Sour Cream, Vanilla and Red Berries Cake

As I have already mentioned before, sometimes I buy more than I need and I end up with ingredients piling up in my fridge.  Every now and then I feel compelled to tidy up the fridge and use the ingredients that I have before rushing to buy new ones!

I had some sour cream that needed to be used before hitting its expiry date. Sour cream is such a wonderful baking ingredient; it enhances the texture and adds lightness and subtle flavor to baked goodies. With that in mind, I baked a vanilla and sour cream cake and I was so pleased with the flavor and texture that I had to do it again and share the recipe.

This cake is so moist, rich, melts in your mouth and carries the wonderful flavor of vanilla. Add some frosting, the fruits you like and you'll have a great cake to share with family and friends or just for the self-indulgent you!

Let's get going and make this cake.
For 6 to 8 servings you need:

• 3 large eggs (60 to 70 g) at room temperature
• 240 g sugar
• 210 g cake flour
• 150 g melted butter
• 150 g sour cream at room temperature
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp baking soda (about 3 g)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract or vanilla paste 

First sift the mix the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Whisk the eggs with the vanilla and when frothy add the sugar and beat for about 5 minutes until you have a tick and pale mixture. Add the butter and sour cream and beat at the lowest speed. Once well combined turn off your mixer and with a spatula fold in the flour mixture. 

To bake the cake I used three 15 cm pans but if you don´t like a high cake use two 23 cm pans. Cover the pans with baking spray, or butter them, place a baking paper on the bottom, lightly spray again and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven (180C).
Check after 20 min with a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake and it should come out clean if the cake is ready; if not bake them for few additional minutes.

Leave the cakes to cool for 5 min in the pan, then remove them and let them cool on a cooling rack.

For the frosting:

• 200 g soft butter
• 50 g sour cream, room temperature
• 200 g sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Combine all ingredients. Start whisking slowly then increase the speed and beat for about 5 min until creamy is almost white.

Assembly:

Smear with a bit of cream the serving plate you're going to use and put the first cake layer. Pipe a generous amount of frosting, put the second cake layer and repeat the process. On the final layer I added just a bit of frosting and arranged a mix of red fruits.

Cut, serve and enjoy a moist and super delicious cake.

A Jazzed Up Cherry Compote!

In my last post I have mentioned that I will be posting some recipes featuring cherries as a main ingredient. As the season of these amazing summer fruits is coming to an end, there are many ways to preserve them while at their peak of freshness and quality.  You can of course make jam out of cherries and it will taste wonderful but this time I thought of preserving them as compote. This option is slightly different from jam as you won't need to chop or process the cherries, however, you may pit the fruits or leave them whole.

Cherry jam made only with cherries has a wonderful taste on its own but I do find it needs a booster and what better way than to add some citrus fresh for added freshness and taste? I do believe that lemon, lime and orange (or any citrus for that matter)  add so much flavor to both sweet and savory recipes even when used sparingly.

This compote recipe is really quite simple but perhaps the only problem with it is the cherry pitting. It does take time and you better wear gloves if you don't want your hands to stain! However, the end result is really worth it! I have made several batches of this compote, and I think I will keep on making it until the cherry season is over. It is really that good!

For 2 small jars or a big one,  you will need:

• 350 g pitted cherries
• 180 sugar
• 1 lemon and 2 orange peels (a small slice of each fruit is enough, remember you only need the zest)
• 1/4 tsp of pectine (optional, it thickens and helps in the setting of the compote)
•  1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tsp orange juice

Combine everything in a heavy bottom sauce pan, mix well then leave to simmer over a gentle heat for about 30 min. When done, the cherries are tender but still holding their shape. If you overcook them, the fruits will disintegrate and you don't want that in a compote.

Transfer to sterilized jars and close. Once cooled transfer to the fridge. If you want to preserve them out of the fridge, you need to sterilize the filled jars again. However, once opened, it's better to put them in the fridge. I usually don't bother with this process as I only make small batches.

Enjoy them over your pancakes, over a toast and some butter, as a filling for a cake, over baked brie or camembert, really, the choices are endless.

I will share with you soon an easy recipe using this extremely delicious compote, stay tuned!