Limoncello-Berry-Swirl

Ingredients:

One springform (26 cm or 11 inch in diameter)

Parchment paper

Batter:

80 g flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

60 g sugar

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla aroma

60 g butter or margarine

2 eggs

Limoncello cream:

250 g non-fat Greek Yoghurt (Fage or Chobani brand)

150 g powdered sugar

150 ml limoncello 

200 g whipping cream

1 package gelatin

Berry Swirl:

450 g mixed berries (fresh or frozen) - blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries...

3 teaspoons corn starch

3 teaspoons pectin powder

Optional: sugar (50 g)

Preparation:

1. If using frozen berries, thaw them. Wash and clean fresh berries, and blend to a purée. I used 1/3 raspberries, 1/3 strawberries, and 1/3 blueberries. Squeeze fruit purée through a mesh to remove small seeds, particularly raspberry and blackberry seeds.

2. Line springform bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

3. In a bowl combine flour and baking powder. Add sugar, vanilla butter and eggs and mix all ingredients with an electric hand mixer until blended well. Pour batter into springform and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 18 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove springform edge, put cake bottom upside down on a cooling rack, remove springform bottom and parchment paper, and let cake bottom cool down.

3. Preparation of the berries: In a stovetop pot bring berries with pectin and starch to a rolling boil for one minute while stirring. Remove pot from oven and let cool.

4. Preparation of the limoncello cream: Dissolve gelatin with 2 tablespoons water in a stovetop pot. let sit for about 5 min. In the meantime, whip cream with 50 g powdered sugar until stiff. In a separate bowl blend yoghurt, limoncello and powdered sugar. Carefully heat the gelatin until it dissolves completely and becomes clear. Stir 3 tablespoons of the yoghurt mix into the gelatin, then pour the gelatin into the yoghurt cream and blend well. When the yoghurt starts to gelatinize carefully fold in the whipped cream. 

5. Put the cake bottom on a cake plate or back onto the springform bottom. Line edge of cake bottom with springform edge. Pour the limoncello cream on top of the cake bottom and level. Pour berry mix into the limoncello cream. With a fork gently swirl the limoncello cream and berry mixture. Keep cake in refrigerator for at least 3 h or best overnight.

6. Remove springform edge and serve.

Comments:

1. While this cake held together a little better than the Bellini Cake I made earlier this year, and wasn't a huge disaster it still became a little runny when cut. So I think for these cakes I need to give up on my attempts to make a vegetarian version of this type of cake.

2. This time I tried to bind the berries with pectin, which is used for canning. While the berry mix became indeed a little less liquid, gelatin is a superior binding agent. So I recommend to use a package gelatin for the berries: Dissolve the gelatin in 3 tablespoons water in a stovetop pot, let sit for 5-10 minutes, then gently heat and stir until the gelatin becomes clear. Add three tablespoon of the berry mixture to the gelatin and mix, then stir gelatin into the remaining berries.

3. By adding the limoncello the yoghurt becomes entirely liquid. I was surprised that the cake solidified at all. However, it might be better to add a little more gelatin to make the cake a little stiffer, maybe an addiional 1/4 or 1/2 package of gelatin, certainly not more or the cake will turn into a giant gummy bear.