Blueberry Cake With Two Batters

I love blueberries, and I remember harvesting them in the woods when I was a child. They were quite rare, and precious. When I saw this recipe I was intrigued - it combines a blueberry pound cake and a German-style cheesecake.

Ingredients:

Pyrex or deep baking dish (9x13 inches or 30x40 cm)

Some grease

300 g blueberries

Cake Batter:

200 g (2 sticks) soft butter or margarine

150 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

300 g all-purpose flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

Cheesecake:

2 eggs, separated

1 pinch of salt

80 g powdered sugar

200 g sour cream

200 g Greek Yoghurt (Fage or Chobani)

Preparation:

1. Grease Pyrex or deep baking dish. Wash blueberries, drain well. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

2. Prepare batter: Whisk butter or margarine with an electric hand mixer until soft. Add sugar and vanilla extract until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Sift, and add in two portions to the batter. Pour mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at deep baking dish at180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

4. In the meantime prepare the cheesecake topping: Whisk egg whites with salt until stiff. Slowly add the powdered sugar. In a separate bowl blend egg yolks, sour cream and Greek yoghurt. Carefully fold the egg white mixture into the sour cream blend.

5. Remove cake from oven and add 2/3 of blueberries on top. Spread cheesecake topping over blueberries, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of blueberries on top.

6. Return cake to oven and bake for an additional 45 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) or until toothpick comes out clean.

7. Remove cake from oven and let cool down before serving.

Comment:

1. I used fresh blueberries, but you can certainly use any time of berry!

2. Instead of using two sticks of butter I only used 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk.

Chocolate-Pear Cake

This cake is a little variation on a traditional apple cake (Apfelkuchen sehr fein). The batter contains cocoa and chocolate chips, instead of apples this cake uses pears.

Ingredients:

Springform (28 cm or 11 inches in diameter)

Some grease

3 pears (ripe and soft)

200 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

100 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch of salt

100 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

4 eggs

50 g oats

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

100 g chocolate chips

Decoration:

Powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Cut pears into quarters, remove core and peel.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease bottom of springform.

3. Sift flour into a bowl, add baking powder and mix. Add vanilla, cinnamon, rum, salt butter or margarine, eggs, oats, milk and cocoa. Whisk ingredients until soft and smooth batter has formed.

4. Pour batter into springform, put pears on top (push pears a little into the batter), and bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 1 h or until toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove cake from oven, remove springform edge and let cake cool down. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Comments:

1. Use ripe and soft pears! Alternatively, canned pears work well, too.

2. I used oats in the cake, but hazelnut flour is a great substitution. It'll give the cake a nutty flavor.

Blackberry Tarte

This cake resembles a sweet quiche, with an eggy sauce that is poured over the filling (blackberries) and baked until the egg is cooked.

Ingredients:

Pie dish (30 cm in diameter) or springform (28 cm or 12 inches in diameter)

Some grease

Pastry dough:

50 g powdered sugar

200 g all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

50 g ground hazelnuts or almond flour

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

1 pinch of salt

100 g (1 stick) soft butter or margarine

Topping:

25 g plain and unseasoned bread crumbs

600-900 g fresh blackberries

Sauce:

3 eggs

90 g powdered sugar (with starch) or 75 g powdered sugar (no starch) and 20 g corn or potato starch

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

100 g sour cream

150 g whipping cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease pie dish or springform. Wash blackberries and dry on a paper towel.

2. Sift sugar into a bowl. Add flour and baking powder and mix. Add remaining ingredients and using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer until a smooth pastry dough has formed.

3. Roll pastry dough out flat and line bottom and edge of pie dish or springform. Poke holes into the pastry dough with a fork. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on pastry dough, then add blackberries on top and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Remove cake from oven and let cool down while preparing the sauce.

4. Whisk eggs for about 1 minute. Add sugar (and starch if necessary), vanilla extract and sour cream and whisk for another minute. Lastly, add whipping cream and pour sauce over blackberries.

5. Bake tarte for 35 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove tarte from oven and let cool down. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.