Duchess cake

About the dish

A festive cake from the chapter «Kaker til dessert» (Cakes for dessert) in Henriette Schønberg Erken's «Stor kokebok» (1914). An airy sponge base is split into three layers with almond cream, covered with sugar glaze and decorated with whipped cream from a paper cone — Erken's forerunner to today's piping bag.

How to make it

1. 1

   Beat the egg mixture

   Beat the eggs and 200 g sugar into a thick, pale and airy sponge batter, 10–15 minutes with a mixer (the original says ½ hour by hand).

2. 2

   Fold in the flour

   Mix the sifted wheat flour with the baking powder and gently fold it into the egg mixture.

3. 3

   Bake the cake

   Pour the batter into a well-greased and coated tin, preferably round, and bake at about 170 °C (340 °F) for about 45 minutes until the cake is baked through. Turn the cake out and let it cool completely.

4. 4

   Make the almond cream

   Whip half of the cream (about 2.5 dl) until stiff and stir in the blanched, finely chopped or ground almonds, 2 tbsp sugar and the vanilla powder.

5. 5

   Split and fill

   Split the cold cake into 3 layers and spread the almond cream between the layers.

6. 6

   Glaze the cake

   Stir the sifted confectioners' sugar with 2–3 tbsp cold water and add the lemon juice. Spread the glaze over the cake with a knife repeatedly dipped in hot water.

7. 7

   Decorate

   Whip the rest of the cream until stiff, fill it into a piping bag or a cone of stiff paper with the tip cut off, and pipe peaks, leaves or another pattern over the cake. Optionally place small choux puffs sprinkled with blanched, chopped pistachios alternating with the cream peaks.