Plum quark cake with almond crumble

Plum quark cake with almond crumble sounds complicated, but it is not. Although it has three layers, it is very easy to make: you prepare the layers (stoning the plums takes the most time), stack them in the tin one after another, and the oven does most of the work.

It is a moist cake with a sponge base, a quark filling with plums and a crumble topping finished with almonds. It cuts into plenty of pieces and is firm enough to travel, so we like to make it for celebrations, picnics and grape harvests. It is best the next day, so we bake it the day before.

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Rest Time 1440 mins

Total Time 25 hrs 10 mins

Cooking Method: baked

Cuisine: Slovenian

Courses: Desserts

Difficulty: Beginner

Servings: 16

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Dietary: vegetarian

Description

A moist three-layer traybake: a sponge base, a quark filling with plums and a crumble with flaked almonds. Despite how it looks, it is simple, cuts into plenty of pieces and is best the next day.

Ingredients

Crumble

100 g flour
70 g butter (cold)
50 g sugar (brown sugar also works)
1 packet vanilla sugar
1 pinch cinnamon
40 g flaked almonds

Fruit layer

650–700 g plums (frozen also work)
1–2 tbsp sugar
0,5 tsp cinnamon

Quark filling

500 g quark (Slovenian skuta, not sieved; ricotta works)
1 tbsp sour cream (about 40 g)
1 pc egg (medium)
50 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
to taste lemon zest (grated)
1–2 tbsp wheat semolina (if needed, when the quark is wet)

Sponge batter

3 pc egg (medium/large)
120 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar (mentioned only in the method of the original recipe)
80 ml oil
150 g sour cream
180 g flour
1 packet baking powder

Method

1
Start with the crumble: weigh all its ingredients into a small bowl (cut the butter into small pieces) and rub them together with your hands into crumbs. Put the crumble in the fridge.
2
Halve the plums lengthways and remove the stones. If using frozen plums, let them thaw a little in a colander first.
3
For the quark filling, weigh all the ingredients into a bowl and mix by hand or with a mixer.
4
Finally, make the sponge batter. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar at the highest speed for 3–5 minutes, until the mixture increases in volume and turns pale. Mix in the oil and sour cream, then, mixing constantly at low speed, add the flour mixed with the baking powder. You will have a fairly thick sponge batter.
5
Grease the tin with butter or oil, or line it with baking paper, and heat the oven to 180 °C (fan).
6
Pour the sponge batter into the tin and spread it evenly. Pour the quark filling over it and spread it out; it does not matter if the quark sinks into the sponge in places. If the quark was on the wet side, sprinkle the filling with 1–2 tablespoons of wheat semolina to absorb the excess liquid.
7
Arrange the stoned plums on the quark filling, press them lightly into it, cut side up, and cover the whole surface well. Sprinkle them with the sugar and cinnamon.
8
Crumble the crumble over the plums, taking it out of the fridge only now.
9
Bake the cake in the preheated oven at 180 °C (fan) for about 50 minutes; adjust the time and temperature to your oven. When baked, the cake is firm at the edges but still wobbles slightly in the middle, which is as it should be: the middle sets as it cools.

Note

The cake is best baked a day ahead: it tastes better and cuts more neatly.
You can replace the plums with other fruit, such as sweet cherries, sour cherries, raspberries, pears or peaches.
With other fruit, adjust the spices: vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon with pears; vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg with cherries.
You can use frozen plums; thaw them a little in a colander first.
If the quark is wet, sprinkle the filling with a tablespoon or two of wheat semolina.