
5. Preparing the light dough: Whisk together the semi-coarse flour, granulated sugar, eggs, oil, water, vanilla sugar, baking powder, and rum. The resulting light dough should be easy to spread over the quark filling.
6. Finishing the layers: Spread the light dough over the quark layer in a thin, as even as possible, layer. Work gently so that all three parts of the cake remain clearly separated.
7. Baking: Place the cake in the oven and bake at 160°C for about 55 minutes. The exact time may vary depending on your oven, so check the baking process towards the end.
8. Cooling and slicing: Let the baked cake cool completely. Only then slice it, so the delicate quark filling sets and the individual colored layers hold their shape better when cut.
How to Work with the Quark Filling
Fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the quark mixture at the very end. Incorporate them gently to keep the filling light and to create a distinct middle layer between the dark and light doughs.
Add sugar to taste, as the original recipe does not specify an exact amount. Adjust the amount of lemon zest and vanilla sugar as well.
Why Slice the Cake Only After Cooling
Warm quark filling is softer and the layers could deform if sliced too soon. Once cooled, the cake is easier to portion and the contrast between the cocoa base, light dough, and quark center stands out more clearly in each slice.
Tip to Finish
Blueberries are an optional addition that you can mix directly into the quark layer. This gives the cake a fruity taste, but its basic three-color arrangement remains intact.
