Donauwelle Recipe

Chocolate and vanilla marble cake, studded with bing cherries, layered with smooth vanilla pudding, and topped with a thin layer of dark chocolate ganache, this Donauwelle is a German classic!

Which cherries should I use?

I really love the Bada Bing cherries from Stonewall kitchen (especially the bourbon ones). But, fresh or frozen cherries will work too!

Isn’t Donauwelle a cake?

Yes! Donauwelle is traditionally served in larger pieces as a cake; however, I love serving them as smaller “bars” so they can be eaten as a quick treat!

What does Donauwelle mean?

Directly translated, Donuawelle means Danube wave aka the waves from the river Danube in Germany. It gets its name because of the waves caused by the chocolate cake and cherries dropped into the vanilla cake as well as the classic ridges that can be frequently found in the surface of the chocolate.

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Tips for making Donauwelle

1. The cake base will turn out best if all ingredients are at room temperature, it will ensure all ingredients come together well and the cake is nice and light.
2. This vanilla pudding is quick and easy, but because all ingredients are mixed together from the beginning it is important to keep a careful eye on it and not stop stirring while it is cooking. If you leave it for too long, the egg could split, or the milk could burn. If you are worried that you have cornstarch clumps in the pudding, pass it through a strainer before pouring it over the cake.
3. Allow the pudding and cake to cool fully in the fridge before pouring the chocolate over top.
4. Because the chocolate is hard when cutting the bars, I recommend running the knife under hot water and drying it off before each pass. This will help the knife slide through the chocolate rather than cracking the chocolate and causing the pudding to squeeze out.

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this Donauwelle! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These both help make the cake rise – make sure to check the expiration date! If they are expired, they won’t be very effective.
• Cocoa Powder: Both dutch processed and natural cocoa powder will work here.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the chocolate.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store for the cake base and egg yolks for the pudding.
• Sugar: This Donauwelle uses granulated sugar in the cake batter as well as the vanilla pudding.
• Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt adds richness and moisture to the cake.
• Butter: Butter adds moisture and richness to this cake as well as to the pudding.
• Dark Chocolate: The dark chocolate is for the chocolate cake portion as well as the chocolate topping. Make sure that it is at least semi-sweet or dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate.
• Milk: Any milk or non-dairy milk will work for this recipe.
• Heavy Cream: This can be either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream – it is mixed with milk in the vanilla pudding to create a richer pudding as well as combined with the dark chocolate for a ganache topping.
• Bing Cherries: These add the best flavor to this cake but regular fresh or frozen cherries will work as well.
• Corn Starch: Corn starch is used to help thicken the vanilla pudding.

How to make Donauwelle

Make the Marble Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F or 325 F if baking on convection. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven.
• Line an 8″ x 8″ square metal baking pan with parchment paper.
• Melt the dark chocolate for the cake batter and set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the batter.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Then add in the eggs, sugar, vanilla, butter, and yogurt. Using a paddle attachment beat the ingredients on high for two minutes until light and fluffy.
• Pour half of the batter into the lined baking pan. Then add the melted chocolate, milk, and cocoa powder into the bowl of the stand mixer with the remaining cake batter. Mix again until fully combined – scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
• Once fully mixed, pour the chocolate batter onto the vanilla batter. Spread the batter evenly across the vanilla batter.
• Space the cherries out evenly across the surface of the cake.
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, rotate halfway through to make sure it browns evenly. Once fully baked, a toothpick inserted should come out clean and the surface should be a light golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Make sure the cake has cooled to at least room temperature before beginning on the pudding.

Make the Vanilla Pudding

• In a medium sauce pot, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.
• While whisking continuously, slowly pour in the milk and cream.
• Place the sauce pot over medium heat and whisk continuously until it thickens and begins to bubble. Once bubbling, remove it from the heat. Whisk in the butter and vanilla continue whisking to cool it down.
• Once slightly cooled, pour the pudding over the cake.
• Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the pudding and place it in the fridge to chill for 2-3 hours.

Chocolate Top

• Place the chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Heat the heavy cream until just simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Leave to sit for one minute before whisking together into a smooth ganache.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the surface of the pudding.
• Pour the melted chocolate over the surface of the pudding, pour around the edges first and then finish in the center of the square.
• Work quickly to spread the melted chocolate over the pudding with a rubber or offset spatula.
• Leave the chocolate to set and then cut into 16 squares with a long sharp knife. To create clean slices, run the knife under hot water (and dry it off) before each slice.

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