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Duchess cake

Duchess cake from Erken's Stor kokebok (1914), p. 518: an airy sponge base of 6 eggs, 200 g sugar, 150 g flour and 1 tsp baking powder, baked in a round tin, split into three layers with an almond cream of whipped cream, almonds, sugar and vanilla, covered with lemon sugar glaze and decorated with whipped cream, optionally choux puffs with pistachios.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 518 (falt i det fri)

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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.

Changes from the original

Measurements modernized to dl/grams/tsp/tbsp, «flormelis» to confectioners' sugar, «vandbakkels» to choux puffs. The beating time for eggs and sugar has been shortened compared to the original's ½ hour, since a modern electric mixer does the job faster. Baking temperature has been specified (about 170 °C (340 °F)), which the original does not give.

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Modernised → 1914 (proofread, p. 518)~88% of the text changedremovedadded
6 stk egg. 200 g sukker. 150 g hvetemel (siktet). 1 ts bakepulver. 5 dl kremfløte (halvparten til krem, halvparten til pynt). 100 g mandler (skåldet og finhakket eller malt). 2 ss sukker (til kremen). 0,5 ts vaniljepulver. 250 g melis (til glasur). 3 ss kaldt vann (2–3 ss, til glasuren). 0,33 ts sitronsaft. små vannbakkels (til pynt, valgfritt). pistasienøtter (skåldet og hakket, til pynt). Visp egg og 200 g gr. sukker til en tykk, lys og luftig eggedosis, 10–15 minutter med mikser (originalen sier ½ time for hånd).. Bland siktet 150 gr. hvetemel med 1 teske bakepulver Eggene og vend sukkeret vispes ½ time, tilsættes det forsiktig inn i eggedosisen.. Hell røren sigtede mel og bakepulveret; stekes i en godt smurt og strødd form, strøet form — helst rund, og stek ved ca. 170 °C i rund — ca. 45 minutter til kaken er gjennomstekt. Hvelv kaken ¾ time. Kaken hvælves, og la naar den bli helt kald.. Pisk halvparten er kold, deles den i 3 lag, og mellem hvert lag fyldes følgende krem: ½ l. kremfløte 100 gr. mandler 2 spiseskeer sukker ½ teske vaniljepulver. Halvparten av fløten (ca. 2,5 dl) stiv og rør inn stivvispes, irøres de skåldede, skoldede, finhakkede eller malte mandlene, 2 ss sukker mandler, sukkeret og vaniljepulveret.. Del den kalde kaken i 3 lag vaniljepulveret. Resten av fløten vispes ogsaa og fordel mandelkremen mellom lagene.. Rør siktet melis ut benyttes til pynt oppaa kaken, efterat denne er bestrøket med 2–3 ss kaldt vann følgende sukkerglassur: 250 gr. flormelis 2 à 3 spiseskeer koldt vand ⅓ teske citronsaft. Det sigtede sukker utrøres med det kolde vand og tilsett sitronsaften. Stryk glasuren tilsættes citronsaften. Glassuren strykes ut over kaken med en kniv som kniv, der stadig dyppes i varmt vann.. Pisk resten av fløten stiv, fyll den vand. Den stive fløte, med hvilken kaken nu skal pyntes, haves i sprøytepose eller et kremmerhus kræmmerhus, laget av hvitt, litt stivt papir med avklippet spiss, og sprøyt ganske spidst nedentil; spidsen avklippes, og man trykker fløten ut gjennem kræmmerhuset i topper, blad blade eller annet mønster over kaken. Sett eventuelt små vannbakkels strødd efter det mønster, man selv kan finde paa. Vekselvis med skåldede, hakkede pistasienøtter vekselvis fløtetopper kan sættes smaa vandbakkels, strøet med fløtetoppene. skoldede, hakkede pistacier.

Note on Modernised

Mål modernisert til dl/gram/ts/ss, «flormelis» til melis, «vandbakkels» til vannbakkels. Vispetiden for egg og sukker er kortet ned i forhold til originalens ½ time siden moderne elektrisk mikser gjør jobben raskere. Steketemperatur er angitt (ca. 170 °C), noe originalen ikke oppgir.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the cake bake, and which tin works best?
About ¾ hour (45 minutes) in a well-greased and coated tin, preferably round. The cake is turned out and must cool completely before it is split into 3 layers.
Why should the eggs and sugar be beaten so long?
The recipe calls for ½ hour of beating 6 eggs and 200 g sugar. The long beating gives an airy sponge batter, which together with 150 g wheat flour and 1 tsp baking powder makes the cake rise.
What do the filling and decoration consist of?
The filling is a cream of ½ l heavy cream (half whipped stiff) with 100 g blanched, finely chopped or ground almonds, 2 tablespoons sugar and ½ tsp vanilla powder. The rest of the cream is whipped and used to decorate the top of the cake, after it has been spread with a sugar glaze of 250 g confectioners' sugar, 2–3 tablespoons cold water and ⅓ tsp lemon juice.
Where does the recipe come from?
From Henriette Schønberg Erken's «Stor kokebok» (1914), page 518, in the chapter on dessert cakes. It is considered to serve about 10.

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