With a little bit of cunning, you can place this surprise of a cake on the table and watch the guests brighten up with childish joy, when they see what is inside. Make the cake the day before, so you don’t have to rush it and the flavours can meld together.
DANISH FLAG CAKE WITH BUTTERMILK MOUSSE
12-14 SERVINGS
MOUSSE:
5 SHEETS GELATINE
60 G LEMON JUICE
80 G ICING SUGAR
SEEDS OF 1 VANILLA POD
250 G HEAVY CREAM 38%
300 G BUTTERMILK
Start with the mousse so that it can reach itself before use.
Soak the gelatine in cold water for a minimum of 10 min.
Heat the lemon juice up to the boiling point.
Squeeze the water out of the gelatine and melt it in the lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a bowl and let the juice cool down to just a bit cooler than your little finger.
Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with a knife.
Whisk then cream, vanilla seeds and icing sugar to soft peaks.
Pour the buttermilk into the whipped cream and gently fold it in
Finally, add the lemon gelatine in a thin stream while gently stirring with a rubber spatula.
Fill a piping bag with the mousse and place it in the fridge, while you bake the cake.
LEMON MOON SPONGES:
130 G SUGAR
80 G MARZIPAN, GRATED
150 G VERY SOFT BUTTER
3 M/L EGG
1 TSP. BAKING SODA
1 TSP. BAKING POWDER
1½ TSP. VANILLA SUGAR
150 G FLOUR
100 G LEMON JUICE (ABOUT 3 SMALL ORGANIC LEMONS)
GRATED ZEST OF 3 ORGANIC LEMONS
1 TSP. RED FOOD GEL COLOR, FX. ROXY & RICH
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius.
Line a 20 cm springform with baking paper and brush the bottom and sides with butter.
Whisk sugar, marzipan and butter soft and creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time and whisk thoroughly between each.
Stir in baking soda, baking powder, vanilla sugar and flour.
Add lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk it well together.
Remove a large teaspoon of batter and mix it with the color in a small bowl, thus avoiding lumps of red color in the rest of the batter. Mix the colored batter back into the uncoloured.
Pour the batter into the spring mold and smooth out the surface.
Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, when you stick in the middle of the cake.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the mould.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE:
Remove the cooled cake from of the mould and cut it the domed top off to make it completely level.
Cut the cake in the middle so you have two layers like an ordinary. birthday cake.
Take a piece of paper and cut two circles of 10 cm and 12 cm in diameter. They are the templates. If you have cake rings in the sizes then use them.
Place the bottom layer on the dish the finished cake is to be served on. First place the 12 cm paper circle at the center of the bottom and cut along the edge. Repeat with the 10 cm circle. Now there should be a groove of approx. 2 cm cake to be removed in between.
Repeat with the top layer on a cutting board.
Place the edge of the spring mould around the bottom layer, preferably with some cut and washed cake plastic, so it is easier to remove the mould again later. Tighten the shape to completely enclose the cake base.
Cut a hole at tip of the bag with the mousse. First pipe the mousse into the groove, so that it is full.
Then pipe an even layer of mousse all over the bottom layer.
Now gently take the outer circle of the top layer and place it close to the sides of the mould on top of the mousse. Don’t panic if the circle breaks, then just put the pieces as close together as possible.
Place the inner circle in the middle and fill the groove with mousse.
The rest of the mousse is distributed over the top and smoothed out with the back of a hot spoon (rinse it under running hot water, then it is easier).
Refridgerate the cake for a couple of hours until the mousse has set completely and it is ready for decoration.
GANACHE:
140 G FINELY CHOPPED WHITE CHOCOLATE
100 G HEAVY CREAM 38%
A FEW DROPS OF RED PASTE COLOR, ex. ROXY & RICH
Heat the cream to the boiling point.
Pour it over the finely chopped chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds.
Stir it together until it is smooth and uniform.
Color the ganache a nice pink color.
Let the ganache cool to room temperature, before whipping it into a soft cream. Do not beat too much or it will separate.
Remove the tin and plastic wrap from the cake.
Put the ganache into a piping bag and coat the sides of the cake in a light layer of ganache.
Refrigerate the cake until the ganache has set.
MARZIPAN RIBBON:
300 G MARZIPAN, 60% ALMONDS
150 G ICING SUGAR
40 G GLUCOSE SYRUP
RED FOOD COLOUR, EX. ROXY & RICH
ICING SUGAR FOR ROLLING OUT
Knead the marzipan, icing sugar and glucose syrup together to a soft, moldable dough.
Colour it with a little red food coloring.
Place the marzipan in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed bag until it’s time to use it.
Roll the marzipan out to a long sausage. Then use a rolling pin to roll it into a long flat ribbon. It should be long enough to reach all the way around the cake. Measure around your cake and add a little extra at the end. The ribbon should be approx. 3-4 cm wide and 3-5 mm thick.
Roll out the ribbon in powdered sugar and make sure that the marzipan can be moved throughout the rolling out.
Cut the ribbon to size while it is still on the table so that the edges are perfectly straight. Roll the marzipan ribbon around the cake, press it lightly against the ganache and cut the seam so that the ribbon fits snugly around the cake.
TUILES:
10 G SUGAR
10 G WHOLE EGG
10 G WHEAT FLOUR
EDIBLE GOLD AND ROSE DUST FOR DECORATION
Mix all ingredients, except the dust, together to form a uniform batter.
Place the baking mat for the tuiles on a baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Spread the batter over the mat with a palette so that the butterflies are filled up, then scrape the mat completely clean.
Bake at 175 degrees for approx. 6-7 min.
Use a toothpick or a needle to free them from the mat.
Brush with edible gold and rose dust.
DECORATE:
STRAWBERRIES
BLACKBERRIES
RASPBERRIES
CHOCOLATE BALLS
TUILLES
Decorate the cake just before serving.
