I’m not sure whether this is ideally a summer or a winter dessert. It’s perfect for winter because there isn’t any fresh fruit involved, but at the same time an ideal summer dessert because it’s so light and wonderfully juicy and fruity. Oh well. It works great as a dessert for hot summer nights, which is why I made this yesterday for our lovely, warm Zurich evening. This cake is made with Quark which can be found everywhere in Switzerland. I’m not sure about other countries, but I know that it’s a bit more of a rarity in the UK – I’ve seen it in the large Sainsbury’s stores in the UK, but in the cheese section, not the yoghurt one.
Recipe
- 1 ready-made, round sponge cake (24cm diameter). Ideally pre-cut in the middle. If you can’t get a ready made one, you can always make your own sponge.
- 1 large tin of sliced pineapple (567g net weight, 340g weight without juice)
- 3dl whipping cream
- 1 packet of Schlagrahmfestiger (I can’t find an English word for this – it’s a white powder that is added to the whipped cream so it stays stiff for longer. If you can’t find it in your country, don’t worry, just leave it away).
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 250g plain, low-fat quark (Magerquark), or any quark you can find
Method
Put aside 2 pineapple slices for decorating the cake.
Purrée the rest of the pineapples with half of the tin’s pineapple juice.
Add the Schlagrahmfestiger to the cream and whip until very stiff.
Carefully mix together the whipped cream, quark, sugar and 1/3 of the pineapple purrée.
Put first half of the sponge onto a plate. Spread 1/2 of the remaining pineaple purrée on it. Then spread almost half (but not quite half) of the cream-quark-pineapple mixture on top. Place second half of the sponge on top. Spread remaining pineapple purrée on top, then use the remaining cream-quark-pineapple mixture to cover the top and the sides.
Cut remining pineapple into pieces and decorate cake with it.
Let the cake rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
