This is summertime in a cake, a cornucopia of fresh berries (and sugar plums) from the farmer’s market: blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cherries, sour cherries, sugar plums, and black raspberries. Black raspberries! I was so excited to find them at the market. They’re my favorite berry and very different from a blackberry. If you have the chance to try some, don’t hesitate because they have a short growing season.
I used these fruits on a Victoria sponge, with some strawberry jam and pastry cream between the layers. Then I piled the fruit on top, without a glaze, and lightly dusted it with powdered sugar. It reminds me of something you’d find in a café in old Vienna, but the idea for it came from Joan’s on Third in Los Angeles.
This cake is a real showstopper.
Fruits of the Forest Cake
Serves: 6
Prep time: 1 hour and a half
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
- pastry cream (recipe below)
- 4 cups assorted berries, washed and drained
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cover the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, then cut a round of parchment paper to fit inside the pan. (Don’t skip this part; I had to redo the cake because I left the parchment out and couldn’t get the cake out of the pan.)
- Combine eggs and sugar in a heat-proof mixing bowl. Place the bowl over a large saucepan that has several inches of water simmering in it, and whisk the mixture until is begins to get warm, but not hot.
- Remove from heat and whisk for five minutes at high speed.
- Then whisk another 10 minutes at medium speed until mixture is shiny and thick.
- Fold in flour and vanilla, and add melted butter in a slow stream, mixing the entire time.
- Pour batter into pan and bake for twenty-five minutes. When cake is done, remove from oven and turn out of pan on to a wire rack to cool.
- Using a long knife, gently slice the cake in half, and set aside top layer.
- When the cake is completely cool, gently cover the top of the bottom layer with the strawberry jam, then top with pastry cream. Replace top layer of cake.
- Mound mixed fruits on top of cake and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.
Note: if you don’t have much time, a white cake mix is a pretty good substitute for making a Victoria sponge from scratch
Pastry Cream
Makes 2-3 tablespoons of pastry cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg yolk and one egg
Directions
- Combine milk and half the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, being careful not to scorch the milk.
- Whisk together egg yolk and egg in a bowl. In another bowl, mix remaining sugar and cornstarch, and stir in egg mixture until well-blended and not lumpy.
- Pour a thin stream of milk into the eggs, mixing constantly.
- Then return mixture to the saucepan and slowly bring to boil, stirring constantly.
- As soon as the mixture boils, remove from heat, add the butter and vanilla and blend in.
- Using a sieve, strain custard to remove any lumps.
- Cover custard with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerator until ready to use.
