Halloween Cake

Ingredients

• 150 g flour
• 20 g sugar
• 100 g butter
• 1 egg
• flour (for the work surface)
• 4 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g flour
• Salt
• baking paper (for the mold)
• 4 tbsp pumpkin jam (alternatively a berry jam)
• 6 sheets of white gelatin
• 750 g low-fat quark
• 100 g sugar
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 1 untreated lemon (juice and zest)
• 250 ml Whipping Cream
• 400 ml whipping cream
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 packets of stabilizer for whipped cream
• food coloring (orange)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Mix flour and sugar on a baking tray, add butter pieces, beat in the egg, and quickly knead into dough. Wrap in foil and chill for 30 minutes.

2. 2.

   Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 5 mm thickness and cut a circle the size of a springform pan. Place on a sheet, prick with a fork several times, bake at high heat for 10 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely.

3. 3.

   Separate the eggs for the sponge batter. Beat yolks with sugar until pale and fluffy, fold in flour. Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks, then fold into the mixture using a whisk. Pour into a springform pan lined with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown (test with a stick). Remove, loosen the rim, let cool. Cut the sponge layer twice across to create three layers. Spread jam on the shortbread base and place the first sponge layer on top.

4. 4.

   Soak gelatin in cold water. Mix quark with sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon juice and zest. Dissolve soaked gelatin over low heat in a small pot and stir into quark. Whip cream stiff and fold in.

5. 5.

   Place the prepared cake ring around the base and spread half of the quark cream on it. Lay the second sponge layer on top, press lightly. Spread remaining cream and place the final sponge layer, pressing firmly. Chill for 3–4 hours until set.

6. 6.

   Whip cream with sugar and stabilizer stiff. Cover the cake with three‑quarters of the whipped cream (decorate the rim with a gridded spatula if desired). Color the remaining cream orange with food coloring, fill a piping bag with a star tip and pipe around the cake. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles on top.

7. 7.

   Decorate the cake with a Halloween motif before serving as desired.