Hot Milk Sponge Cake with mascarpone cream and fresh berries

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 4 eggs, size L
• 250 g sugar, finest
• 2 pinches of salt
• 2 packets of Bourbon vanilla sugar
• 240 ml milk
• 4 tbsp butter, plus a little more for greasing the baking tray
• 240 g wheat flour type 405, plus a little more for flouring the baking tray
• 2 tsp cream of tartar baking powder
• 400 g blackberries, raspberries, blueberries or strawberries or a mixture thereof, fresh
• 300 g whipped cream, organic
• 300 g mascarpone
• 75 g powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 5 minutes

A recipe from my Californian great-grandmother

Preheat the oven to 175°C (top and bottom heat). Thoroughly brush the oven tray or a deep baking sheet with softened butter and dust with flour. Distribute the flour evenly by tapping, knocking out any excess. Beat the eggs in a food processor or with a hand mixer in a large bowl for several minutes until very light and creamy. Mix the sugar, salt, and vanilla sugar and gradually add to the egg mixture while continuing to stir. Continue beating until the sugar is largely dissolved. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and add the butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly, and mix well. Mix the flour and baking powder separately and quickly stir into the batter. The batter should not be overmixed, but there should be no lumps visible either. Immediately pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and, if necessary, smooth it out or gently shake the baking sheet to spread it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for about 35 minutes. The top should be golden brown. Depending on your oven, the baking time may need to be reduced or increased by 5 minutes. While the cake is in the oven, sort the berries, wash them thoroughly, and let them dry. Whip the cream with a hand mixer and set aside. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone and powdered sugar until creamy and the powdered sugar has mostly dissolved. Now carefully fold in the cream, a spoonful at a time. Chill the cream until ready to serve, then stir briefly again. Allow the cake to cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack. Only then, cut into 12-16 slices as desired. To serve, arrange the cake slices on a platter. Place the berries in a bowl and place next to the cake. Place the cream on the plate as well. Everyone prepares their own piece of cake: a piece of the base, a dollop of mascarpone cream on top, and then a spoonful of berries. The cake can also be arranged and served as a cake if desired. For this, it can be baked on a baking tray as described above. The base can then be halved or quartered. Cover each layer with cream and berries and place the next layer on top. This creates a 2- or 4-tier cake. Finally, top with cream and berries. Or you can bake the cake in a springform pan with a diameter of 26-28 cm. The baking time may need to be extended by about 10 minutes. After the cake has cooled, cut it in half horizontally. Spread half of the cream on the bottom layer, then add 1/3 of the berries. Put the lid on, spread with the remaining cream, and sprinkle with the remaining berries. The recipe for Hot Milk Sponge Cake dates back to the 1920s or 1930s, written down by my Californian great-grandmother and passed down to my grandmother. My grandmother simplified the cake, baked it on a sheet pan for self-assembly, and served it most favorably with strawberries. However, the cake is delicious with any type of fresh summer berries and can therefore be eaten from May to September.