Hungarian noodle cake (vargabeles)

This dessert was invented by a Klausenburg innkeeper named Varga. His recipes are all easy, especially as the strudel and noodle doughs do not need to be homemade.

Credit: Tammi Kwok

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 150 g fine egg noodles (or ribbon pasta)
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ kg quark (curdled cream cheese)
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
• rind and juice from 1 lemon
• 375 ml sour cream
• 150 g sultanas
• 1 packet filo pastry
• 100 g butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Cook the noodles in salted boiling water for approximately 8 minutes. Drain and leave aside.
2. Beat the egg yolks with half of the white sugar until fluffy and add the quark slowly. Add the vanilla sugar, lemon juice and rind, and sour cream. Beat for several minutes until all the ingredients are well mixed.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggwhites and remaining white sugar.
4. Fold the noodles into the yolk mixture and add the sultanas. Add the egg white mixture and stir through.
5. Grease a medium-size baking tray with a non-stick spray. Lay three sheets of filo pastry on the base of the dish and brush lightly with melted butter. Lay another three sheets over this and brush these sheets with melted butter.
6. Spread over the quark mixture and top with three layers of filo pastry. Brush these with melted butter. Place another three layers on top and brush these with melted butter.
7. Sprinkle the top layer with white sugar. Bake for 50 minutes-1 hour. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.