It is an excellent Czech black & white coffee cake with a quark layer between a cocoa sponge cake and a chocolate coating. Stay sharp and grab your piece quickly, Míša řezy disappears from the plate in no time!
➜ What Is Míša řezy?
Míša řezy is a very popular Czech dessert baked on a baking sheet. The lower part is made of a dark cocoa sponge cake. There’s a thick layer of quark, tvaroh, a Czech version of American farmer’s cheese, in the middle. The top of the cake is coated with chocolate. All three layers contrast each other nicely.
Míša řezy is baked in a rectangular sheet pan and is cut into small rectangles when served.
MY TIP: Try out this Three Layer Sheet Cake!
➜ Ingredients
Dark cocoa sponge cake:
- Eggs; yolks and whites separately
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil
- Dark cocoa powder; unsweetened
- Baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- Warm water
White layer:
- Farmers’ cheese; originally Czech tvaroh (quark), the USA farmer's cheese is one of the best substitutions for tvaroh
- Butter; unsalted
- Powdered sugar
- Spiced rum; optional, but I highly recommend it for a perfect flavor
Chocolate topping:
- Dark chocolate; sweetened
- Butter; unsalted
- Heavy cream; for possible dilution of the topping
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions
Cocoa Sponge Cake – The Bottom Layer:
- Mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and dark cocoa.
- Divide the eggs into whites and yolks.
- Beat the egg whites, a pinch of salt, and three tablespoons of granulated sugar until stiff.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining three tablespoons of sugar, and gradually add the dry ingredients, oil, and hot water. This will fine-tune the dough to the right thickness, which should be easy to spread.
- Finally, fold in the beaten snow by hand.
- Spread the cocoa batter on a baking tray lined with baking paper and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- Take the sponge cake out of the oven and let it cool.
White Quark – Middle Layer:
- Mix the softened butter, and farmers’ cheese warmed to room temperature with the icing sugar. Finally, add two tablespoons of spiced rum.
- Spread the cheese cream over the cooled cocoa sponge. Do not bake anymore.
Chocolate Topping – The Top Layer
- In a water bath, melt the chocolate, broken into cubes. Add the butter and cream, and whisk until smooth.
- Let cool slightly.
- Spread the chocolate glaze over the cream cheese.
You can create a nice zig-zag pattern on the top using a fork.
➜ Size of Baking Pan
This recipe calls for a 16x12 inches (40x30 cm) baking pan (base measurement).
➜ How to Cut Misa rezy?
Cutting Míša řezy might be tricky. The chocolate topping layer is fragile and can easily break down.
An excellent way to go through the chocolate layer is by taking a thin knife, putting it into warm water before cutting the cake, drying it with a paper towel, and cutting the cake again.
The chocolate layer will melt when you touch it with a warm knife.
➜ Storing
Because the dessert contains a layer comprised of fresh cheese, it’s good to store the cakes in a cold place.
More Czech desserts:
- Apricot streusel sheet cake
- Czech kolache, an authentic recipe
- Plum-filled crescent cookies; Czech povidlove satecky
- Chocolate coffee cake; with sour cream topping
- Prague kolach cake; pražský koláč
Tried this recipe?
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Míša Řezy – Czech White & Black Sheet Cake
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Cocoa sponge cake:
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil canola or sunflower oil
- 4 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons warm water
White quark cream:
- 1 and ¾ pounds farmers cheese at room temperature (in CZ, we use Tvaroh cheese)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 and ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons rum spiced rum Kirkland from Costco or Austrian Stroh 40
Chocolate topping:
- 7 ounces dark chocolate sweetened about 40 % cocoa content
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream in case the topping is too thick
Instructions
- BEFORE YOU START COOKING: Line a baking tray with baking paper. Preheat the oven to
350 °F.
Cocoa sponge cake:
- Mix the dry ingredients: 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 4 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder.
- Divide 6 eggs into whites and yolks. Beat the egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar until stiff.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, gradually add the dry ingredient mixture, 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil, and 5 Tablespoons warm water - this will fine-tune the dough to the right thickness, making it easy to spread.
- Finally, fold in the beaten whites.
- Spread the cocoa batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- Take the sponge cake out of the oven and let it cool.
White quark layer:
- Cream 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened), 1 and 3/4 pounds farmers cheese and 1 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar. Finally, add 2 Tablespoons rum of rum.
- Spread the white cream over the cooled cocoa sponge.
Chocolate topping:
- In a water bath, melt 7 ounces dark chocolate sweetened, broken into pieces. Add 1/2 stick unsalted butter and 3 Tablespoons heavy cream, whisk until smooth.
- Let cool slightly. Spread the chocolate topping over the cream cheese. You can create a nice zig-zag pattern on the top using a fork.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes about 20 slices.
- Cut with a thin knife that you dip in hot water and wipe dry. The chocolate topping will melt under the touch of the hot knife, and the Míša řezy will cut well.
- Keep the Misa rezy refrigerated, as they contain fresh cheese.
- This recipe calls for a 16x12 (40x30 cm) inch baking pan (base measurement).
Nutritional estimate pro serving
TIP: A piece of sweet cake often makes a typical Czech breakfast!
Ryan B
Hello! I was wondering how to substitute the quark for farmer's cheese? The instructions are sort of vague, and I'm not quite sure if I need to mix the cheese with cream cheese, and what amounts, etc. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Ryan, thank you for your comment. "Míša řezy" recipe is one of my first attempts to describe Czech desserts here on the blog, and I am sorry for any confusion I could cause. Now I know that to get "tvaroh" quark in the USA is not easy. I've read that the closest substitution should be farmer's cheese; that's why I mentioned this ingredient here. In my opinion, you can substitute Czech "tvaroh" with the farmer's cheese in 1:1 ratio. In the following days, I will look at this recipe and make the instructions more straightforward.
Brooke Johnson
Hi, Petra! Is farmers cheese the same or similar to cream cheese?
Petra Kupská
Hi, Booke! Farmers cheese is basically Czech Tvaroh cheese: fresh and crumbly, unlike soft cream cheese. While many people use cream cheese instead farmers cheese, for a more authentic Czech taste, I recommend finding the farmers one at your local store. If you have a European grocery store nearby, try looking for German Quark or Polish Twaróg.
Brooke Johnson
Thank you so much!