If you’ve followed me for a while, you already know that I love cake — and I bake them quite often. But a cake has to be honest — meaning it should be sweet (because really, what’s a cake that isn’t sweet?) and taste indulgently delicious. Why indulgent? Because, as I often joke with my friends, the phrase “This tastes so healthy!” is never a compliment when it comes to dessert. If someone says that to me, I usually take it as a sign to head back to the kitchen and adjust the recipe so it doesn’t taste healthy — it should taste amazing. Food should taste good, ridiculously good, or even better — no excuses. So good that even your most health-conscious friend reaches for a second slice.
That’s why I’ve made it my mission to ensure that all those supposedly “healthy-sounding” treats on my blog don’t taste like health food — they just taste really good. I hope you agree with me, but if that healthy note ever comes through too strongly, please tell me and we’ll fix it together.
This mascarpone cake, though, has a special place in my heart. It’s almost absurd how good it is — it tastes like a childhood memory of vanilla ice cream with strawberry jam. Honestly, mascarpone makes everything better.
The marbled top is also much easier to make than it looks: simply drizzle strawberry purée over the cake and use a toothpick or spoon to swirl it into a beautiful pattern. Even though strawberry season is over, you can make the purée from frozen berries and decorate with either imported ones or whatever local fruit is in season.
Mascarpone Cake with Strawberries
Ingredients
Base:
Topping:
Cream:
Preparation
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Crush the cookies into fine crumbs. Melt the butter and mix it with the crumbs. Line a 26 cm springform pan with parchment paper and press the mixture firmly into the base. Chill in the fridge.
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Soak all gelatin sheets in cold water.
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For the topping, blend the strawberries and agave syrup into a smooth purée. Heat a portion of the purée in a saucepan, dissolve two gelatin sheets in it, then mix it back into the rest of the purée.
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For the cream, mix mascarpone, agave syrup, and vanilla seeds. Dissolve two softened gelatin sheets in 20 ml of hot water and stir this into the mascarpone cream. Pour in half of the strawberry purée and mix lightly — you want to keep a marbled effect.
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Take the crust from the fridge. Slice 100 g of strawberries and arrange them along the edge of the pan. Pour in the mascarpone cream and smooth the top. Drizzle the remaining strawberry purée in a spiral and create a marbled pattern with the back of a spoon. Chill for at least 4 hours.
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Once set, transfer the cake to a serving plate and decorate with fresh strawberries.
Note
*Laktoosivaba mascarpone varud on tavaliselt kõige paremad Prismades. Aga hea otsimise ja õnne korral leiab ka mujalt.
