Whipped Cream Cake is a classic choice for a Dutch birthday. At most birthdays, you'll find this creamy and fresh cake, in different varieties. Round, square, oblong, with a picture on edible paper or different types of fruits, whatever the baker can think of. The basic "building bricks" of this cake are a sponge cake, fruit or jam and whipped cream. You can leave the sides as they are, use nougatine (in my case store-bought) or roasted sliced almonds. Go nuts, so to speak! For my filling I used apricot jam and fresh strawberries, and some kiwi, strawberries and chocolate decoration on the top. Don't be alarmed when the sponge turns out slightly dry - this is the way it is supposed to be. That's what all that whipped cream is for!
This recipe is adapted from De Banketbakker by famous Dutch patissier Cees Holtkamp, of Patisserie Holtkamp in Amsterdam. If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam, be sure to pick up a slice of "Oriënt" or a banana éclair ("bananensoes") as I did, absolutely yum! Holtkamp shares his patisserie recipes in De Banketbakker, but the recipes are quite brief. He has starred in a number of clips on "Foodtube", which can be found here. Be aware that they are Dutch clips, so high time to brush up your Dutch skills.
Recipe Whipped Cream Cake
Ingredients sponge:
4 eggs
pinch of salt
100 gr caster sugar
5 gr lemon zest
90 gr plain flour
10 gr cornflour
Ingredients filling & topping:
500 ml whipping cream (+ stabilizer for 500 ml whipping cream)
50 gr castor sugar
150 gr apricot jam
fresh fruit
chocolate (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F
2. Grease a 25cm/10" and 5cm/2" high round cake tin, line the bottom with greaseproof paper.
3. Beat the eggs with the salt, sugar and lemon zest au bain-marie for 15 minutes until airy. Be sure you whip for long enough, because the cake will be flat and leathery otherwise.
4. Sift the flour and cornflour and fold it into the egg mixture. Really scrape the bottom of the bowl, to prevent clumps of flour (these clumps will get stone hard when baked). You don't want to overmix however, as you will lose rise. The eggs function as the rising agent here!
5. Pour the batter into the greased tin, smoothing it over with a spatula or a spoon and place in the middle of the preheated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out of the middle clean.
6. When the sponge has cooled, cut it in three even layers. Whip the whipping cream with the sugar (and optional stabilizer) until firm. Pipe or spread a thick layer of whipped cream on the bottom layer, then cover with fresh fruit. Be sure to push the fruit in the cream a bit or the layers won't stick together. Place the second layer on the whipped cream and fruit mixture. Spread the apricot jam on the second layer. Then place the last sponge layer on top. Cover the whole cake in whipped cream using a palette knife. Optionally, cover the sides with nougatine or sliced almonds. Using the leftover whipped cream, pipe small swirls on top of the cake along the border and decorate with fresh fruit and chocolate.
Labels: Birthday, Cake, Dessert, Dutch, Patisserie, Whipped Cream
