There is a Krantz cake that I used to buy from a sweetshop in my neighborhood which I absolutely love. So, today I have decided to make this cake at home, based on what I saw on the original cake. It has a vanilla cream layer, a chocolate cream layer, caramelized walnuts and whip cream.
I have to say that this is not the first time that I try to make at home a cake that I usually buy, and even if I never have the exact recipe, it always tastes the same turning out really great.
Ingredients:
For the Sponge Cake:
- 4 big eggs
- 170g of sugar
- 230g all purpose flour
- 1 sachet vanilla sugar (8g)
- 1 sachet of baking powder (8g)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- a pinch of baking soda
- a pinch of salt
Vanilla Cream:
- 600 ml whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 6 large yolks
- 120g sugar
- 4 tablespoons (40g) flour
- 4 tablespoons (40g) corn starch
- 100 ml whip cream
Chocolate Cream:
- 125 ml whip cream
- 50g dark chocolate
- 50g milk chocolate
- 30g sugar
Syrup:
- 300 ml water
- 4 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decor:
- a hand full of walnuts
- 100g of sugar
- 50 ml whip cream
First, turn your oven on to preheat.
Now you start preparing the sponge cake. Mix the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt until they triple their volume. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the egg and mix it together. Put the lemon juice and mix for a second. Pour the batter in the tray that was covered with baking paper and bake for about 25 minutes at 180º C. Tested with the knife to see if it is ready (it is if the knife has comes out clean), or just bake it until the top gets a golden-brown color.
For the vanilla cream, pour the milk in a saucepan together with the vanilla pot and bring it to a boiling point, without actually boiling it. Meantime, mix the yolks with the sugar, and add the flour and corn starch.
Remove the vanilla pod. Scrape it and add the content to the milk.
You need to temper the yolks so they won't become an omelet, so, using a ladle pour some milk over the yolks and mix. Pour all the milk, mix and put it back in the saucepan and on the fire on a medium heat.
Whisk the mixture constantly to make sure it doesn't curdle. When you see that the cream comes together, lower the heat and keep on mixing. Put the cream into a clean bowl, place a foil on top of it and set aside to cool down. If you haven't used a vanilla pod, add the vanilla extract now and whisk.
Mix 100 ml of whip cream and combine it with the cooled vanilla cream.
In another saucepan heat up the whip cream for the chocolate cream. In a bowl put the dark and milk chocolate, pour the heated whip cream and mix until the chocolate dissolves. When it cools down, use the mixer to turn it into a cream.
Make the syrup by putting together the water, sugar and vanilla extract, and heat it up until the sugar melts.
Caramelize the sugar for the decor and add the walnuts. Try coating them really well, and pour the mixture on a baking paper. Make sure you have a plate or something under the baking paper, because the caramel is really hot and it won't be a great idea to set it straight on the table.
Spread the walnuts and let them cool. After that, either place them in a plastic bag and smash them until you get the desired dimension, either use the blender for it.
Cut the sponge into sheets, you will get about 3 sheets if you use a small rectangular tray. Pour on the first layer the syrup using a spoon, making it as moist as you like, then add the vanilla cream. Put another sheet, syrup, then the chocolate cream. After the last sheet and syrup, add again some vanilla cream and sprinkle the caramelized walnuts.
Whisk 50 ml of whip cream and make a model on top of the cake.
Place the cake in the refrigerator to cool down and let all the flavors blend in.
Advice:
- you can add some raisins in the vanilla cream, if you like them
- cut the cake on the length, and this way you will have two cakes
- use as much syrup as you wish, depending on how moist you want them to be
- the top sheet turn it up-side-down so that the syrup can be absorbed; that doesn't happen on the other side because the cake makes a crust in the oven which can be soaked harder.
- if the whip cream is not sweetened, taste the two creams and add confectioners' sugar until you get the level of sweetness that you desire
- the cake will take some moist from the creams as well, so try not to use too much syrup, as you might end up with a very moist cake
There it is. It might seem like a lot of work, but the result is totally worth it and you will be very pleased with the taste. I hope that you will love it as much as I do.
Bon Appétit!
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