Summer Berry Cream Cake

Updated April 24, 2020

Summer Berry Cream Cake
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Rating
4(110)
Comments
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A sweet ending for a summer solstice party, this spongecake is light and not too sweet, and the cream and berries make it seem almost more of an unmolded trifle than a cake. I seem to remember that in Norway alcohol is poured over the split sponge, but here I’ve moistened the cake with a strawberry purée. You can use any fruit.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 servings

    For the Cake

    • Vegetable oil or nonstick vegetable oil spray
    • 4large eggs
    • 1cup sugar
    • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
    • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
    • 1cup flour

    For the Sauce

    • 2cups strawberries, hulled
    • 2tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
    • 1tablespoon lemon juice

    For the Filling and Topping

    • ¾cup blueberries
    • ¾cup blackberries
    • ¾cup red raspberries
    • ½cup red currants or golden raspberries
    • 2cups heavy cream
    • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1cup strawberries, hulled
    • ½teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

318 calories; 18 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 23 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 36 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To prepare cake, first heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or spray a 10-inch springform pan, and line bottom with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    Using an electric mixer at high speed, whisk eggs and sugar together until they triple in volume, becoming thick and airy. Add vanilla and lemon zest, and whisk to combine. Reduce speed to medium-low, and gradually add flour. Remove bowl from mixer, give a final fold with a spatula and pour into prepared cake pan. Bake until risen and light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack 10 minutes, and remove sides from pan.

  3. Step 3

    When cake is cool use a long, thin knife to split it into 2 thin disks. Place bottom half cut side up on a serving platter; place other half cut side up on a large piece of foil. In a blender, combine 2 cups strawberries, confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Purée until smooth. Set aside ¼ cup purée, and divide remaining purée between two cake layers, pouring over cut sides and spreading with a rubber spatula.

  4. Step 4

    In a large bowl, combine reserved ¼ cup purée with ½ cup blueberries, ½ cup blackberries, ½ cup red raspberries and currants or golden raspberries. Fold gently to mix.

  5. Step 5

    Whisk heavy cream with vanilla until thick but still soft. Spread half over cake sitting on serving dish. Top with fruit mixture, and place remaining cake half on top, cut side down. Spread remaining cream on top. Cut strawberries into halves or quarters, and place in a bowl. Add remaining ¼ cup each of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, and toss to mix. Arrange berry mixture on top of cake, and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Ratings

4 out of 5
110 user ratings
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Comments

Made this as written except subbed Cup4Cup for the flour. It came out absolutely perfect, best gluten-free cake I've ever made.

This turned out delicious. I used a mix of more strawberries, blueberries and a kiwi for the fruit mix! My only issue here was that my sponge cake was really short / didn't fluff up to be two full layers worth of cake. I wonder why that is. It was hard to cut in half, and the top layer ended up being a little crescent moon shape instead of two disks!

This was my first sponge cake, and I'm so happy with how it came out. I used strawberries (2 pints), raspberries (1 pint) and blackberries (1 pint) and all is well. Now the only problem is the quarantine, and no one to share it with!

This is our family’s favorite birthday cake. We make it a least 3 times a year, following directions as written (just changing the kinds of berries to each celebrant’s taste) and it’s always perfect. Light, fruity, lemony, and full of whipped cream. I don’t know why others have had trouble as it’s never failed us.

There must be a secret to make it rise properly, mine was flat, not airy enough, no way to cut in half, maybe adding the flour with a spatula instead of while mixer going. It seemed to deflate after adding flour…?

I made the recipe as written twice now, only substituting cup4cup flour blend to make it gluten-free, and it came out beautifully both times. I'm not sure why others are having trouble getting their sponge to rise, it's a pretty simple genoise. I beat my eggs/sugar by hand instead of using a mixer and it rose just fine. When in doubt, keep beating the eggs, and then fold your flour in with as few movements as possible, that's my only advice.

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