Hazelnut Biscuit Squares

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• Salt
• 100 g coconut palm sugar
• 150 g spelt whole‑grain flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 80 g cornstarch
• 150 g dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa)
• 250 g ground hazelnuts
• 600 g low‑fat quark
• 1 vanilla pod
• 400 g whipping cream
• 25 g chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

1. 1.

   Separate the eggs for the base. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt into stiff peaks.

2. 2.

   Beat yolks with 50 g coconut palm sugar in a bowl using a hand mixer until thick and creamy. Sift flour and cornstarch over the mixture. Fold in the beaten egg whites gently with a rubber spatula.

3. 3.

   Spread the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 200 °C (180 °C fan, gas level 3) for 20–25 minutes. Remove, let cool, break the sponge, peel off the parchment immediately, and halve the sponge base.

4. 4.

   Coarsely chop 100 g chocolate and melt it over a water bath. Spread the melted chocolate over one half of the sponge.

5. 5.

   Drain the quark well. Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Mix quark with vanilla seeds, hazelnuts, and the remaining coconut palm sugar. Whip 200 g cream with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form and fold it into the quark mixture.

6. 6.

   Place one chocolate‑coated sponge half on a baking sheet, border the sides with parchment strips to create a small raised edge. Spread the quark‑hazelnut cream over the chocolate side, smooth it out, then top with the second sponge half. Chill for about an hour.

7. 7.

   For decoration, coarsely chop remaining chocolate and melt it over a water bath. Fill a small piping bag with melted chocolate and pipe lines onto the surface. Whip the leftover cream to stiff peaks, fill a piping bag with a large star tip, and pipe decorative swirls on each slice. Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts before serving.