Schwobamädle's Träubleskuchen

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 100 g butter, soft
• 100 g sugar
• 125 g flour, type 405
• 50 g cornstarch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg(s)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp milk
• 500 g red currants, washed, drained and destemmed
• 125 g sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 75 g hazelnuts, ground

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes

My mother’s secret recipe with a sponge base that doesn’t soak through

For the cake base, cream the butter with the sugar and a pinch of salt until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks and egg one at a time. Sift the flour with the cornstarch and baking powder and add to the butter and egg mixture a spoonful at a time. If the batter is too stiff, add another 1-2 tablespoons of milk. Pour the batter into a greased and breadcrumb-coated fruit cake tin (a 26cm springform pan will work too, but it won’t look as nice), place in a cold oven and bake at 160°C for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and then remove from the tin. Do not remove from the tin while it is too warm, or the base will crack easily! While the cake base is cooling, beat the egg whites until stiff, then add the sugar and continue beating until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cornstarch and vanilla sugar and mix evenly. Finally, carefully fold in the prepared currants and ground nuts. Place the cake base on a piece of aluminum foil, pile the meringue mixture on top in a dome shape, fold the aluminum foil up slightly so that it doesn’t touch the meringue, but only slightly protects the edges of the cake base, and bake everything at 180°C for about 30-35 minutes, until the meringue is a nice light brown. This cake base doesn’t absorb moisture as quickly, making it perfect for other fruit cakes. Of course, you can also use frozen currants; thaw and drain them first.