25 April, 2010
Strawberry cake (aarbeienvlaai)
Cake:
120 gr butter (cold)
260 gr flour
60 gr sugar
1/2 egg
2 tbsp milk or water
Fake filling like dried beans, peas, etc.
Custard:
4 egg yolks
100 gr sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
500 ml milk (warm)
Topping:
1 lbs strawberries (washed and dried with tissue)
6 sheets of gelatin
2 tbsp red fruit syrup (Sunquick)
50ml water
Cake:
Mix the flower and the sugar briefly using a food process. Add the butter cut in cubes to the flour-sugar mixture. Pulse a few times until it looks like crumbles. You can also do this by hand using two knives. Add this mixture to a mixing bowl and mix in the egg and the milk until it forms a ball. If the dough sticks to the bowl, add a little bit of flour. You can use a mixer with dough hook for this.
Place the dough in the fridge.
Custard:
Add the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla essence to a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to mix it all together until it is a thick consistency (not firm) and the color is mild yellow. Now slowly add the milk while stirring it constantly with your whisk until all milk is absorbed and all the lumps are gone.
Add the mixture to a saucepan and bring this to a boil on a low heat while constantly stirring the mixture. The mixture is easy to stick to the pan. Leave the mixture boiling for at least 5 minutes. It should be a nice thick cream.
But the mixture in a bowl standing in cold water to cool down the mixture.
Cake:
Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Also make sure your rolling pin is floured sufficiently. Turn it frequently to make sure the dough does not stick to the surface. Roll the dough till it’s big enough to fit your pie dish. Grease and flour your pie dish and roll the dough on the rolling pin (add flour to make sure the dough does not stick). Unroll the dough to cover the pie dish. Press down the dough and use a knife to remove the excessive dough. Use a fork to pinch holes in the bottom. Grease one side of a piece of wax paper and put this grease side down on the dough. Add the fake filling. Put this in a pre-heated oven of 395 F for about 15-20 minutes. Cake should feel dry and firm. Remove the fake filling and put it back in the oven for a few minutes. Remove the cake and let it cool on a cooling rack.
Toppings:
Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for about five minutes. Add syrup and water to a sauce pan on a low heat. Take the gelatin out of the cold water and squeeze out the excessive water. Add the gelatin to the sauce pan and stir until the gelatin has been dissolved.
Put a good thick layer of the custard in the cake. Cover with sliced strawberries. Poor the gelatin mixture over the strawberries.
Put the cake in the fridge for about 2 hours for the gelatin to get firm.
