Blotkake
Sponge cake - double recipe
It's spring and easter....this recipe starts showing it's face about this time of year, you can practice at easter to get ready for Norway's national Day.
The beauty is that it is not overly complicated or heavy. It's a nice light dessert and can look very pretty. The hardest part is the sponge cake. If your new to sponge cake, let me encourage you to try it out...if your not...then read on.
Just a note before continuing...I double the cake recipe. I want cake with my cake and find it much easier to slice if there is a bit more to slice.
Bløtkake (Norwegian Cream Cake)
(Makes 1 cake)
Ingredients:
Sponge Cake/Sukkerbrød
5 eggs
175g (3/4 cup) sugar
175g (1 1/4 cups) flour
1 tsp baking powder
Custard
2 egg yolks
55g (1/4 cup) sugar
2 Tb corn starch
5 dl (2 cups) whole milk
½ vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
650g (3 cups) heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 Tb powdered sugar
Other
Mix of blueberries, strawberries & raspberries (or other fruits/berries of your choice)
Strawberry Jam
Milk or juice
Cake
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F. Place a parchment sheet in the bottom of a spring form cake pan so that it fits just right (cutting it into a circular shape and greasing the bottom so it sticks) and grease the sides of the pan and top of the parchment sheet. For this cake, I used a 22cm/9inch pan.
Blend the eggs and sugar together in a kitchen mixer on medium/high speed for 6-8 minutes, until it becomes stiff and light in color. This is really important because you want the sponge cake to rise when it bakes and become airy and light.
Sift the flour and baking powder over the batter and mix gently with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared spring form cake pan and place on top of a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.
When the cake is done, allow to cool. You can also freeze the cake for future use.
Custard
Begin making the custard by whisking together the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and blend until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.
Place the whole milk in a saucepan and add the vanilla beans by scraping them from the pod and discarding the pod afterwards. Warm the milk just before it begins to boil, without letting it boil. Take it off the heat.
Steadily and slowly, add the milk to the bowl with the sugar mixture, whisking constantly to avoid any curdling of the eggs. When you have mixed everything together, pour it back into the saucepan and return to the stove. Over medium heat, cook the mixture until it has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. If you wish, you can transfer the custard to a strainer and push gently through to remove any bits of curdled egg.
Whipped Cream
Of course you can buy it....
To make the whipped cream, place the cream and the powdered sugar in a kitchen mixer and whip on medium/high for a couple of minutes until the cream is stiff.
To assemble the cake, take your sponge cake and cut it into 3 even and separate (horizontal) layers. On the bottom layer, spoon over some milk or juice (this will help soften the cake) then spread a layer of jam on top. Top the jam with a good amount of the custard, followed by the whipped cream and spread it out to the edges of the cake. Place the second layer of sponge on top and repeat with the milk, jam and custard and some more of the whipped cream (reserving enough to cover the cake). Place the final layer of cake on top and cover completely with the rest of the whipped cream, sides and all. Decorate the top with the berries.
Bløtkake is one of those cakes that actually tastes better the next day because the custard and whipped cream has had some time to soak into the sponge cake. You can, of course, serve this cake immediately and it’s still delightful, but seconds on the day after will be even better. Enjoy