A green, unusual, and surprisingly delicious cake. A dense cake with a mysterious ingredient, filled with mascarpone cream and decorated with pomegranate. You can add blueberries and mint leaves or, for an Easter version, place small chocolate eggs.
Ingredients
Green Cake
- 450g package of frozen spinach (chopped) or 450g fresh
- 2/3 cup oil
- 1 cup sugar (granulated or powdered)
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Mascarpone Cream
- 250g mascarpone cheese (cold)
- 200ml heavy cream (36% or 30% fat) (chilled)
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 packet whipped cream stabilizer (optional)
Decoration
- Pomegranate seeds, raspberries, or red currants (fresh or frozen)
- Blueberries or blackberries
- Mint leaves
Preparation
Green Cake Thaw the frozen spinach on a sieve, then squeeze out excess water, and blend with a blender until smooth. For fresh spinach, wilt it in a saucepan after washing for about 1 – 2 minutes, then blend into a puree.
Warm the eggs (they whip better) – place them in a bowl, pour very warm tap water over them, and let them sit for several minutes, changing the water if needed to keep it warm.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add sugar, and beat until fluffy and pale.
While continuously beating, gradually pour in a thin stream of oil.
Add the spinach puree and mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined into a uniform batter.
Sift the flour separately and mix with baking powder. Add to the beaten eggs and mix on low speed, just until the ingredients are combined into a uniform dough.
Pour the batter into a 24 cm diameter cake pan (bottom lined with parchment paper) and bake for about 40 – 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Mascarpone Cream Place the well-chilled mascarpone cheese and cream in the mixer bowl, add powdered sugar and vanilla.
Beat for a few minutes until the mixture increases in volume and becomes fluffy.
Optionally, you can mix in whipped cream stabilizer, which contains only starch and glucose, to stabilize the cream.
Assembly Cut the cake into 2 layers. Place the bottom layer on a serving platter or plate. Spread mascarpone cream over it.
From the top green part of the cake, scoop out the green center with a teaspoon and spread it over the cream. The remaining empty “dome” of the cake will not be used.
Decorate with fruits and mint leaves.
