Poppy Seed Sour Cream Cake with Custard Cream
This sour cream poppy seed cake is naturally moist and has a pastry cream that is lightly sweetened. Top it off with the chocolate ganache and a heavenly mound of raspberries and you've got yourself a cake that's gorgeous and delicious.
Serving: 10-12 slices
Ingredients
Poppy Seed Sour Cream Cake Ingredients:
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups (16 oz) sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vinegar
⅓ cup poppy seeds
Custard Cream Ingredients:
9 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups heavy whipping cream
Ganache Recipe
& Topping:
8 oz by weight (1/2 lb or about 1⅓ cup of ) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 oz package fresh raspberries for garnish
Instructions
How to Make Custard Cream Filling:
In a medium sauce pan, bring 3 cups heavy whipping cream just to a simmer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 9 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla until very smooth. As soon as the cream starts to simmer, add hot cream slowly in a thin stream to the yolk/sugar mixture, continually whisking. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking constantly until just barely starting to simmer and the consistency of condensed milk then remove from heat. DO NOT BOIL. Let cool to room temp and thicken before spreading onto cake layers (tip: can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated to speed up the process).
How to Make Poppyseed Sour cream Cake:
Preheat Oven to 375˚F. Butter and flour 2 non-stick 9-inch cake pans.
In the bowl of an stand mixer using whisk attachment on high speed, beat 5 eggs and 2 cups sugar until pale yellow and thick (5 min).
Stir together 2 cups flour and ⅓ cup poppyseeds then blend into egg/sugar mixture with a spatula.
Put 2 cups sour cream in a large measuring cup. Put 2 tsp baking soda in a ramekin and stir in 2 tsp vinegar. It will fizz up, then stir it into the sour cream. As soon as sour cream is visibly rising (it happens fast), mix it into the cake batter with a spatula until no streaks remain. Divide batter evenly into prepared pans.
Bake 20-22 min at 375˚F or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans 5 min then transfer to wire rack and cool to room temp then slice cake layers in half with long serrated knife.
Assembling your cake:
Place first cake layer on a cake stand, cut-side-up. Spread ⅓ of the pastry cream over the top. Repeat with remaining cake layers and cream. Keep the bottom of your second cake layer for the top of the cake (its flat surface is perfect for the ganache). Use a spatula to remove any excess custard from the sides. Refrigerate cake at least 1 hour before preparing ganache.
After cake has been refrigerated at least 1 hour, prepare chocolate ganache.
Click here for Ganache Recipe. Pour ganache evenly over cake in a circular motion moving outward, then use a spatula to spread evenly. Remove any excess chocolate from the cake stand with a moist paper towel. Garnish with fresh raspberries then refrigerate cake 4 hours or preferably overnight for the custard to set so it would be easier to slice. Let cake sit at room temp about 30 min before serving.
Notes
Read through the recipe before you begin. Make the pastry cream first since it needs time to cool (p.s. it can be made a day in advance). Don't add cream to the egg mixture too fast or eggs may curdle and if they do curdle, strain through a sieve. Follow the order of the steps listed. Measure flour by scooping it into the measuring cup and scraping off the top.
