Hi, foodies in the Hive!

Hope you're doing great 😁 Do you like cream and fruit cakes? I really do, so I chose to make one of my all-time favorites for my--belated--birthday.

Venezuelan caramel custard instead of cake is my favorite Birthday treat. My husband is in charge of that. I really, really love to have it on my birthday, but I never make it for myself. My husband does 😘 So he made it this year like every 4th of August since we have lived together. This one I did eat on my birthday, but for the a brithday cake, we had to wait until August 13, the last birthday of the birthday season.

He rarely bakes or cooks, but his custard, oh my, you have to try it; it's a little different to the one I usually made: his is lighter and a little less sweet than mine and with a flavorful syrup that smells caramel, butter and rum. I love his quesillo (caramel custard), and I love him for the gesture and toothsomeness 😜❤️

After I ate my quesillo in the intimacy of my home with my husband and my son who had been making us online company during the day, it was time for a traditional birthday cake I could use for my sisters and I: we'd sing Happy Birthday together at some point in August.

I was in charge of making the cake and chose this one: a cold cream and fruit cake which is always a hit.

INGREDIENTS

The most interesting ingredient here is, perhaps, half a lter of cream that I accidentally let freeze about 4 times over the course of a month before this sisters birthday. I invited some friends over for lunch and made a quick version of this cake; since it was small, I had a lot of cream left over. I was afraid it wouldn't last, so I put it in the freezer every few days to prevent it from going bad.

Sponge cake:

9 eggs (M)
2 cups sugar
2 cups self rising flour
pinch of salt

Enough margarine to grease the baking pan (I used a deep round cake pan, 12")

1st Soak:

1 can of evaporated milk
All the syrup from the canned fruit (1 cup approx.)

2nd Soak:

1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
the juice of 2 lemons (5 tablespoons approx.)
1/2 cup water (or rum--I used water this time)

Filling (easy, quick pastry cream):

1 can condensed milk
300 ml whole milk
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks

Icing:

Light Italian Meringue

5 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
a few drops of lemon (or a teaspoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Whipped Cream

1/2 lt. sweetened whipping cream

Fruits:

200 gr assorted fruits in syrup, 240 gr peaches in syrup, 350 gr fresh ripe strawberries, 1 ripe kiwi (medium size), 350 gr fresh ripe grapes

THE PROCESS

Sponge Cake

Though this is the kind of cake that requires to beat the egg whites separately, it's easy to make and ideal for soaking.

With the help of my mother in law's old mixer--because mine has broken--, I beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt. When it formed stiff peaks, I added the sugar and mixed well.

Then I added the egg yolks, mixed well, and added the sifted flour. I used Mary self rising flour, so I had no need to add extra baking soda. It always works fine 👌 I used a pastry spoon to fold the flour by hand; this way, the cake turns out fluffier.

As always, I greased the pan very well without coating it with any flour. I used margarine. Once I'd done it, it was time to pour in the cake mix.

Once filled, I tapped the pan gently and repeatedly against the table to remove the large bubbles. This way there would be no hot air inflating the cake unevenly during baking.

This girl went into my little electric oven for a 50 min bake at 300 F.

It unmolded easily and looked pretty even.

1st Soak

I mixed the syrup from the canned fruit with one can pf evaporated milk and soak the sponge cake in two layers. I cut the sponge cake lengthwise while still a little hot so it would absorb the soak well and quickly.

While the cake was soaking, I prepared the pastry cream and the second soak (which would be much thicker).

Easy Pastry Cream Filling

This was really easy. I just poured all the ingredients into a saucepan and mixed while it cooked until it thickened. It took me about 5 minutes.

I fill the cake while the cream is till warm to hot so it combines well with the canned fruit and stick to the cake layers. I saved most of the peaches halves for decoration.

2nd Soak

I mixed the evaporated milk and condensed milk, along with the juice of a couple of lemons and water (to make it lighter and easier to absorb).

Then I opened some little wholes on the upper layer of the filled cake to let the thick soak impregnate it more easily.

I did this in the backyard, since that's where I have the big frezer where I was storing the cake each time during the process. In the background, you can see Horacia enjoying the sun; she always accompanies me when I cook.

Heavenly Cream for the Icing 😇

Finally, it was time to whip the cream, which I would then mix in more or less equal parts with a light variation of Italian meringue. The result is a super soft but firm icing, without being too sweet so as not to overshadow the taste of each fruit.

I started making the syrup. For this, I cooked the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, never sitirring. When it started browning and the surface was all bubbles, I checked its thickness: I inserted a table knife into the syrup and when I pulled it out, it formed a firm, unbroken thread. That's when I knew it was on point.

Meanwhile, I'd been beating the egg whites with a pinch of salt. I used the electric mixer.

When the egg whites were stiff and the syrup on point, it was time to mix them together with the electric mixer, adding the syrup little by little before it hardened, which happens really quickly.

I added some drops of lemon juice as a stabilizer and some drops of vanilla essence for aroma.

While it finished cooling, I whipped the cream with the electric mixer. It was almost frozen, so it whipped in a minute.

Tp get the icing I was looking for, I mixed about the same amount of meringue and whipped cream. I ended up using it all 😄

So far the cake had been in the freezer. I took it out to cover it with cream and decorate it with fresh fruits and the canned peaches. As you can see below, I put some shopped peach and strawberry inside the meringue and whipped cream icing

Now Lots of Fruit!

I think you can use as much fruit as you want in this cake always that you know how to fix it.

I washed, peeled and sliced the fruit as necessary and pitted the grapes. I was particularly careful with the strawberries; one must wash them well and carefully.