Nougat cake with fruit filling

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 4 eggs
• some water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 170 g sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 50 g flour
• 50 g cornstarch
• 100 g hazelnuts, ground
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Fat for the mold
• 500 g fruit (e.g. blueberries)
• 200 ml water
• 10 g agar-agar
• 250 g butter, room temperature
• 1 pkt. vanilla pudding
• 400 ml milk
• 200 g nougat
• 1 tbsp, heaped hazelnut spread
• Confectionery (Giotto) or other decoration

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 5 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 7 hours

For the sponge cake, separate the eggs, beat the egg whites with a little water and a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla sugar. Once the mixture is stiff peaks form, fold in the egg yolks. Mix together the flour, cornstarch, ground hazelnuts, and baking powder, then fold into the egg and sugar mixture. Grease a 26cm springform pan and pour in the batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C (convection oven) for about 30 minutes (do the skewer test) and then let cool. Use your own oven’s experience to determine the size. The fruit filling should be about the same size as or slightly smaller than the cake. Use either the springform pan from the baking pan, a cake ring with a base, or a plate. Line the pan with cling film. Purée the fruit (I prefer berries) and reduce it to a boil. Tip: If you want, you can add a little sugar to the fruit mixture if you’re using very tart fruits, but I find the tart fruit mixture provides a nice contrast to the sweet nougat cream. In a second saucepan, mix the water with the agar-agar. Bring to a boil, let it boil for 2 minutes, then add it to the fruit mixture, and mix everything well. Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Leave it in the refrigerator for about an hour or in the freezer for about 30 minutes until it sets like a jelly. For the nougat buttercream, make a pudding from the milk and vanilla pudding powder and cover with plastic wrap immediately after cooking (to prevent a skin from forming). Let the pudding cool until it’s about room temperature (like the butter). Melt the nougat over a water bath and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the room-temperature butter for a few minutes, then add the pudding a spoonful at a time, continuing to mix with a hand mixer. Once the buttercream is well mixed, stir in the liquid nougat and the hazelnut-nougat cream with a spoon or whisk. Feel free to add a little more hazelnut-nougat cream to taste or need. Note: The cream doesn’t need any additional sugar, as the nougat and hazelnut-nougat cream contain enough sugar. To finish the cake, cut the base in half. Carefully place the fruit filling on the bottom layer. Spread a thin layer of the nougat cream on top. Place the second layer on top and either spread the remaining cream thickly on top or spread a thin layer all the way around the outside. Tips: If the buttercream is too soft to shape, simply put it back in the fridge or freezer for a while. If you like a lot of buttercream, you can increase the amount of cream. Finally, decorate the cake as desired. There are no limits to your creativity. Note: I like to use Giotto. You can also use chocolate shavings, chopped nuts, pralines, cream toppings, berries, etc. The cake should then be refrigerated for at least 2 hours. Note: Here’s a quick overview of the timing: First, cook the pudding (for the cream) so it has enough time to cool. Next, prepare the sponge cake. While that cools, prepare the fruit filling, then the cream, and finally, assemble everything.