Birthday cake

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 1 hr 30 mins

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make a beautiful pie for the holiday table? First, prepare all the ingredients. Take any fruits or berries, fresh or frozen: oranges, apples, pears, blueberries, etc. I have tangerines, sweet and fragrant. If you also take them, make sure that the skin fits tightly to the pulp, this is very important. In general, it is better to choose those fruits that do not fall apart and keep their shape.

2. STEP 2

   

   Rinse the fruits thoroughly and dry. Cut one of them in half and squeeze out the juice. You can simply cut apples, pears and similar fruits into slices without squeezing the juice.

3. STEP 3

   

   Cut the rest of the fruit directly with the peel into not very thin slices. You don't have to cut the berries unless they are large strawberries. If you use bananas, peel them.

4. STEP 4

   

   Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.

5. STEP 5

   

   Add sugar.

6. STEP 6

   

   Place the fruit slices, pour in the previously squeezed juice and simmer everything together, stirring, for about 2-5 minutes. You can fry without juice. Or you can skip the stewing process altogether and put fresh fruit slices in the mold. But when stewed, some fruits turn out softer and tastier.

7. STEP 7

   

   Place the fruit slices into a parchment-lined, buttered baking pan. The diameter of my mold is 18 cm, but you can also take a mold of 20-22 cm. But keep in mind: the thinner the layer of dough, the more likely it is that it will quickly brown on top and remain unbaked inside, especially in places of contact with fruit. The juice remaining in the pan can be used as a sauce for pancakes and pancakes. Or add it to the dough.

8. STEP 8

   

   Now prepare the aromatic dough. The butter should be at room temperature, so remove it from the refrigerator in advance. Use sour cream with a fat content of 20-25%.

9. STEP 9

   

   In a bowl, combine soft butter and sugar. Beat with a mixer at high speed until the sugar dissolves. At this stage, if you wish, you can stir in the cooled aromatic fruit mixture left over from stewing the fruit.

10. STEP 10

    

    Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each.

11. STEP 11

    

    Add sifted flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and mix with a mixer at low speed. When adding pan juice, increase the amount of flour by 1-2 tbsp. l. Pay attention to the consistency of the dough - you may need more or less flour than I did.

12. STEP 12

    

    Add sour cream and stir again.

13. STEP 13

    

    The result will be a viscous, aromatic and tender dough. It is worth noting that this is a cake dough with a decent amount of butter, so the finished cake will be slightly moist, with a delicate velvety structure.

14. STEP 14

    

    Distribute the dough evenly over the fruit and smooth with a spatula. Bake the pie in an oven preheated to approximately 180°C for about 30-45 minutes until golden brown. To prevent the juice from dripping onto the bottom of the oven, place a piece of foil or parchment under the pan. Depending on the diameter of your pan, the layer of dough will be thicker or thinner. Plus, the baking time will change: the thinner the layer of dough, the faster it will bake. Therefore, do not leave the cake in the oven unattended.

15. STEP 15

    

    You can keep the pie in the cooling oven for another 10 minutes. Cool the finished pie slightly and turn it over onto a plate so that the fruit is on top.

16. STEP 16

    

    Before serving, you can decorate the pie as you wish. I additionally decorated with fresh tangerine slices, pomegranate seeds, mint leaves and a little powdered sugar.

17. STEP 17

    

    This is what a birthday cake looks like in cross section. The dough next to the fruit may be a little more moist, which is necessary, because the fruit releases juice during baking. When cutting the pie, some fruits release juice, which also slightly saturates the dough. Thanks to this, your pie will turn out very delicate in taste and texture. Bon appetit!

Comments on the recipe

Natalia M

06.11.2023

4.5

Literally just baked a birthday cake. Only it had time to cool down a little, and already half of it was gone). This means that this pie is simply a miracle! I noticed the pie recipe a long time ago, but it seemed too complicated to me. And today I decided that it was time to try cooking, especially since I have tangerines at home. I didn’t choose other fruits or berries, I decided to repeat the author of the recipe)) For frying, I took two tangerines so that the pie wouldn’t turn out too wet, my children like it drier. Simmered the circles until noticeable caramelization. I kneaded the dough exactly as described (thanks for the details)). It turned out thick and airy, like butter cream. I added tangerine zest from which I squeezed the juice. I took a wide baking pan, I wanted exactly this format. I placed a circle of parchment on the bottom to make the baked goods come off easier. The cake took 30 minutes to bake due to its small thickness. The aroma of fresh baked goods and tangerines filled the whole house, a real New Year's atmosphere! The pie is delicious, the tangerine note is noticeable. The fruit mugs themselves are sweet and sour, very pleasant. The crumb of the pie is soft, porous, fluffy. Overall, the cake is excellent, I recommend it to everyone, and it’s perfect for a birthday.