This autumnal torte was a great hit with my cake testers. I originally planned to do this with raspberries but with a large basket of plums begging to be used, made it with plums instead. Make sure you allow plenty of time for chilling.
Plum & Hazelnut Stracciatella Torte
INGREDIENTS
For the Sponge
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 125g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 100g plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 50g ground hazelnuts
- 50g dark chocolate sprinkles
For the Plum Filling
- 9 gelatine leaves, soaked for 10 minutes in cold water
- 800g plums
- 7 tbsp Brandy
- 250ml double cream
- 110g caster sugar
To Finish
- 1 gelatine leaf, soaked for 10 minutes in cold water
- 300ml double cream
- 2 tbsp of icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 150g plums
- 50g dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp roasted chopped hazelnuts
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease a 20cm springform and line with baking parchment.
- For the Sponge, in a large bowl beat the egg yolks with the caster sugar and vanilla essence until pale and fluffy.
- In a separate clean bowl beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder and mix in the ground hazelnuts and chocolate sprinkles.
- Fold a third of the egg whites into the egg yolks then add the remaining egg whites and the flour mixture and gently but swiftly fold everything together until combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, level the top and bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Once completely cooled cut the cake in 4 even slices horizontally.
- For the Plum Filling, wash, halve and remove the stones of the plums. Place the plums in a saucepan with 100g of caster sugar and the Brandy. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 6 – 8 minutes until the plums have softened.
- Remove the pan from the heat and puree the plums with a hand blender then stir in the squeezed out gelatine leaves and stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool completely then place in the fridge for 15 – 20 minutes until the mixture begins to set.
- Beat 250ml of the double cream until thick and fold into the plum mixture.
- To assemble, place the first sponge cake layer onto a serving plate and enclose in a close fitting cake ring.
- Spread over a third of the plum mixture and cover with the second sponge.
- Spread over a third of the plum mixture and cover with the third sponge.
- Spread over the remaining plum mixture and finish with the remaining fourth sponge.
- Cover the top with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours until set.
- Dissolve the gelatine leaf in 1 tbsp of hot water and leave to cool.
- Beat 300ml of double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla essence until beginning to thicken.
- With the beaters running on low slowly add the dissolved gelatine to the cream.
- Turn up the speed and continue beating the cream until stiff but still spreadable.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle with a third of the cream and set aside.
- Spread the remaining cream over and around the sides of the cake.
- Pipe 12 rosettes of cream around the top of the cake and sprinkle with the hazelnuts.
- Remove the stones from the reserved plums and cut into 12 slices. Arrange the slices over the top.
- Break the chocolate into a microwave bowl and melt in 30 second bursts.
- Decoratively drizzle the chocolate over the top and sides of the cake.
Note: I have used Dr. Oetker Diamond Leaf Gelatine. If you are using a different brand, please refer to the manufactures instructions.
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