Rhubarb-Quark Mousse Cake

Mother nature's timing was just perfect this time! Right before Easter the first local rhubarb of the season was available at a local farmer's shop. As I had no idea what to bake, I was more than happy about that! Combined with blood oranges is just unbeatable! Play around with the spices, for example add some cardamom and ginger or cinnamon. As far as I am concerned I wanted to keep it simple with the flavours so I only used vanilla and orange zest to boost this beautiful vegetable. Together with quark it made a light dessert, however something was missing: strawberries. For those we still have to wait until May, but I know that it is worth to do so!

Ingredients: 
(based on a recipe by The Art of the Cake by B. Healy and P. Bugat)
100 g butter
100 g powder sugar
100 g egg whites (about 3 eggs)
85 g flour
2-3 teaspoon raspberry or beetroot powder

Cream soft butter with powder sugar until fluffy, then add egg whites and stir until smooth. Fold in the sifted flour and raspberry powder. Make any type of pattern onto a baking sheet and chill for 15-20 minutes.

85 g finely ground hazelnut
75 g powder sugar
25 g flour
150 g eggs
90 g egg whites
10 g sugar

Sift flour, powder sugar, hazelnut into a bowl and mix well. Beat egg whites with sugar to stiff peaks. Mix eggs into the hazelnut-flour mixture, then fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour batter onto the baking sheet with the pattern and bake for 5-7 minutes on 250°C. Let it cool on a wrack and cut into the size you need (my cake here is about 24-26 cm).

for the pistachio sponge:
40 g almond flour
40 g ground pistachio
35 g sugar
18 g flour
2 eggs
50 g egg whites
40 g sugar

Whisk together the flour, ground almond and pistachio with 35 g of sugar and the eggs. Beat egg whites with the rest of the sugar until it makes stiff peaks. Fold beaten egg white to the egg yolk mixture and spread it on a baking paper covered sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes on 170°C. If you want the first layer to be thicker, then double the recipe.

for the quark mousse:
500 g quark
zest of 1/2 lemon and zest of 1/2 orange
1 vanilla pod
120 g simple syrup
80 g egg yolks
4 gelatine sheets
300 ml cream


Pour quark into a cheesecloth and press out as much water as possible. Over steam beat egg yolks with syrup until thick and creamy then stir in the previously soaked gelatine, quark and the zest of the citrus. Pour it into a bowl covered with foil and chill for 4-5 hours. Before assembling the cake put it to the freezer for about 30 minutes.

for the rhubarb jelly:
400 g rhubabr (weighed trimmed)
juice of 3 blood oranges
1 orange
150 g sugar
1 vanilla pod
2 1/2 gelatine sheets
Slice rhubarba and cook until tender in the blood orange juice with sugar and orange zest. Set 150 g aside and stir the previously soaked gelatine into the remaining rhubarb and pour it onto the pistachio joconde. Chill until it sets. If you desire pimp it with cardamom, cinnamon or ginger.
for the rhubarb mousse:
150 g rhubarb puree
2 1/2 gelatine sheets
3 egg yolks
90 g sugar
300 ml cream


Take about two tablespoons of the puree and warm it, then dissolve the previously soaked gelatine in it. Cook a syrup with the sugar and the same amount of water. Whisk egg yolks with the syrup in water bath until thick and creamy. Then stir in the rhubabr puree and the cream. Place the quark mousse onto your base and pour the rhubarb mousse on top. Chill for 2-3 hours.