Slagroomtaart – Dutch Cream Cake

Slagroomtaart

TSchon / Getty Images

Prep: 60 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Waiting Time: 60 mins
Total: 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 6 to 12 servings

Anyone who's ever been to a (birthday) celebration in a Dutch office or home will recognize slagroomtaart, an indulgent special occasion treat made of layers of light-as-air cake, whipped cream, and fresh fruit. To cut through the richness, we like to use tart fruits, like raspberries and red currants, in between the layers of cake and cream.

This slagroomtaart recipe, from De Banketbakker cookbook, has been adapted and translated for this site and republished with the permission of the publisher. While we've converted the recipe to U.S. measurements, this is a patissier's recipe, and you'll get the best results using a kitchen scale and the original European measurements (in brackets).

Ingredients

For the Apricot Purée:

  • 1 2/3 cups (250 grams) dried apricots

  • 1 cup (250 grams) water

  • 1 scant cup (175 gramsgeleisuiker (jelly sugar)

  • 1 scant cup (175 grams) granulated sugar

For the Cake (Kapsel):

  • 4 large eggs

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 1/2 cup (100 gramsgranulated sugar

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (5 grams) lemon zest

  • 1 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour

  • 3 teaspoons (10 gramscornstarch

For the Optional Sugared Almond Flakes:

  • 1/2 cup (100 gramsgranulated sugar

  • 1 cup (100 grams) shaved almonds

  • 1/2 large egg white

For the Whipped Cream:

  • 2 cups (480 millilitersheavy cream

  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) superfine sugar

  • Fresh fruit of choice, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Apricot Puree: Soak the apricots in the water for at least one hour. Add the jelly sugar and granulated sugar and bring to the boil. Allow to cook for 2 minutes and purée smooth. If the purée is too thick, thin it with a few drops of water

  2. Sponge Cake (kapsel): Preheat the oven to 356 F / 180 C. Whisk the eggs, salt, sugar and lemon zest in a double boiler until light and fluffy. Sieve the flour and cornstarch and fold into the mixture. Grease a cake tin measuring 10 x 2-inches (25 x 5cm) with butter and pour the batter into it.

    Bake the cake for 25 minutes (or until an inserted skewer comes out clean). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cake rack. Once cooled, cut the sponge cake (horizontally) into three even layers.

  3. Sugared Almonds (optional): Preheat the oven to 320 F (160 C). Combine the almond flakes, sugar, and egg white. Spread on a greased baking sheet and toast in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool.

  4. Whipped Cream: In a clean bowl, whip the cream and sugar until it forms stiff peaks.

  5. Slather the bottom layer of the cake with a thick covering of freshly whipped cream. Cover with a layer of fresh fruit. Now place the second layer of cake on top. Brush this cake layer with about 2/3 cup (150 grams) of the apricot purée. Place the final cake layer on top. Cover the top and sides of the cake with whipped cream. Using a pastry bag with a large star nozzle, decorate the top of the cake with piped rosettes of the remaining cream and fresh fruit, and the sides of the cake with the toasted almond flakes.

Tips

  • Jelly sugar (also called jellifying sugar, jam sugar or gelling sugar, preserving sugar or geleisuiker in Dutch), is granulated sugar that contains (fruit) pectin and citric or tartaric acid. It is often used for making jellies/ jams. If you can't find it, make your own jelly sugar by adding powdered pectin to regular granulated sugar, or order geleisuiker from websites that sell Dutch groceries.
  • A serrated bread knife comes in handy when cutting the cake into even layers.
  • Also known as Moscovisch gebak in Dutch, Holtkamp's cake base is incredibly light and airy, so that the top layers don't weigh down the bottom layers. This cake recipe can also be relied on for other cakes, such as mocha cake and as a base for desserts like trifles (try using it for this Tokkelroom trifle recipe). 
  • Decorate the cake with fresh fruit, nuts or store-bought chocolate decorations, or make your own chocolate cake decorations, such as chocolate roses or chocolate leaves.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
411 Calories
16g Fat
65g Carbs
5g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 411
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 21%
Saturated Fat 10g 49%
Cholesterol 108mg 36%
Sodium 49mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 65g 23%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 55g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 7mg 35%
Calcium 52mg 4%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 343mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags: