Violet Cream Cake

This cake was the first one I had to come up with for my part of the drink-dessert challenge (yes, this post is long overdue). I decided on the ingredient I personally don’t like very much, but was previously convinced by Yann that it can work in some combinations – violet extract. We used it once before for my first three in the series of classic cocktail inspired macarons. The grandma smelling extract was then left overlooked in my kitchen, so i decided to challenge myself and use it for a cake I needed to make for a neighbourhood picnic.

I kept the design old-fashioned, to evoke the cakes our grandmothers were baking for those same picnics years ago, and to contrast the less obvious mixture of flavours. The base was a light lime flavoured chiffon cake. First layer was filled with caramelized mango and the second with blueberries (black currant was the initial plan, as marked in the recipe that follows, but it turned out impossible to find at the time). The cream I used was my go-to mixture of whipped cream, mascarpone and greek yogurt, to which I added some cream cheese for firmness. I used just enough violet extract to change the taste, but not enough to make it obvious what it was.
RECIPE

Lime chiffon cake

  • 180g egg yolks (from 6 eggs approximately)
  • 165g oil
  • 265g water
  • lime juice from 2 limes
  • lime zest from 3 limes
  • 300g + 150g sugar
  • 340g flour
  • 1.5 tablespoons of baking powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons of salt
  • 270g egg whites (from 6 eggs approximately)
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Violet Cream
  • 500g whipped cream
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 200g greek yoghurt
  • Sugar to taste
  • Violet extract to taste
Mango filling
  • 1 ripe mango
  • 50g sugar
  • 25g water
Black Currant filling
  • 250g black currant
  • Sugar to taste
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
PROCEDURE
Lime Chiffon Cake

Preheat oven to 180° C.

Whisk together the egg yolks, water, oil, lime juice and zest. Sift together the flour, 300g of sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix well.

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they form stiff peaks. Slowly add in sugar in three rounds.

Add a bit of the egg whites into the first mixture, and mix thoroughly. Gently fold in the rest and mix lightly with a spatula.

Pour in a greased baking pan (26cm in diameter), you will need two, or bake in two rounds. Bake for about 1h, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Violet Cream
For the cream, gently mix all the ingredients with a spatula. Refrigerate until use.
Mango Filling
Peel and dice the mango. Meanwhile, heat the sugar and water without stirring, until it caramelizes. Add the mango and cook until softened. Reserve.
Black Currant Filling
Simmer black currant with sugar and lime juice, until it thickens a little. Set aside.
 
ASSEMBLY
Cut the cake in three layers. Spread mango on the first level (you can moisten it with some syrup first). Add the violet cream and cover with the second layer of cake. Spread black currant on this one and cover with cream. Close off with the last layer of the cake and mask everything with the cream. You can use violet colouring to colour a part of the cream and play with ombre effects.
Perfect for a sunny day, accompanied with this fruity cocktail.

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