Curd cheese, sour cream, dried cranberries, and a buttery topping come together to create a delicate, moist cake with a pleasantly creamy filling. This dessert skips traditional dough kneading—just layer the dry mixture, curd filling, and egg custard step by step.
Preparation is simple and the oven does most of the work. You can bake the cake in a baking dish about 16 × 26 cm or in a round pan. Serve it warm, when it’s at its creamiest, or let it cool completely so the flavors meld and the slices hold their shape better.
What You Will Need
For the dry mixture:
- 200 g plain flour – you can combine it with semi-coarse flour,
- 165 g icing sugar or to taste,
- 1/2 packet baking powder.
For the curd filling:
- 200 g lumpy curd cheese or smooth curd cheese,
- 200 g sour cream – or plain/flavored yogurt,
- 30 g dried cranberries – you can also use raisins or other favorite fruit.
For the egg custard and finishing:
- 3 medium eggs,
- 300 ml whole milk – or cream for whipping or cooking,
- 50 g butter for the top,
- oil for greasing the pan,
- plain flour for dusting the pan,
- icing sugar for final dusting.
The original recipe does not specify exact amounts of oil and flour for preparing the pan or icing sugar for dusting, so adjust these to the size of your pan and your taste.
Step-by-step preparation:
1. Prepare the egg custard: Crack three eggs into a small saucepan or bowl. Take one tablespoon of icing sugar from the total amount, add it to the eggs, and whisk with a hand whisk or mixer until you get a light, airy foam.
2. Add the milk: Pour 300 ml of whole milk into the whisked eggs and briefly whisk again. You’ll get a thin egg custard that will soak through the layers during baking and bind them together.
3. Prepare the dry mixture: In another bowl, mix 200 g plain flour with the remaining icing sugar and half a packet of baking powder. Briefly stir with a whisk or spoon to evenly distribute the baking powder.
4. Prepare the curd filling: In a third bowl, mix the lumpy curd cheese with sour cream and dried cranberries. If you prefer, you can use smooth curd cheese and substitute raisins or other fruit for the cranberries.
5. Prepare the pan: Take a baking dish about 16 × 26 cm or a round pan. Lightly grease the bottom and sides with oil and dust with flour so the baked cake is easy to remove.
6. Layer the cake: Sprinkle one third of the dry mixture on the bottom. Add half of the curd filling in small dollops and gently spread it so you don’t disturb the flour. Continue with the second third of the dry mixture, the remaining filling, and finish with the last part of the flour mixture.
7. Pour over and finish the top: Smooth the last flour layer and slowly pour the prepared egg custard over the whole cake. Top with pieces of cold butter, which will melt during baking and give the dessert a delicate, buttery aroma.
8. Bake: Place the dish in an oven preheated to 160 °C and bake for about one hour. The cake is done when the golden surface springs back slightly to the touch and the edges start to pull away from the pan. If it browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil after 40 minutes.
9. Cooling and serving: Let the baked dessert cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes to firm up. Serve it still warm or completely cooled, and dust lightly with icing sugar before serving.
How to Achieve Evenly Combined Layers
After pouring the custard, let the assembled cake stand for 5 minutes before putting it in the oven. This allows the liquid egg mixture to soak all the way to the bottom and helps the layers combine more evenly during baking.
If you don’t want to make so many layers, you can prepare just one continuous layer of curd filling. Even then, pour the custard slowly so it has time to soak through the entire dry mixture.
Possible Variations for Fruit and Flour Mixture
Instead of dried cranberries, you can use raisins, raspberries, currants, or apricots. If using fresh or frozen fruit, toss it in a little flour before adding so it doesn’t sink to the bottom during baking.
For a finer texture, sift the dry flour mixture and add 1 tablespoon of corn starch. You can also partially substitute semi-coarse flour for the plain flour.
Final Tip
You can melt the butter in advance and let it turn golden over low heat. Drizzle it over the finished layers instead of using cold pieces—this will give the cake a more pronounced nutty aroma.
For a lactose-free version, substitute curd cheese with lactose-free ricotta, milk with almond or oat drink, and sour cream with coconut yogurt. According to the original recipe, the consistency will remain very similar.
