“This is a very popular German cake recipe with cherries, vanilla custard, and chocolate! The Donau is a river, and Welle is the German word for wave.” - by snowflake
Ingredients
Adjust Servings
Original recipe yields 20 servings
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12x18 inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan or line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar using an electric mixer. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda; quickly fold into the egg mixture.
- Spread 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of the prepared baking sheet. Stir the cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of milk into the remaining batter just until blended. Spread evenly over the vanilla layer. Pat the cherries dry with paper towels, and sprinkle them evenly over the top of the cake batter.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar. Heat the milk in a small saucepan just until hot but not boiling. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture, and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Spread the thickened custard over the surface of the cake and refrigerate overnight.
- For the chocolate topping, place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until just melted and smooth. Stir in the oil. Working quickly, spread the chocolate over the chilled custard layer. If you like, you can use the tines of a fork or a cake comb to make "waves." When the chocolate is set, cut the Donauwellen into about 20 squares to serve.
Nutrition
Amount Per Serving (20 total)
- Calories
- 331 cal
- 17%
- Fat
- 17 g
- 26%
- Carbs
- 41.9 g
- 14%
Based on a 2,000 calorie diet
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Reviews (5)
Rate This Recipe
"Unfortunately, my daughter chose this recipe for a German class project. Though I followed the recipe, the 'custard' never got thick enough to spread. I ended up at the 24 hour market getting premade ..." See morepudding to spread. There was no instruction on when to add the second measurement of vanilla and the chocolate siezed up. She was crying and I was not happy."
the allrecipes staff
"We have edited this recipe and corrected the directions for making the custard layer. The mixture must be boiled for the cornstarch to thicken the custard. We apologize for any difficulties this error..." See more created."
Emmi
"I've made this cake many times but used a different custard. Here is how I made it: Cook 2 packages vanilla pudding but only use the milk for one package. Let the pudding cool down. Take 1 cup of unsa..." See morelted butter and mix it until it's creamy. Test both the pudding and the butter for the same temperature and slowly mix the cooked pudding, under permanent mixing, into the butter. Let it cool down on the cake before you put the chocolate on it."
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