Basil and berry cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 4 eggs
• 4 tbsp water, hot
• 175 g sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla sugar
• 100 g flour
• 100 g cornstarch
• ½ pack of baking powder
• some grease for the edge of the mold
• 300 g frozen berries (e.g. blackberries, strawberries, blueberries)
• 60 g powdered sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 250 g quark
• 5 sheets of gelatin
• 100 ml cream
• 12 stalks of basil
• 1 organic lemon(s), zest and juice
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 200 g cream cheese
• 250 g mascarpone
• 6 sheets of gelatin
• 100 ml cream
• some berries
• some basil leaves
• n. B. Herbs of your choice (e.g. mint, lemon balm)
• n. e. flowers, edible (e.g. borage)

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 35 minutes

for a 26cm springform pan

For the sponge cake, place a sheet of baking paper on the bottom of a 26cm springform pan. Place the rim of the springform pan onto the pan and grease the sides. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beat the egg yolks with the hot water until frothy. Continue beating with the sugar and vanilla sugar until frothy, until the sugar has dissolved. Mix and sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Pour into the sugar mixture along with the beaten egg whites and carefully fold everything in. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (convection oven) for about 35 minutes on the middle rack. Do the skewer test. Remove from the pan and let cool. Cut the cold base in half horizontally twice to create three layers. For the berry cream, thaw the berries and puree them with the powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, and lemon juice. Strain the puree through a sieve and mix with the quark. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes, squeeze it out, and dissolve it either in a saucepan or briefly in the microwave. Mix it with 2 tablespoons of the berry curd and then stir it into the remaining cream. Chill until the mixture starts to set slightly around the edges. Stir the curd until smooth. Whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the curd. Place a cake ring around the first layer. Spread about 2/3 of the berry curd on the base. Place the second layer on top. Chill the remaining cream for the decoration, stirring occasionally to prevent it from setting too hard. For the basil curd, pluck the basil leaves from the stems. Puree with the lemon juice and zest, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and mascarpone. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes, then squeeze it out and dissolve it either in a saucepan or briefly in the microwave. Mix it with 2 tablespoons of the basil curd and then stir it into the remaining cream. Chill until the mixture starts to set slightly around the edges. Stir the cream until smooth. Whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the cream. Spread half of the basil cream on the second cake layer and cover with the third layer. Chill the remaining basil cream for decoration. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t set too hard. Spread the remaining berry cream in the middle of the top cake layer, leaving about 2 cm of space around the edge. Chill for about an hour, then remove the cake ring. Spread the remaining basil cream around the edge of the cake up to the berry cream. Decorate with fresh berries and basil leaves. Mint, lemon balm, and edible flowers such as borage also make great decorations. If the cake is not to be eaten until the next day, decorate the herbs just before serving, otherwise they will wilt.