Food lovers, behold! Today I’m introducing my recipe for the cocoa quilt cake with custard! An easy, quick, and delicious recipe, perfect from breakfast to snack time. Super creamy thanks to the custard and fluffy due to the separate preparation of yolks and egg whites.
The most important thing to remember when you decide to make this cake is the preparation of the custard the night before. The custard must be completely cold from the fridge, so it doesn’t sink during baking. Please plan this ahead, or it will be a failure!
I will explain all the steps. You can also watch the video recipe of the homemade cocoa quilt cake and custard. We will first make the Grandma Licia’s custard and then the basic cake preparation. This base will be useful for making any quilt cakes you want, just change the custard to get a different delicious quilt cake every time! Try the version with Fabbri 1905 pistachio cream and you won’t regret it!
A few months ago, I already introduced the quilt cake with cocoa cream that you loved so much, so I thought of proposing the cocoa quilt cake with custard version as well. I hope you like it! You can find the recipe in the link below if you’re curious to read it.
The preparation of the quilt cake, both names are correct for this recipe, is similar to the procedure for the sponge roll I made last year. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and work them separately: this is one of the secrets to achieving unique fluffiness. The second is having all the ingredients at room temperature.
Remember that I’m waiting for you every morning in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day. An unmissable appointment for the entire community to start the day with a sweet or savory treat. The blog’s recipes are released three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:00 a.m.!
Let’s move on to the recipe for the cocoa quilt cake with homemade vanilla custard!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring, All seasons
- Energy 282.80 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.63 (g) of which sugars 19.47 (g)
- Proteins 6.25 (g)
- Fat 11.14 (g) of which saturated 2.85 (g)of which unsaturated 8.03 (g)
- Fibers 3.68 (g)
- Sodium 79.98 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 62 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a Cocoa Quilt Cake
- 1 1/3 cups flour (for soft cakes)
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 3 eggs (at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sparkling water
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder (preferably non-vanilla)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup potato starch (up to 1/3 cup)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 vial vanilla (or extract or vanilla sachet)
Ideal doses for pans with a maximum size of 13×11 inches, otherwise you will need to double the doses for larger quilt cakes.
Tools for Preparing the Cocoa Quilt Cake or Quilt Cake with Custard
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Mold
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Scale
- 1 Oven
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Piping bag
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Stove
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Plastic wrap
Choose a piping bag tip big enough to spread the custard on the cake with ease and without hassle. The custard is nice and thick and needs a medium-large tip to be spread over the cake’s surface.
Steps for Cocoa Quilt Cake Recipe with Custard
Take a saucepan and break an egg at room temperature into it. Add the amount of sugar and with a hand whisk, work until the egg becomes creamy and frothy. Then add the potato starch and the vanilla vial. Mix well, then turn on the stove with a very low flame and start cooking.
Mix with the hand whisk continuously and gradually add the amount of milk at room temperature. This will avoid temperature shocks. Continue stirring and after about 5 or 6 minutes, you will have obtained a shiny and lump-free custard. Turn off the flame and continue stirring for a couple of minutes so it doesn’t thicken.
Let it cool at room temperature on the kitchen counter and after about an hour, transfer the custard to a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. The custard is ready.
I modified the amount of flour with potato starch compared to my grandmother’s classic recipe because I wanted a lighter consistency custard. I didn’t add grated lemon zest because I already knew I would use this custard for a cocoa dessert and lemon was not a flavor I wanted to detect in the quilt cake.
I start the preparation of the cake by separating the egg whites from the yolks. Two bowls are necessary: a smaller bowl for the whites and a larger one, preferably with higher edges, for the yolks. This bowl will be where I finish the preparation, so it must contain all the ingredients of this recipe.
Work the egg whites with the electric mixer after adding a pinch of salt. I need to get a nice dense snow that doesn’t drip from the bowl, then set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F with static mode.
Move to the other bowl where I left the yolks. Add the amount of sugar and a pinch of salt and work until you get a nice creamy foam. Now I can pour the other two liquid ingredients: the sparkling water and the vegetable oil. Be careful because it will splatter a little, so keep the mixer at a very low speed.
With the help of a small sieve, add the flour for soft cakes, the potato starch, the tablespoon of baking powder, and the amount of unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix all the ingredients well and then turn off the mixer. Take a spatula and continue.
Take the whipped egg whites and gently pour them into the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix with the spatula using bottom-to-top movements, slowly. When all the ingredients are well incorporated into one mixture, I can proceed.
Place a parchment paper sheet in a 10×11 inch pan. Do not choose a larger pan, keep these as maximum measurements, otherwise the cake will be too low. Pour the mixture into the pan and level slightly.
Retrieve the homemade custard, prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator, and transfer it to a piping bag with a medium-large tip. Then proceed with the quilt threads creation: first the diagonal lines from one side and then the other. Try not to apply pressure with the piping bag so as not to sink the custard. Store any remaining custard back in the fridge leaving it in the piping bag.Bake the quilt cake in the middle of the oven, lowering the temperature to 340°F, still in static mode. Let it bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Always do the toothpick test before turning off the oven.
Then remove the cocoa cake and place it on the counter. Now, since it is still warm, retrieve the custard from the refrigerator and redraw any diagonals that sank too much during baking. The custard, meeting the still soft and warm cake, will be able to blend perfectly with the dessert, without dripping or sinking further.
Let it cool for at least an hour before serving. If you like, you can add powdered sugar. I, as always, do without because it doesn’t thrill me. I just have to wish you a good appetite and remind you that I’m here every day on my cooking blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips, Storage, and Recipe Variations:
Tips for making the soft and delicious quilt cake: as explained throughout the recipe text, there are various things to keep in mind. The room temperature of the ingredients, the rest in the refrigerator of the custard before being used. Whip the egg whites well until they are firm and do not drip from the bowl. The same goes for the foam of yolks and sugar: it must result in a dense and frothy cream. The oven temperature, which should be lowered when we bake the cake. These are essential information for the success of the recipe.
Storage of the cocoa quilt cake: you can store the cake in a cake container with a lid for a couple of days. The cake will remain soft, I promise, because my boyfriend tasted it after three days and he complimented me because it was still soft and delicious.
Recipe variations: you can choose not to use the custard if you don’t feel like preparing it the day before and opt for a hazelnut cream, a pistachio cream or another one to your liking. Do not alter the rest of the ingredients, neither in terms of quantity, as they are designed to make this cocoa and cream cake with a pan measuring between 10×11 to 8×9 inches.
