A friend invited me and some of our good friends over to her house for lunch on Friday. I happened to know one of them whose birthday is coming up. So, I said to my friend, I will bake a birthday cake for our friend. Don’t mention it to her. It’s a surprise.
Well one of them brought deep fried drumettes, another bought Basque cheesecake, and the birthday lady brought her fried noodles and my friend the host make salad, black marinated drumsticks with sticky sauce, Dutch potato and minced beef looks like croquette, rice, and Indonesian dessert calls onde onde. We had a lovely day, eating, chatting about life growing old with grace and thankful to live to this age.
She was surprise and commented that the cake is so creative. Then we sang Happy Birthday song and had the birthday cake, Basque cheesecake and onde onde with tea. Everyone enjoyed all the dessert. They ask if they can take the birthday cake home for supper. I said sure, I am glad my cake turned out moist delicious and beautiful. Let’s bake a creative birthday cake!!!
Ingredients
300 g sour cream
250 g butter
250 g castor sugar
200 g self raising flour
180 g blueberries
50 ml vanilla custard
4 eggs
3 apples, cored and thinly sliced
2 Tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
1/4 Tsp baking powder
1/4 Tsp salt
Dark and white chocolate in heart and leave shapes
80 g dark cooking chocolates broken into pieces
1 Tsp truffle infused oil
280 g white melting chocolates
1 Tbs truffle infused oil
Garnish
4 heart shapes dark chocolate
1 large leaf shape white chocolate
1 tiny leaf shape white chocolate
1 candle
blackberry jam
Method
One day in advance
Place enough water in a pot on medium heat. Put a glass bowl that can sit on top without touching the water and cover the pot to prevent steam from escaping. Put dark chocolate into the bowl, stir from middle out until chocolate melted completely. Remove and stir in oil. Set to cool for about 30 seconds. Then spoon chocolate into heart shape moulds. Freeze chocolate until needed.
Using the same pot, check if enough water, place another bowl sit on top, add white chocolate into bowl, stir from middle out until chocolate melted. Note: white chocolate can harden quickly, if it does put back on top of pot. Set to cool slightly, spoon onto the large leaf moulds and tiny leaf moulds. This take time as I only have one of each mould. However, it freezes faster than dark chocolate. Remove it after 30 minutes. Warm up chocolate and repeat spoon on to mould.
The next day
Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease and line a 23 cm springform pan and set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a deep plate. Beat butter until very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add 1 big ladle of sugar each time and continue beating well for about 4 minutes until all the sugar is fluffy and light.
Beat in egg one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next add in vanilla followed by sour cream. Then alternate flour mixture with vanilla custard. Scrapping sides down at all time. Line sliced apples in a single layer at the bottom of grease and line prepared pan.
Spoon some batter on top of the single layer apple slices. Smooth the batter and gently press in blueberries all around the batter. Now spoon some more batter on top of blueberries, smooth the top. Next add the remaining apple slices, gently press into the batter. Then sprinkles cinnamon on top.
Gives a couples of gentle knocks on the bench top. Bake for 70 minutes or until skewer come out clean. Switch off oven, leave pan in with door close for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes remove cake from oven to rack to cool about 1 hour.
Transfer to cake container with plate mat. Just before I leave for my lunch, I spread blackberry jam all over the top of cake. Place 4 dark chocolate heart shapes in a cross opposite each other, candle in the middle, next to candle 1 tiny leaf white chocolate and 1 large white chocolate leaf in between the 2 dark chocolate heart shapes on top. Serve with extra chocolates, tea or coffee or dessert wine. Enjoy!!!
Note: if you want to keep chocolate for another cake keep it in airtight container in freezer. Best use before 1 month. You can get different mould from shop or buy online. You can omit vanilla just use yoghurt. You can chop the apples instead of slices. You don’t have to do layering of apples and blueberries just gently fold them in.
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