Dessert Feature with Backbube – Desserts from the times of Vermeer

Desserts Feature with Backbube

Vanilla Layer Cake with Elderflower-Mascarpone Frosting

For the cake:

• 250 g wheat flour
• 300 g sugar
• 1 ½ TSP baking powder
• ½ TSP salt
• 150 g soft butter
• 1 TBSP vanilla paste
• 185 g egg whites (around 5 eggs)
• 230 ml buttermilk
• 1 TBSP sunflower seed oil

For the frosting:

• 400 g cream cheese
• 500 g mascarpone
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• 2 TBSP elderflower syrup
• 200 g whipping cream
• 1 sachet Sahnesteif (a German ingredient that stiffens cream)

For decorating:

• Blueberries
• Hundreds and Thousands

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C. Line 2 15cm Spring tins (at least 10cm high) with baking paper.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of your mixer. Add the butter in cubes and mix on medium speed using the flat paddle attachment of your mixer.
3. Stir in the vanilla paste for 1 minute, then add the egg whites. Slowly add first the buttermilk and then the oil.
4. Put equal amounts of the cake into your tins and bake for around 35-45 min. Should the cakes get too dark before being done in the middle cover them in tinfoil. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes before taking them out of the tins and leaving them to cool fully on a rack.
5. Horizontally slice the cooled cakes in half.
6. For the cream, carefully mix the cream cheese, mascarpone, and vanilla sugar until smooth and without lumps. Add syrup and stir until incorporated.
7. Beat the cream while gradually adding Sahnesteif. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.
8. Alternate layers of cake and cream, finishing with a layer of cream on top. Decorate with blueberries and hundreds and thousands.

Vegan mango-coconut-tarte with date-pecan-crust

For the crust:

• 100 g shredded coconut
• 125 g pecans
• 150 g dates (without stone)
• 1 TBSP agave syrup

For the filling:

• 1-2 mangos (500 g mango)
• 1 TSP lemon juice
• 1 ½ TSP Agartine (a vegan substitute for gelatine)
• 300 g coconut milk

For decorating:

• Dates, coconut flakes, mango-jam, puffed quinoa, white sugar pearls

Preparation:

1. Add all of the ingredients for the crust to your mixer and pulse until you have a soft dough. Press the mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a 23cm tin. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Peel the mango and put 500g mango and 1 TSP lemon juice into a mixer and puree until you have a smooth, creamy filling without lumps.
3. Put the mango puree into a small saucepan and stir in the Agartine. Bring to a boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes while stirring to activate the Agartine.
4. Slowly add the coconut milk to the mango mixture and stir well. Take off the heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Get your crust out of the fridge and pour in the filling, evening it out with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate again for at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. Before serving, garnish with dates, coconut flakes, mango-jam, puffed quinoa and white sugar pearls.

Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with apricot frosting

For the batter:

• 130 g gluten-free flour
• 60 g cocoa powder
• 1 TSP baking powder
• 1/2 TSP baking soda
• ¼ TSP salt
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g brown sugar
• 80 ml sunflower seed oil
• 60 g Yogurt
• 2 eggs (size L)
• 120 ml almond milk
• 60 ml hot water

For the frosting:

• 220 g cream cheese
• 75 g sugar
• 200 ml cold cream
• 3 TBSP apricot jam
• 1 TBSP turmeric

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C. Put tulip cases into a muffin tray with 12 holes.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix both sugar and oil in a different bowl. Add eggs and stir until smooth. Then add the almond milk and yogurt.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mix and stir until there are no lumps. Then add the hot water – the batter will be quite liquid.
5. Fill your cases about 2/3 and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
6. For the frosting, mix cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice on medium speed in your mixer. Scrape down the sides of your bowl if necessary.
7. On lowest speed, carefully add the cream before turning the speed up to medium until the cream is nice and fluffy. Add jam and turmeric and mix shortly.
8. Put the frosting into a piping bag with star nozzle and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.