Mascarpone Cake

This cake uses mascarpone cheese, which is the key ingredient for the Italian dessert tiramisu. However, mascarpone cheese is incredibly rich, so I only used one half mascarpone cheese and one half Greek yoghurt. The cake is still very creamy and goes nicely with some tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

Deep baking sheet

Parchment paper

For the sponge cake:

80 g butter

5 eggs

150 g sugar

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla essence

240 g flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

To soak:

10 tablespoons amaretto

Filling:

250 g mascarpone cheese

250 g Greek Yoghurt

150 g sour cream

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla essence

Juice and zest from one lemon

500 g or 1 pint whipping cream

60 g powdered sugar

6 tablespoons amaretto

Decoration:

Cocoa powder

Preparation:

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Melt butter in microwave or over hot water, then set aside to cool down.

2. Using an electric hand mixer beat eggs for about 1 minute at highest setting. Eggs should be foamy. Slowly add in sugar and keep mixing for another 2 minutes on highest setting. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the eggs and keep mixing until a smooth batter has formed. Lastly, slowly mix in the liquid butter and keep stirring until the butter has been fully absorbed by the batter.

3. Pour batter onto parchment paper. Evenly spread batter on parchment paper, then bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 20 minutes. Remove sponge cake from oven, then put cake upside down onto a second sheet of parchment paper. Let cake cool down, then remove parchment paper from bottom.

4. Cut cake into two halves. Put one half onto a plate or into a Pyrex dish. Soak sponge cake with 5 tablespoons amaretto.

5. Whip cream together with 30 g of powdered sugar until stiff. In a separate bowl whisk mascarpone cheese, yoghurt, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and the remaining half of powdered sugar until smooth cream has formed. Carefully fold in whipped cream.

6. Spread one half of the cream on top of the soaked sponge cake half. Put second half of sponge cake on top of cream. Soak the top of the second sponge cake half with another 5 tablespoons amaretto. Spread the remaining cream on top of sponge cake, cover and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator.

7. Just before serving: Make little dents into the cream using the back of a tablespoon. Sprinkle top of cake with cocoa powder.

Comments:

1. I altered the recipe a little. The original recipe uses 500 g mascarpone cheese, but that makes this cake incredibly rich, so I used 1/2 mascarpone cheese and 1/2 Greek yoghurt. For a richer version you can certainly use all mascarpone cheese, and no yoghurt.

2. As a variation you can fold in some fruit. Fresh strawberries or raspberries, or canned peaches or mandarine oranges work well. Cut the fruit into smaller pieces, then fold fruit into cream together with the whipping cream.

3. I tried the cake after two days in the refrigerator, and it is a lot better on the second day!