Mascarpone-Filled Cake with Sherried Berries
This is a delicious shortcake from Epicurious is filled with mascarpone and cream, whipped together in a smooth blending of flavours. Macerating is a fancy word for soaking, and when you soak fruit in a sherry/sugar syrup, you get good-tasting fruit! Drizzle some of the syrup on the cake so it soaks down, then dig in to this pleasant dessert. No one will refuse a second slice.
More cakes with fruit; Pear and Hazelnut Frangipan, Summer Berry Shortcake, Summer Fruit Galette, Cherry Clafoutis
Time: 45 minutes active, 2 hour total
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients for the Cake
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Ingredients for the Berries:
1/2 cup sherry or Bristol Cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups mixed berries, cut if large.
Ingredients for the Cream Filling
:8 ounces mascarpone (1 cup)
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
Confectioners sugar (Icing sugar) for garnish (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter the parchment.
Sift or combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer at low speed, beat in the buttermilk until just combined.
Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.
Spread the batter in the cake pan, smoothing the top. Rap the pan on the counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
Bake the cake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean, 35-50 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.
Macerate the berries:Bring the Bristol Cream or sherry and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Put berries in a bowl and pour hot syrup over them, gently tossing to coat. Let stand 15 minutes.
Make the cream and assemble the cake:
Beat the mascarpone and cream with sugar in a large bowl using cleaned beaters until the mixture just holds stiff peaks.
Halve the cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Carefully remove the top half and reserve. Put the bottom half on a plate, then spread evenly with all of cream and replace top the half.
Cover and refrigerate until an hour before servicing to bring the cake back to room temperature.
Immediately before serving. Using a slotted spoon, remove the berries from the syrup and place on top of the cake. For more flavour, spoon some of the syrup over the top of the cake and let it soak down into the top layer. Sprinkle confectioner sugar on top of cake, filtering it through a sieve (optional).
Note: : The cake, without the cream, can be baked 1 day ahead. Wrap it in plastic wrap once cool and keep at room temperature. •the berries can macerate at room temperature up to 2 hours.