Happy New Year! + Birthday Cake Recipe

Hi guys!

I hope you all spent holidays with your loved ones, had a good time and ate lots of good food! 

It's been a while since I posted here. The last few weeks have been quite hectic. Moving back home after living abroad, looking for a new place, studying... well, I’m sure you know the drill! I’m happy to be finally back with a new recipe for this amazing Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

This cake is really easy to make, but it takes a bit of your time. First, you have to bake a cake, let it cool and cut it into half. Then, it's time to prepare a frosting and a berry sauce. Don't forget to put your frosting in the fridge for at least an hour before assembling the cake. Feel free to decorate your cake with anything you like, I used macarons, pistachios and fresh raspberries. 

Hope you like the recipe and let me know if you try it!

Wishing you a happy year. Sending lots of love your way!♥

INGREDIENTS:

Hazelnut Cake:

• 130 g all purpose flour
• 110 g hazelnut, ground
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 8 eggs (yolks and whites separately)
• 3 tsp baking powder

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 500 g Mascarpone cheese
• 250 g Ricotta Cheese
• 250 g Quark Cheese ( or crème fraîche, sour cream)
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla powder

Berry Sauce:

• 3/4 cup berries (mashed with a fork) mixed with 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cake: Pre-heat your oven to 155 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a bottom of your cake pan with a little bit of oil.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until they are stiff. Start adding the sugar in small increments — just a little shake at a time. Continue adding the sugar, and gradually increase the speed of the mixer.  
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, water and oil with a fork.
4. Pour the yolk mixture into the bowl with egg whites, use a spatula to combine everything. Then add the flour, ground hazelnuts and baking powder. Gently mix to combine. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool. 
5. Frosting: Using a  hand mixer, mix Mascarpone cheese, Ricotta cheese, Quark cheese, sugar and vanilla powder. Put the frosting in the fridge for at leas an hour.
6. Assemble the cake: Cut the cake into half. Place the first cake layer onto a serving plate and drizzle the top of the cake with a few tablespoons of berry jam.
7. Next, scoop a half of frosting onto the cake and smooth with the back of a spoon.
8. Place the second cake layer on top, and add more jam and frosting to the top of the second layer.
9. Smooth the frosting around the outside and top of the cake with a tall frosting spatula until smooth. Decorate as you wish.

Thank u all for reading and see you in the next post!