Sponge Cake with Cottage Cheese Cream and Currant Jam

Welcome to a dessert that perfectly balances lightness and indulgence! This Sponge Cake with Cottage Cheese Cream and Currant Jam is a delightful treat that showcases some beloved Eastern European flavors. The airy, butter-free sponge cake is soaked in a bright orange syrup, creating a wonderfully moist texture. It's then layered with a sharp, sweet blackcurrant jam and a luscious cream made from tvorog (a traditional farmer's cheese), which gives it a unique, slightly tangy, and incredibly satisfying taste. This cake is perfect for any occasion, from a cozy family gathering to a special celebration.

Sponge cake with cottage cheese cream and currant jam.

Cooking: 1 hour

Quantity: 8 Servings

Per serving

Calories: 448 kcal

Proteins: 12 g

Fats: 11 g

Carbohydrates: 73 g

Ingredients for the Sponge Cake

• 4 large eggs
• 130 g powdered sugar
• 130 g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• vanilla extract, to taste

Ingredients for the Cottage Cheese Cream

• 250 g homemade tvorog (a type of farmer's cheese, similar to quark or dry curd cottage cheese)
• 200 g full-fat smetana (a high-fat sour cream common in Eastern Europe)
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 70 g condensed milk

Ingredients for the Syrup and Filling

• 1 orange
• 50 g sugar
• 150 g blackcurrant jam
• candied fruit for decoration
• cognac or rum, optional

How to Make Sponge Cake with Cottage Cheese Cream and Currant Jam

Whipping chicken eggs with powdered sugar for 15 minutes.

Pouring the batter into a 20-centimeter diameter baking pan.

Cooling the finished sponge cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then removing it to cool on a wire rack.

Pour the batter into a 20-centimeter diameter pan. The bottom of the pan should be lined with baking paper or greased with butter and dusted with flour.

Bake the sponge cake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for 40 minutes. Let the finished sponge cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it and let it cool completely on a wire rack. For an even tastier cake, I recommend baking the sponge cake in advance. It can be stored in a plastic bag for several days.

Squeezing juice from an orange.

Now, let’s make the syrup for the sponge cake. Squeeze the juice from an orange. You will need about 80 ml of orange juice.

Adding sugar to the orange juice and heating the syrup to a boil.

Slicing the cooled sponge cake into 3 layers.

Generously soaking each cake layer with orange syrup.

Cut the cooled sponge cake into 3 layers.

Generously soak each layer with the orange syrup.

Spreading blackcurrant jam on the bottom and middle cake layers.

On the bottom and middle layers, spread blackcurrant jam. This recipe uses an uncooked blackcurrant jam (a traditional preserve made by mashing berries with sugar without cooking), which pairs perfectly with the orange syrup and cottage cheese cream.

Mixing full-fat homemade cottage cheese with thick, full-fat sour cream and powdered sugar.

Adding cold condensed milk.

Whipping the cottage cheese cream with a mixer until it thickens, about 10 minutes.

Add cold condensed milk.

Whip the cottage cheese cream with a mixer for about 10 minutes until it thickens. The cream is ready when the marks from the whisk hold their shape and the cream doesn’t fall off the whisk.

Piping 1/3 of the cream onto the jam-covered layers.

Transfer the cream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe 1/3 of the cream onto each of the jam-covered layers.

The top layer is only soaked with syrup; the cream is piped on top.

Stack the layers on top of each other, finishing with the top layer. The top layer is only soaked with syrup; the cream is piped on top of it. To help the cream absorb better into the top layer, you can trim the top crust off the sponge cake, but this is optional.