Apple punch cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 50 g flour
• 50 g ground almonds (or hazelnuts)
• ½ packet of vanilla sugar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 pinch of baking powder
• 25 g butter
• 1 tbsp water
• 75 g margarine
• 50 g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 small eggs
• ½ packet of vanilla sugar
• 100 g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ apple
• 6 sheets of white gelatin
• 125 ml apple-cherry juice
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• Rum flavoring, to taste
• ½ apple
• 100 g quark, low-fat
• 200 g whipped cream
• 50 g dark chocolate coating
• 100 g marzipan – raw mass
• 50 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours

alcohol-free

Line the bottom of a springform pan (18 cm diameter) with baking paper and preheat the oven to 200°C. For the shortcrust pastry, mix the flour with the baking powder, nuts, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Add the butter and water and quickly knead everything into a smooth dough. Pour this dough into the springform pan and shape into a base (you can also roll it out first and then place it in the pan). Prick the pastry base several times with a fork and bake for about 15 minutes. Then remove the springform pan rim and pull the shortcrust pastry base from the base onto the baking paper and let it cool. Line the bottom of the same springform pan with baking paper again and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. For the sponge cake, melt the margarine slightly in the microwave; it should not be completely liquid yet. Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla sugar. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff, then stir the egg yolks into the margarine mixture. Stir in the flour and baking powder. Peel and quarter the apple, remove the core, and coarsely grate the apple slices. Then add them to the flour and mix everything well. Finally, fold in the egg whites – but don’t stir too long to maintain the volume. Pour the batter into the springform pan, smooth the surface, and bake for about 30 minutes (test with a toothpick at the end of the baking time). Leave the base in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack and cut it in half horizontally. Melt the chocolate coating in a bain-marie and spread about 1/3 of it over the shortcrust pastry on a cake plate. Immediately place half of the sponge cake base on top and press down lightly. Place the sides of the springform pan around the bases. For the punch cream, bring the juice, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon to a boil. Peel and core the second apple half, then cut into thin slices and add to the punch. Bring back to a boil briefly, then remove from the heat and add rum flavoring to taste. Let the mixture cool; it will cool faster in a cold water bath. Soak the gelatin in cold water. Once the apple punch compote has cooled, stir in the quark. Melt the gelatin (best in a ladle in a water bath) and stir in 3 tablespoons of the quark punch cream to prevent the gelatin from forming strings. Then stir the gelatin mixture into the quark punch cream and refrigerate everything. Whip the whipped cream until stiff peaks form and, when it begins to set, fold it in. Spread 2/3 of the cream over the first two (stuck together) layers, then place the second half of the sponge cake layer on top. Spread the remaining cream on top, smooth it down, and refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours. Remove the cake from the cake ring. Knead the marzipan with the powdered sugar, taking a small piece for decoration. Shape the remaining mixture into a sausage shape and roll it out between two layers of baking paper to the circumference and height of the cake. Turn the cake upside down and press the marzipan down lightly. Melt the remaining chocolate coating again and spread it over the cake in a lattice pattern, e.g., in a small freezer bag with a corner cut off. Roll out the small amount of marzipan and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes such as moons and stars, and use them to decorate the top of the cake. Note: You can buy the apple-cherry juice ready-made or mix it yourself in a 1:1 ratio. Grape juice also works well instead of cherry juice – if you can get white grape juice, the cream won’t turn reddish but will stay a lovely white.