A simple puff pastry cake with lots of berries, this pastry cake looks impressive but is so easy to make.
I love this kind of puff pastry cake. Easy to make, you don't even have to make your own pastry, few ingredients but a maximum of taste. Not to mention it looks quite good, good enough to impress any guest.
Like I've mentioned in my previous post Romanian Crescent Rolls- Cornuri simple, Valentine is not exactly a big thing in Germany, but still, I like to make something nice for my husband and I to celebrate this day.
What makes this berry cake Romanian is the memory of my grandmother's berries. I remember vividly how happy she was the time she could afford to buy a second-hand freezer, a huge loud thing that stood in the corner of the kitchen, behind the door. She laid a small lace tablecloth on it, put a small bowl as decoration on top of that and was so proud.
We might have had some frozen meat in the freezer at times, but what I mostly remember are the berries. I remember us going picking blueberries or wild strawberries a couple of times. Otherwise, she would buy the berries at the market and freeze huge bags full of them: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and so on.
Tips
- You will need one packet of ready-rolled puff pastry.
- I cut two 24 cm/ 9.4 inches out of them. I rolled the rests together and cut a third circle of the same size. If available, you could buy the pastry that is already rolled into circles.
- Use good quality unsweetened heavy/double cream for the filling. I stabilized the cream with cream stabilizer, you can use that stabilizer or a similar product available where you are.
- The cream stabilizer is not always necessary, you will decide if the whipped cream is stable enough or not. The heavy cream in Germany needs it otherwise the whipped cream will be too soft. But I remember that I did not need any when living in England. As the product is not very well-known outside Germany, I assume that you would not need it in most countries.
- The cream stabilizer can be replaced with a mixture of icing sugar and cornstarch in a 1:1 ratio. In this case, mix 2 teaspoons icing sugar with 2 teaspoon cornstarch and use exactly as described in the recipe.
- Fresh berries would be the perfect choice to top the cake. For the filling, use frozen, they are cheaper, they taste good and you will cook them to puree anyway.
- A mixture of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, red currants, and strawberries. Use any other berries you have and like.
More puff pastry cakes:
Cremeschnitte - the best cremeschnitte – two layers of pastry filled with a heavenly creamy vanilla cream.
Apple Rolls - apple rolls with a warming apple cinnamon filling. You can have these treats ready to serve within an hour.
Mini Croissants - two main ingredients and 30 minutes of your time: crispy, sweet, and delicious croissants.
Marzipan pastries - little parcels topped with marzipan and different kinds of berries.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Berry Puff Pastry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 lb mixed berries frozen (See note 1)
- 5.5 oz mixed berries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 packet of puff pastry sheets 500 g/ 1.1 lbs or 3 sheets round puff pastry (ca 24 cm/ 9.4 inches) (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 packets Dr. Oetker cream stabilizer optional (See note 2)
- icing sugar
Instructions
- Cook frozen berries: Place them in a medium pan, add the sugar, mix well and bring to a light simmer. Let simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated and the mixture has the consistency of a thick apple sauce. Let cool completely.
- Preheat the fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 360 degrees Fahrenheit. It is better to use a fan oven, which will allow you to bake all the 3 baking trays with the puff pastry at once. Otherwise, when using a standard oven, you will have to bake one puff pastry circle after another.
- Cut puff pastry: In the meantime, take the puff pastry out of the fridge. If frozen, let stand for 10 minutes. If not frozen, you can start immediately. First, cut three 24 cm/ 9.4 inches circles out of the pastry. Tip: I had two pastry sheets; I cut one circle out of each, rolled the remaining pastry, and cut the third circle. I used the bottom of a 24 cm/ 9.4 inches springform, which I laid on the pastry and cut around it with a sharp knife. You could use a plate of a similar size as well.
- Prick with a fork: Place each pastry sheet on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Prick the puff pastry circles with a fork all over to prevent them from puffing up too much.
- Bake the pastry circles for about 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden. If they puff up too much, press down the risen parts after the pastry has cooled down. Transfer the pastry on wire racks and leave to cool completely.
- Filling: When the pastry is cold, whip the heavy cream adding the cream stabilizer (or cornstarch substitute) according to the packet's instructions. Fold in the berry puree, taste, and add a little bit of icing sugar if not sweet enough.
- Assemble the cake: Place one puff pastry circle on a serving plate. Spread ⅓ of the cream-berry mixture on top. Continue in the same manner with the remaining pastry circles and cream-berry mixture.
- Top with the fresh berries and dust with some icing sugar just before serving.
- Cut the cake: Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. To cut the slices, it is best to use an electric knife, which will allow you to cut nicer, cleaner pieces.
Notes
- Fresh berries are expensive, so it is preferable to use frozen berries for the filling and fresh berries for the topping. However, if fresh ones are not available, you can still take the frozen ones for the topping, thaw them on kitchen paper which will absorb as much water as possible, and place them on the cake just before serving.
- The cream stabilizer is not always necessary; you will have to decide yourself if the whipped cream is stable enough or not. The cream stabilizer can be replaced with a mixture of icing sugar and cornstarch in a 1:1 ratio. In this case, you will mix 2 teaspoons icing sugar with 2 teaspoon cornstarch and use exactly as described in the recipe.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Such a stunning berry dessert! Purple makes everything so much prettier and tastier, doesn't it?
Nammi says
oh my would love a piece of that cake!!! I am not a fan of valentines day although I look forward to all the mushy movies they show.... I dont think to show you love some one has to be singled out to just one day, right? Love that cake !!! I mean seriously look at all those berries!!!
Marvellina says
My daughter said " Can you make this for me for my birthday?" 🙂
Anne|Craving Something Healthy says
This is SO pretty! I completely agree about Valentine's day. I actually beg my husband to not spend money on those overpriced roses that die in a day! I wish he would make this for me instead!
Chris Scheuer says
Wow, looks amazing! Being a hopeless romantic, I love the sentiment behind Valentine's Day and think this would be a delicious way to celebrate!
rosita vargas says
Un postre magnífico y bello para cumpleaños una verdadera delicia algún día haré esta maravilla,abrazos.
Brie says
This cake is gorgeous! I love that it’s made with just a few simple ingredients and juicy frozen berries. Don’t have a lot of puff pastry experience (even with the frozen kind) but I actually feel like I could make this 🙂 BTW enjoying your overall theme this year, I love reading about your grandmother and childhood in Romania.
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Adina, this cake is just gorgeous! The flaky layers and that beautiful berry cream! Sweet how your grandmother was so pleased with her freezer. My grandmother had the same - minus the lace table cloth! I remember she would make lots of apple pies from my grandfather's apple trees and pull one out when we came to visit. Lovely memories!
Karen says
That looks absolutely delicious! I've never thought of using puff pastry to make a cake!