Friesentorte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •26cm cake ring or plate for cutting circles
• •Rolling pin
• •Two baking sheets
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •Offset spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Make shortcrust

   Rub the cold butter into the flour until it looks like coarse crumbs, then mix in the sugar, salt, egg yolk, and just enough cold water to bring it together. Stop as soon as it holds. Work it too long and the base turns tough, and this torte needs one clean sandy bite under the cream. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Bake the base

   Roll the shortcrust to a 26cm circle and set it on a lined baking sheet. Prick it all over so trapped air can escape instead of lifting the middle, then bake at 190C for 15 to 18 minutes, until pale gold at the edge and dry in the centre. Cool it completely. Warm pastry and cream are bad neighbours.

3. 3

   Shape puff layers

   Roll the puff pastry lightly and cut two 26cm circles. Put them on lined baking sheets, prick them well, and chill them for 15 minutes so the butter firms again; soft butter leaks before the layers can rise. Mark one circle into 10 wedges with the back of a knife, pressing but not cutting through.

4. 4

   Bake puff pastry

   Bake the puff pastry at 200C for 18 to 22 minutes, until well risen, crisp, and properly golden. Pale puff pastry is not delicate, it is underdone. While the marked top layer is still slightly warm, cut it fully into wedges along the marks, because a cold whole lid breaks badly under the knife.

5. 5

   Prepare the filling

   Stir the Pflaumenmus with the rum or plum brandy if using. It should be thick, dark, and spreadable, not runny; loose jam soaks the pastry and gives you a wet stack. Whip the cold cream with icing sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest to firm soft peaks. Stop before it turns grainy, because overwhipped cream eats heavy.

6. 6

   Stack the torte

   Set the shortcrust base on a serving plate and spread it with a thin layer of Pflaumenmus, right to the edge. Lay the whole puff pastry circle on top, spread with the remaining Pflaumenmus, then mound on the cream and smooth it high but not stiff. The plum sits against the pastry as a sour-dark barrier, and the cream stays clean.

7. 7

   Finish and chill

   Arrange the puff pastry wedges over the cream like a lid already cut for serving, then dust with icing sugar. Chill the torte for at least 1 hour so the cream firms and the layers settle, but serve it the same day. Leave it overnight fully built and the north will know what you did.

Chef Tips

• •Use all-butter puff pastry. Margarine puff bakes high enough, then leaves a flat greasy taste where the cream should be clean.
• •Pflaumenmus is not plum jam. Jam is brighter and looser; Pflaumenmus is cooked down dark and thick, which is why it can sit against pastry without flooding it.
• •Cut the top layer before assembly. A knife pushed through a whole puff lid crushes the cream out the sides, and then everyone pretends not to notice.
• •Bake the pastry components a day ahead and keep them dry at room temperature. Assemble a few hours before serving, because crisp pastry is the whole point.

Advance Preparation

• •The shortcrust base and puff pastry layers can be baked 1 day ahead and stored loosely covered at room temperature, away from damp air.
• •The Pflaumenmus can be stirred with the spirit 1 day ahead and refrigerated, then brought back to spreadable cool room temperature before assembly.
• •Assemble the torte 1 to 4 hours before serving. Longer than that and the cream begins to soften the pastry, which is not a mystery, just moisture doing its work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)