Cake Recipes - The Bake School https://bakeschool.com/category/cake-recipes/ A website dedicated to baking and the science of baking Tue, 23 Sep 2025 17:10:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://bakeschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cropped-Bakeschool-website-favicon-32x32.png Cake Recipes - The Bake School https://bakeschool.com/category/cake-recipes/ 32 32 Coffee Cheesecake With Cardamom https://bakeschool.com/coffee-cheesecake-with-cardamom/ https://bakeschool.com/coffee-cheesecake-with-cardamom/#respond Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:38:39 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=51326 Learn how to make the best coffee cheesecake with this easy recipe. This baked cheesecake is made with a baked Oreo crust, and the filling is flavoured like Turkish coffee with a combination of espresso powder, cardamom, and vanilla bean paste. I suggest baking this cheesecake in a water bath to make the smoothest cheesecake...

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Learn how to make the best coffee cheesecake with this easy recipe. This baked cheesecake is made with a baked Oreo crust, and the filling is flavoured like Turkish coffee with a combination of espresso powder, cardamom, and vanilla bean paste. I suggest baking this cheesecake in a water bath to make the smoothest cheesecake without cracks!

Serving a slice of a coffee cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust and decorated with whipped cream and chocolate-covered coffee beans.

This is a simple variation of my classic baked vanilla cheesecake recipe, which I also turned into a pumpkin cheesecake (featured in the All About Pumpkin bundle). I made both of those with a graham cracker crust.

I love all cheesecakes, but this coffee-flavoured cheesecake with an Oreo cookie crust might be my all-time favourite flavour. The taste reminds me of the most luxurious coffee-flavoured Greek yogurt (the expensive kind), flavoured with espresso powder and ground cardamom for a play on Turkish coffee. I have explored this flavour combination in the past with these coffee cardamom buns.

Jump to:

Ingredients To Make A Coffee-Flavoured Cheesecake

The beauty of any cheesecake is that the base is always the same, made from simple ingredients, to which concentrated flavours are added to transform the recipe. Here's what you need:

Ingredients to make a baked coffee-flavoured cheesecake with an Oreo cookie crust measured out and ready to be mixed.
  • Oreo cookies—we are using whole Oreo cookies (the regular kind) for the crust because chocolate wafers were discontinued
  • butter—I used melted unsalted butter for the crust. If using salted, omit the salt in the crust
  • cream cheese—use blocks of full-fat cream cheese, preferably Philadelphia brand. In Canada, each block weighs 250 grams, and this recipe calls for four blocks or 1 kg of cream cheese. Do not use low-fat, whipped or spreadable cream cheese!
  • sugar—I used white granulated sugar for the crust and filling to ensure the sugar doesn't interfere with the flavour of the cheesecake filling
  • eggs—I bake with large eggs. Don't use smaller or extra large eggs as this may impact the texture of the filling
  • salt—I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt in all my recipes. If using regular table salt, add half the amount.
  • espresso powder—use instant espresso powder (I like NescafĂ© gold espresso powder) for a strong, rich coffee flavour
  • cardamom—use either freshly ground cardamom or pre-ground cardamom, but make sure it is fresh. Please don't use old cardamom that has been sitting in your spice drawer for 3 years!
  • vanilla—you can use either vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (same quantity)

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

This is a straightforward recipe for a Turkish coffee-flavoured cheesecake. Here are a few ways you can change it:

  • Sour cream variation: Some people like to add sour cream to their cheesecake fillings for more tang. Replace one block (250 grams) of cream cheese with 1 cup (250 mL) of sour cream or, alternatively, you can add a cup of sour cream to this recipe and increase the number of eggs to 5 large eggs instead of 4. Either way works!
  • Cookie crumb alternatives: you can either make an Oreo crust made from whole Oreo cookies (as mentioned in the recipe card) or this graham cracker crust recipe with either graham crackers, social tea biscuits, speculoos cookies, or chocolate wafers (if you still have access to them).
  • Gluten-free—use gluten-free Oreos for the crust if you'd like to make a gluten-free cheesecake.

With any substitutions, you may have to adjust baking times and do further testing.

Instructions

To make a cheesecake from scratch, first bake the crust, as shown in this recipe for Oreo cookie crust, and then mix the filling and bake the cheesecake in a water bath. Here's how to make this coffee cardamom cheesecake:

Start by combining the cream cheese in a stand mixer (image 1) and beating them together until soft and smooth before adding the granulated sugar (image 2), followed by the espresso powder, cardamom, and vanilla, and then the eggs one at a time to make a coffee-flavoured cheesecake filling.

Step 1—Step 4—While the crust is baking and cooling, mix the filling by combining the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (image 1) and mixing it until smooth before mixing in the sugar (image 2), followed by the espresso powder, cardamom, and vanilla bean paste (image 3). Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition (image 4).

Straining coffee cheesecake filling through a fine mesh sieve to remove lumps before filling the crust and baking the cheesecake.

Step 2—Your coffee cheesecake filling should be smooth, glossy, and rather liquid after adding all the eggs (image 5). I like to pass it through a strainer with the help of a whisk to remove any lumps (image 6). Despite looking smooth, you can see what I strained out of the filling in image 7.

Coffee cheesecake set in a roasting pan being filled with boiling water before baking so that the cheesecake bakes flat and smooth with not cracks.

Step 3—Transfer the cheesecake filling to the baked crust. Place the cheesecake pan (which you've wrapped in 3 layers of foil to prevent any moisture from getting in) in a deep roasting pan and pour boiling water to come up halfway (image 8). Bake until set with a slight jiggle in the middle (image 9).

I like to leave my cheesecakes in the oven to cool for 2 hours. Once baked, I immediately turn the oven off, open the oven door just a little (hold it open with the handle of a wooden spoon, for example), and leave it there untouched for 2 hours. At that point, the oven will be at room temperature, and the cheesecake will be too (or very close to room temperature).

I like to run a thin pairing knife around the edge to make sure the cheesecake has released from the sides. I reuse one layer of the foil from the bottom of the pan to cover the cheesecake in the fridge.

Serving a slice of coffee cheesecake that is decorated with a border of rosettes of whipped cream and chocolate covered coffee beans.

Tip: I like to decorate this cheesecake with lightly sweetened whipped cream, piping little rosettes along the border with a 1M tip (or an equivalent 11-mm star tip), garnishing each rose with a chocolate-covered coffee bean and dusting the top with a tiny amount of cardamom.

Storage

Store the cheesecake in the fridge. You can also freeze cheesecake, ungarnished, for up to a month. Unmould it and set it on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze it solid in the freezer, then wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil.

To defrost the cheesecake, unwrap the frozen cheesecake, set it on your serving plate and leave it in the refrigerator overnight to slowly defrost before serving.

Top Tip

I always bake my cheesecakes in a water bath. The water prevents the edges from over-baking and allows the cheesecake to bake slowly, flat and evenly. Using a water bath, the cheesecake doesn't crack when it cools.

Serving Suggestions

I like to garnish this coffee cheesecake with whipped cream, but you can also serve it with salted caramel sauce!

A slice of coffee-flavoured cheesecake decorated with a rosette of whipped cream and a chocolate-covered coffee bean.

Other Cheesecake Recipes

Looking for other cheesecake recipes like this? Try these:

If you tried this recipe for coffee cheesecake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Serving a slice of a coffee-flavoured cheesecake with whipped cream piped around the border and chocolate-covered coffee beans.
Print

Coffee Cheesecake

Learn how to make the best baked coffee cheesecake with this easy recipe. This is a classic vanilla cheesecake flavoured with espresso and cardamom (a play on Turkish coffee!), and made with a delicious Oreo cookie crust. We bake it in a water bath to create a perfect, flat, smooth cheesecake with no cracks!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Chill time 4 hours
Total Time 6 hours 5 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 521kcal

Ingredients

Baked Graham Cracker Crust For 9-inch Cheesecakes

Coffee Cheesecake Filling

  • 1 kg Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) use the block kind (see note), softened
  • 250 grams granulated sugar
  • 45 mL instant espresso powder
  • 15 mL vanilla bean paste
  • 5 mL ground cardamom more or less depending on taste
  • 4 large egg(s)
  • boiling water to create the water bath in the roasting pan

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Boil a full kettle of water (1.75–2 L).
  • In a food processor bowl fitted with the metal S-blade, combine the Oreo cookies and salt. Pulse them together until you end up with a find crumb.
  • Pour the melted over top and pulse the mixture again until all the ingredients are moistened and the mixture begins to clump.
  • Transfer the crust mixture to your prepared pan and spread it out from edge to edge in an even layer, flattening and pressing it out with a flat-bottomed glass to create a smooth, tight crust.
  • Bake the crust until the edges just begin to brown (10–15 minutes). Take out of the oven and let cool.
  • Drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C).
  • Wrap the outside of the cheesecake pan in three layers of foil so that it is well protected.
  • Prepare the cheesecake filling by creaming the blocks of cream cheese together until smooth and creamy, then mix in the sugar, espresso powder, vanilla bean paste, and
  • Mix in the eggs, one at a time, only adding the next egg when the previous one has been completely incorporated.
  • Strain the filling to remove any lumps if necessary, then pour it over your cheesecake crust.
  • Place the foil-wrapped cheesecake pan in the roasting pan and pour water in the roasting pan (making sure to avoid splashing the cheesecake filling!). Fill with enough water to come halfway up the cheesecake pan.
  • Place the roasting pan in the oven, carefully, and bake the cheesecake until set but the centre remains a little jiggly (this takes about 75 minutes for me).
  • Turn the oven off when the cheesecake is done baking and prop the oven door slightly to allow the oven to slowly cool down. Leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door propped open for about 2 hours to cool completely.
  • Take the cheesecake out of the water bath and transfer it to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, if not overnight, before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • For the crust, I use whole Oreos (filling and all) because Nabisco and Mr. Christie chocolate wafers have been discontinued. If you prefer, you can make a graham cracker crumb crust or if you still have access to chocolate wafers, you can also use the graham crust recipe (you can use most dry cookies/biscuits for the crumbs for the graham cracker crust recipe, like speculoos cookies, chocolate wafer crumbs (Oreo crumbs), or even social tea biscuits).
  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  • For the cream cheese, use full-fat cream cheese sold in block form. Do not use whipped, light, or spreadable cream cheese as these products may have more water or fat.
  • You can flavour the cheesecake filling with vanilla bean paste (preferred) or vanilla extract. You could also scrape a vanilla bean (or half a large bean) and add that to the filling instead.
  • For the cardamom, use freshly ground green cardamom (as finely ground as you can in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle). Or buy ground cardamom. Make sure it is fresh. For the best flavour, buy new spices. Don't use old spices!
  • Use a water bath made from a roasting pan and boiling water to bake the cheesecake. Make sure to wrap the springform pan in three layers of aluminum foil to prevent water from seeping into the pan and to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Alternatively, you could use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch sides, making sure to line the bottom with parchment paper. You will have to flip the cheesecake onto a parchment paper-lined board, upside-down, to get it out of the pan, which may ruin the smooth finish on top. 

Nutrition

Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 371mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 1319IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 2mg

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Rhubarb Raspberry Upside-Down Cake https://bakeschool.com/rhubarb-and-raspberry-upside-down-cake/ https://bakeschool.com/rhubarb-and-raspberry-upside-down-cake/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2020 18:55:00 +0000 http://dev6.finelimedesigns.com/2011/06/05/rhubarb-and-raspberry-upside-down-cake/ This rhubarb upside-down cake has a few raspberries tucked into the rhubarb fruit layer to enhance the colour of pink rhubarb while also lending lots of flavour and sweetness to this dessert Upside-down cakes are traditionally made with rings of canned pineapple and pink maraschino cherries to add a pop of colour and sweetness to...

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This rhubarb upside-down cake has a few raspberries tucked into the rhubarb fruit layer to enhance the colour of pink rhubarb while also lending lots of flavour and sweetness to this dessert

Upside-down cakes are traditionally made with rings of canned pineapple and pink maraschino cherries to add a pop of colour and sweetness to the retro, classic fruit dessert. That makes it particularly easy to bake this type of cake year-round because you can always find canned pineapple at the grocery stores, and maraschino cherries, too, regardless of the season.

The fruit is baked on the bottom of the cake pan, underneath the cake batter. Once baked, the cake is flipped onto a serving plate to reveal the fruit layer that was hidden under the cake. This is how this dessert gets its name.

Upside-down cakes are known for being very decorative because you can take time to arrange the fruit in a pattern which bakes into the cake, anchoring the fruit in place.

The upside-down cake recipe is a perfect example of a classic recipe that you can tweak to suit the seasons with the fresh local fruit at the market. You can imagine using summer berries mid-summer, or sliced peaches or nectarines in the late summer months. And in the spring and early summer, replacing the canned pineapple with flavourful stalks of rhubarb is ideal!

Jump to:

What You Need To Make An Upside-Down Cake With Rhubarb

The vanilla cake batter is a variation on a pound cake recipe, also called a quatre-quarts (which is the French baking term for pound cake). The pound cake is made with roughly equal weights of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.

The original rhubarb upside-down cake recipe first appeared in the New York Times, and I started baking this rhubarb raspberry version in 2011. I've since converted it to metric weights and done a little tweaking based on my experience. Here's what you need to make my version:

Ingredients to make a rhubarb upside-down cake with raspberries.
  • butter—use unsalted butter or cut back on the salt if you are using salted
  • sugar—we are using white sugar in the cake batter so that the vanilla flavour shines and brown sugar in the quick caramel sauce for flavour
  • flour—instead of using cake flour, we are using a combination of all-purpose flour plus ground almonds to reduce the gluten and create a moist, tender cake
  • leavening—the cake layer is made with baking powder not baking soda. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you are unsure the difference.
  • salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid making the cake too salty
  • fruit—I used a combination of rhubarb and raspberries to create a more vibrant pink fruit layer that is bright in colour and flavour and that can stand up against the sweet vanilla sour cream cake layer
  • cornstarch—there's a little cornstarch added to the fruit to help the juices gel so that the fruit topping is not so liquid because both rhubarb and raspberries have a lot of water in them
  • sour cream—always use full-fat sour cream if you can for the best cake texture
  • eggs—I bake with large eggs. Using smaller or larger eggs may affect the texture of the cake

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions And Variations

  • Yogurt—If you don't have sour cream, a baking substitution you can try is to replace it with the same volume of full-fat Greek yogurt (around 10 % fat if possible). Low-fat works too, but reducing the fat may lead to a drier cake or affect the texture.
  • Strawberries—I love to combine raspberries with rhubarb, but if you prefer, strawberries will work too. Try to stick to the total weight of fruit for your rhubarb and strawberries. Otherwise, you may run into trouble getting the cake properly baked.
  • Plain rhubarb—I have baked this recipe without the raspberries with 1 pound (454 grams) of fresh rhubarb, and it worked perfectly. The fruit layer was a bit more beige and lacked the vibrancy of the pink raspberries, but the flavour was still great!
  • Pistachio or hazelnut—you can replace the ground almonds with ground pistachios or hazelnuts. For a nut-free version, try ground pumpkin seeds (like in this moist rhubarb cake made with pumpkin seeds!) or even sunflower seeds.
  • Cake flour—you can replace the weight of nuts plus all-purpose flour with the same weight of cake flour, as in the original recipe. Cake flour is a softer, finer flour that has more starch and less protein than all-purpose.

Remember, whenever you make changes to the recipe, you may have to test and modify a few things to get it just right!

How To Make The Best Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Mixing sugar and cornstarch together before adding the fruit to macerate to create a rhubarb upside-down cake with raspberries.

Step 1—Combine the sugar and cornstarch first (image 1) and mix it really well with a whisk to eliminate any clumps of cornstarch (image 2) before adding in your fruit (image 3). Let the fruit sit to macerate and draw out some of the juices.

Making a quick caramel with brown sugar and butter for the fruit layer of a rhubarb upside-down cake.

Step 2—Combine the butter and brown sugar (image 4) in a small saucepan and heat them until bubbly and boiling (image 5) before transferring to your cake pan (image 6).

Note: you can either use a 9-inch springform pan that is buttered and lined with parchment or you can use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch straight sides

Creaming butter and sugar before adding eggs and vanilla to create a fluffy moist vanilla cake for a rhubarb upside-down cake with raspberries.

Step 3—Whip the butter and sugar for several minutes until really light and fluffy (image 7) before adding the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla (image 8). Whip the mixture really well to incorporate air (image 9).

Whisking flour, ground almonds and leavening before adding to a vanilla cake batter with sour cream to create the vanilla cake layer of a rhubarb upside-down cake.

Step 4—In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds, leavening, and salt (image 10), then add one third of it to the mixer at a time (image 11), alternating with the sour cream, half at a time (image 12). You will end up with a thick, fluffy cake batter (image 13).

Arranging rhubarb before spreading vanilla cake batter on top and baking the rhubarb upside-down cake until golden brown and set on top.

Step 5—Arrange the macerated fruit over the caramel layer in a decorative pattern in your springform (image 14). Dollop the batter over top and spread it from edge to edge with a mini offset spatula (image 15). Bake the cake until the top is an even, deep golden-brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean (image 16).

Raspberry rhubarb upside down cake on a parchment lined black round tray

How To Flip An Upside-Down Cake

You can't cool the cake completely in the springform because we need to be able to unmould it: otherwise, the cake will adhere to the sides of the pan, and the fruit syrup will set and stick to the parchment if the cake gets too cold.

For this reason, you can only cool the cake briefly in the pan, just long enough to be able to handle it. Fifteen to thirty minutes is all you need to wait before flipping it onto a serving plate:

  • Run a knife around the edges between the cake and the pan to ensure the cake isn't stuck to the edges
  • Place a large plate over the pan
  • Place your left palm flat under the cake pan, and place your right palm flat on top of the plate to hold them together (or vice-versa)
  • Flip swiftly, maintaining the pressure of your palms on the plate and the pan. Don't hesitate. Just do it!
  • Set the plate down on your counter
  • Lift the pan upwards slowly with both hands, gently, to release it (or unlock the buckle of the springform to release the sides, then carefully release the springform base and parchment off the fruit layer)
  • If any fruit sticks to the parchment, don't panic! Just transfer them back where they belong!

With upside-down cakes, it's important to take the time to melt the sugar for the fruit layer, which helps reduce sugar crystallization when the cake is baked. The thing to note is that your brown sugar quick caramel may crystallize in the pan while you prepare the rest of the cake. If this happens, don't panic. The cake takes so long to bake, and with the fruit juices, the caramel will dissolve because both the rhubarb and the raspberries contain a lot of water.

On the other hand, for a pineapple upside-down cake, you may have to take extra steps to prevent crystallization because the fruit isn't as juicy. A squeeze of lemon juice added to the brown sugar mixture when it's on the stove can help, as can a spoonful of honey, both of which help prevent crystallization of sugar syrups.

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake Baking FAQs

How do I get the cake out of the pan easily?

It's very important to properly prepare your cake pan before baking.
Line the bottom of the pan with parchment, which is naturally non-stick
Butter the sides of the pan as well as the parchment, again to ensure the cake doesn't stick and unmoulds cleanly.

How do I prevent the upside-down cake from breaking or falling apart when I flip it out of the pan?

Run a knife along the edge between the edges of the cake and the sides of the pan to loosen it as soon as it comes out of the oven. To prevent the cake from breaking or falling apart, make sure you have let the cake cool enough (15—30 minutes) before unmoulding it. You want the cake layer to be set enough that it holds together when flipped, but you also want the fruit layer to be hot enough that it releases cleanly from the pan and the parchment without sticking.

Why is my upside-down cake raw and gummy in the middle?

All upside-down cakes pose a unique challenge because of the fruit layer on the bottom of the cake pan: this fruit layer insulates the bottom of the cake, slowing the baking of the cake significantly. Furthermore, most upside-down cakes are thick and tall, which increases the baking time even more.
For these reasons, properly baking upside-down cakes is tricky. You have to make sure that the part of the cake that is adjacent to the fruit layer is baked, and for this cake, it takes at least 1 hour and 45 minutes to properly bake a tall, 9-inch (23-cm) diameter cake. If you aren't careful, you may end up with a wet, gummy, or raw cake in the middle! Use a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake to ensure it's baked through!

How do I prevent my springform from leaking fruit juice and sugar all over my oven?

Your springform might be leaky. The syrupy sweet fruit juices that form as the cake bakes may leak out, making a mess of your oven if you aren't careful. Springforms are notorious for this reason, and I have yet to work with a pan that doesn't leak, regardless of price point.
You must wrap the springform with two layers of durable aluminum foil. This way, you won't need to place it on a sheet pan. And if the pan leaks, the juices aren't lost, they won't burn on the bottom of your oven, and you can pour them over the cake after you unmould it.

Other Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb is such an interesting ingredient because it is so sour. If you've got some, here are some more great rhubarb recipes to bake this spring:

If you tried this recipe for the best rhubarb upside-down cake with raspberries (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Raspberry rhubarb upside down cake on a parchment lined black round tray
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Rhubarb Raspberry Upside-down Cake

This moist rhubarb raspberry upside-down cake is made with ground almonds to lighten the cake layer and raspberries to add colour to the fruit layer.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 452kcal

Ingredients

For the quick caramel sauce

For the fruit layer

  • 450 grams fresh rhubarb cut into pieces to help them fit the springform from about œ to 4 inches
  • 170 grams fresh raspberries or frozen
  • 100 grams granulated sugar
  • 10 mL cornstarch

For the cake layer

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F (165 °C).
  • Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment (I basically cut a large square of paper, place it on the base, then clip the sides over so that the paper runs right through the springform). Butter the paper and the sides of the springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 large sheets of aluminum foil (in case your springform is as leaky as mine is). Set aside.

Make the quick caramel sauce

  • In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar until it gets bubbly. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Pull the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Smooth it out so that it forms an even layer. Set aside.

Prepare the fruit

  • In a medium bowl, combine the fruit with the granulated sugar and cornstarch. Mix it carefully to not damage the raspberries too much, and let it sit. Stir the fruit every few minutes to evenly distribute the starch and sugar.

Make the cake batter

  • Whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set them aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the granulated sugar.
  • Add the vanilla, and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well, and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled at this point.
  • Alternately, add the dry ingredients (one-third at a time) and the sour cream (half at a time), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl occasionally.

Assemble the upside-down cake and bake

  • Arrange the fruits evenly on top of the sugar layer (either decoratively or just neatly arrange them to fit snuggly). Pour the juices over the fruit.
  • Dollop the cake batter carefully over the fruit being sure to smooth the top without disturbing the fruit layer. Bang the pan on the counter so as to remove any air pockets (you could also swirl a knife through carefully to remove any air pockets, just be sure to avoid the fruits at the bottom).
  • Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Because the cake is tall, it takes a long time to bake the middle so make sure you bake it for long enough!
  • Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then place your serving plate over top, and flip it very carefully because the fruit juices are boiling hot! Set the plate on a wire rack to cool completely. Do not let the cake cool in the pan because the fruits and juices will stick to the bottom, and you’ll have a hard time getting it out after.

Notes

  • You can either use a 9-inch springform pan that is buttered and lined with parchment or you can use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch straight sides
  • Substitutions and variations:
    • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
    • Yogurt—If you don't have sour cream, a baking substitution you can try is to replace it with the same volume of full-fat Greek yogurt (around 10 % fat if possible). Low-fat works too, but reducing the fat may lead to a drier cake or affect the texture.
    • Strawberries—I love to combine raspberries with rhubarb, but if you prefer, strawberries will work too. Try to stick to the total weight of fruit for your rhubarb and strawberries. Otherwise, you may run into trouble getting the cake properly baked.
    • Plain rhubarb—I have baked this recipe without the raspberries with 1 pound (454 grams) of fresh rhubarb, and it worked perfectly. The fruit layer was a bit more beige and lacked the vibrancy of the pink raspberries, but the flavour was still great!
    • Pistachio or hazelnut—you can replace the ground almonds with ground pistachios or hazelnuts. For a nut-free version, try ground pumpkin seeds (like in this moist rhubarb cake made with pumpkin seeds!) or even sunflower seeds.
    • Cake flour—you can replace the weight of nuts plus all-purpose flour with the same weight of cake flour, as in the original recipe. Cake flour is a softer, finer flour that has more starch and less protein than all-purpose. 

Nutrition

Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 244mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 763IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 1mg

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Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake https://bakeschool.com/baked-pumpkin-cheesecake/ https://bakeschool.com/baked-pumpkin-cheesecake/#respond Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:57:15 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=51285 Learn how to make the best baked pumpkin cheesecake with a baked graham cracker crumb crust with this easy recipe. This decadent pumpkin-flavoured cheesecake is made with pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice mix and baked in a water bath so it doesn't crack! Great dessert for Thanksgiving that you can make ahead and freeze! Some...

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Learn how to make the best baked pumpkin cheesecake with a baked graham cracker crumb crust with this easy recipe. This decadent pumpkin-flavoured cheesecake is made with pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice mix and baked in a water bath so it doesn't crack! Great dessert for Thanksgiving that you can make ahead and freeze!

Serving a pumpkin cheesecake with a graham cracker crumb crust and topped with whipped cream

Some people like to serve pie at Thanksgiving (like this pumpkin pie without evaporated milk or a maple bourbon sweet potato pie). Others prefer to bake a pumpkin cheesecake instead!

This is my version of baked pumpkin cheesecake. I always stick to the same ratio (roughly) for baked cheesecake fillings. As you may notice, this recipe is very similar to my baked vanilla cheesecake and the delicious coffee cheesecake with cardamom.

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Ingredients To Make Baked Cheesecake With Pumpkin Purée

Here's what you need to make a pumpkin-flavoured cheesecake:

Ingredients to make a baked pumpkin cheesecake with a graham cracker crumb crust measured out.
  • pumpkin—you can use canned pumpkin purĂ©e or strained homemade pumpkin purĂ©e (water removed). Do not use canned pumpkin pie filling which has spices and other additives that will affect the taste.
  • sugar—I used white sugar in the crust and the filling, but light brown sugar would also work
  • eggs—I bake with large eggs. If you use eggs of a different size, this may affect the texture and set of the pumpkin cheesecake filling
  • cream cheese—use Philadelphia full-fat cream cheese sold in blocks. In Canada, each block is 250 grams. Do not use whipped cream cheese or spreadable cream cheese. Do not use low-fat cream cheese.
  • pumpkin spice mix—this is also called pumpkin pie spice. You can make a homemade version by combining cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and/or allspice.
  • butter—use unsalted butter for the crust. If using salted, you may want to add less salt to the crust.
  • vanilla—you can use either vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (equal amounts)
  • graham cracker crumbs—use store-bought or homemade graham crackers for the crumb crust.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

Here are a few ways you may want to change the recipe:

  • Sweet potato - instead of pumpkin purĂ©e, you can try using sweet potato purĂ©e.
  • Squash - you can use any mashed sweet squash for this cheesecake. I find kabocha squash is very flavourful. Make sure to strain the homemade purĂ©e through a cheesecloth to remove any excess moisture in the filling.
  • Graham cracker cookie alternatives - the cookie crust can be made with social tea biscuits or chocolate wafers. You can also use speculoos.
  • Sour cream - you can replace 250 grams (1 block) of cream cheese with 250 mL (1 cup) of full-fat sour cream (14 % fat)

With any substitution, you may have to do some testing and tweaking to get the dessert just right with your changes!

How To Make a Pumpkin-Flavoured Cheesecake

You can make the cheesecake filling in either a large food processor or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. The goal is to create a smooth filling without incorporating too much air so that the filling doesn't expand and crack as it bakes and cools. If you use a large food processor, the volume will likely exceed the maximum fill line, so beware of leaks. Use a stand mixer if you are worried about spills.

Mixing cream cheese until smooth before adding pumpkin spices and pumpkin purée to create filling for baked pumpkin cheesecake in food processor.

Step 1—Start by combining the blocks of cream cheese in either a food processor (image 1) or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Blend them together until smooth and creamy (image 2), scraping down the sides as needed with a spatula and adding the granulated sugar partway through. Add the pumpkin spice mix and vanilla (image 3) and the pumpkin purĂ©e (image 4) and mix until the filling is even and smooth.

Adding eggs one at a time to pumpkin cheesecake filling before pouring onto baked graham cracker crumb crust.

Step 2—Mix in the eggs, one at a time (image 5), then strain the mixture into a bowl (image 6). Pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling over a baked 9-inch graham cracker crust in a springform pan (image 7).

Tip—Make a graham cracker crumb crust and bake it before making the filling. Wrap the springform pan in two layers of foil after baking the crust to prevent moisture from getting into the pan when we set it in a water bath to bake the filling.

Creating a water bath to bake a pumpkin cheesecake by filling a roasting pan with boiling water and placing cheesecake inside. The cheesecake pan is wrapped in foil to prevent any water from leaking inside.

Step 3—Place the foil-wrapped cheesecake pan in a roasting pan and fill it with boiling water carefully (image 8).

Pumpkin cheesecake after baking and cooling it in the oven by propping the oven door open with a wooden spoon

Step 4—Bake the cheesecake until the edges are set, but the centre jiggles ever so slightly (image 10). Cool the cheesecake for 2 hours in the oven, propping the door open with a wooden spoon (image 11).

Pumpkin cheesecake after baking and cooling completely in the oven.

The cheesecake should not have any cracks at this point (image 12) if you cooled it slowly. If you use a thermometer to monitor the baking, the hole created in the centre to check the temperature may result in a crack.

Cool the cheesecake in the fridge overnight.

A baked pumpkin cheesecake topped with whipped cream.

Hint: If your cheesecake develops a crack, hide it under a thick layer of lightly sweetened whipped cream or, even better, maple whipped cream! Nobody will notice it!

Storage

Store cheesecake in the refrigerator, lightly covered. You can also freeze it, though I'd recommend freezing it without the whipped cream on top if you choose this.

You can make this pumpkin cheesecake a day or two ahead of serving it, which makes it a great Thanksgiving dessert because it doesn't require the oven on the big day!

Top Cheesecake Baking Tips

Desserts like this pumpkin cheesecake aren't hard to bake, though they take a long time to bake and cool down before you can serve them. The hardest part is waiting! Here are my top tips so that you can bake a perfect cheesecake every time:

  • Do not overwhip the filling. Air in the filling will cause the cheesecake to crack.
  • Strain the filling through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps to ensure a smooth, creamy texture.
  • Do not skip the water bath! The water bath insulates the edges of the cheesecake pan so that it bakes slowly, with control, and perfectly flat! This ensures it doesn't crack!
  • Drop the oven temperature to ensure the cheesecake filling sets slowly.
  • Bake until the edges and surface are set, but the centre may still jiggle a little. It will continue to bake as it cools.
  • Run a pairing knife around the edge, between the cheesecake and pan, before unmoulding it to release the sides.
  • If the surface of the cheesecake sweats in the fridge, use some paper towel to soak up any moisture. In fact, you can store the cheesecake in the fridge with a sheet of paper towel directly on the surface to absorb moisture.
  • If the cheesecake cracks, cover the damage with whipped cream!
Serving a pumpkin cheesecake with a graham cracker crumb crust and topped with whipped cream

Serving Suggestions

I love this pumpkin cheesecake topped with lightly-sweetened whipped cream, but you can also serve it plain or with some cardamom ice cream or spiced chai ice cream. It's also great with salted caramel sauce! Yum!

Other Pumpkin Recipes

If it's pumpkin spice season, here are a few pumpkin baking recipes to try:

If you tried this recipe for baked pumpkin cheesecake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Serving a slice of pumpkin cheesecake topped with whipped cream.
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Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake

Learn how to make the best baked pumpkin cheesecake with this easy recipe. This is a classic pumpkin-flavoured cheesecake made with a graham cracker crumb crust, pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice mix, baked in a water bath to create a delicious flat, smooth cheesecake with no cracks.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Chill time 4 hours
Total Time 6 hours 5 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 504kcal

Ingredients

Baked Graham Cracker Crust For 9-inch Cheesecakes

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling

  • 1 kg Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) use the block kind (see note), softened
  • 250 grams granulated sugar
  • 426 grams pumpkin purĂ©e
  • 12.5 mL pumpkin spice mix
  • 10 mL vanilla extract
  • 4 large egg(s)
  • boiling water to create the water bath in the roasting pan
  • sweetened whipped cream optional but makes a nice garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Boil a whole kettle of water (1.75–2 L).
  • In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 26 grams of sugar (2 tbsp) and salt. Mix them together with a fork.
  • Pour the melted over top and stir well until all the ingredients are moistened and the mixture begins to clump.
  • Transfer the crust mixture to your prepared pan and spread it out from edge to edge in an even layer, flattening and pressing it out with a flat-bottomed glass to create a smooth, tight crust.
  • Bake the crust until the edges just begin to brown (10–15 minutes). Take out of the oven and let cool.
  • Drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C).
  • Wrap the outside of the cheesecake pan in three layers of foil so that it is well protected.
  • Prepare the cheesecake filling by creaming the blocks of cream cheese together until smooth and creamy, then mix in the sugar.
  • Add the pumpkin purĂ©e, spices, and vanilla, and mix in.
  • Mix in the eggs, one at a time, only adding the next egg when the previous one has been completely incorporated.
  • Strain the filling to remove any lumps if necessary, then pour it over your baked cheesecake crust.
  • Place the foil-wrapped cheesecake pan in the roasting pan and pour water in the roasting pan (making sure to avoid splashing the cheesecake filling!). Fill with enough water to come halfway up the cheesecake pan.
  • Place the roasting pan in the oven, carefully, and bake the cheesecake until set but the centre remains a little jiggly (this takes about 75 minutes for me).
  • Turn the oven off when the cheesecake is done baking and prop the oven door slightly to allow the oven to slowly cool down. Leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door propped open for about 2 hours to cool completely.
  • Take the cheesecake out of the water bath and transfer it to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, if not overnight, before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • For the crust, I prefer to use graham cracker crumbs but this will also work with speculoos cookies, chocolate wafer crumbs (Oreo crumbs), or even social tea biscuits. Use any dry cookies/biscuits for the crumbs.
  • I bake with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty. 
  • For the cream cheese, use full-fat cream cheese sold in block form. Do not use whipped, light, or spreadable cream cheese as these products may have more water or fat.
  • You can flavour the cheesecake filling with vanilla bean paste (preferred) or vanilla extract. You could also scrape a vanilla bean (or half a large bean) and add that to the filling instead.
  • Use a water bath made from a roasting pan and boiling water to bake the cheesecake. Make sure to wrap the springform pan in three layers of aluminum foil to prevent water from seeping into the pan and to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Alternatively, you could use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch sides, making sure to line the bottom with parchment paper. You will have to flip the cheesecake onto a parchment paper-lined board, upside-down, to get it out of the pan, which may ruin the smooth finish on top. 

Nutrition

Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 393mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 6845IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 1mg

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Moist Rhubarb Cake https://bakeschool.com/rhubarb-pumpkin-seed-cake/ https://bakeschool.com/rhubarb-pumpkin-seed-cake/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2016 03:39:02 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=6249 This moist rhubarb cake is made with ground pumpkin seeds and sour cream, creating a tender cake crumb with a nutty flavour that pairs beautifully with tart rhubarb. Sometimes, the secret to a moist cake can be less flour, or replacing a portion of the flour with a flour alternative, like a starch (cornstarch, for...

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This moist rhubarb cake is made with ground pumpkin seeds and sour cream, creating a tender cake crumb with a nutty flavour that pairs beautifully with tart rhubarb.

Squares of moist rhubarb cake on plates.

Sometimes, the secret to a moist cake can be less flour, or replacing a portion of the flour with a flour alternative, like a starch (cornstarch, for example) or even ground nuts. The ground nuts add texture to the cake crumb and lighten it in a way that flour can't achieve.

A careful swap of a portion of the flour with some ground almonds, ground hazelnuts, or ground pumpkin seeds can lead to cakes with a very tender, moist crumb and a light texture. This works beautifully in these rhubarb sour cream muffins and the gorgeous rhubarb upside-down cake, made with ground almonds, and in the recipe below with pumpkin seeds!

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What You Need

Ingredients to make a pumpkin seed cake with rhubarb measured out and ready to be mixed.
  • rhubarb—use fresh or frozen rhubarb. I use chopped rhubarb in the cake and sliced rhubarb for the top
  • pumpkin seeds—use raw, untoasted pumpkin seeds
  • butter—I bake with unsalted butter. If using salted, you may want to add less salt to the cake to compensate
  • sugar—I used granulated sugar, but brown sugar will also work great
  • eggs—I always bake with large eggs. Using a different size of eggs may affect the texture
  • leavening—we are using baking powder in this cake, not baking soda. Please read about the difference between baking powder and baking soda if you are unsure
  • sour cream provides a slight acidity to cake batters, which in turn inhibits gluten formation. Reducing gluten results in more tender baked goods that are softer and moister. Please use full-fat sour cream (14 % fat) for the best cake texture
  • salt—I bake with Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the cake may be too salty

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions And Variations

Like with any recipe, baking substitutions can be tricky, but I have a few suggestions:

  • Nuts—I realize that the ground pumpkin seeds are a little unusual, so feel free to replace them with your favourite ground nut or even sunflower seeds. Ground almonds or ground hazelnuts would be perfect here. Pistachios would be excellent! Replace the ground pumpkin seeds with the same weight.
  • Greek yogurt—for the sour cream, you can replace it with the same volume of full-fat plain Greek yogurt. Low-fat would probably work too, but your recipe will have less fat, and I can't guarantee that it will work out the same.

How To Make A Moist Rhubarb Cake

Grinding pumpkin seeds with dry ingredients to make a rhubarb cake with pumpkin seeds.

Step 1—Combine all the dry ingredients, including the pumpkin seeds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal S-blade (image 1). Process the mixture until the pumpkin seeds are fairly finely ground (image 2).

Creaming butter and sugar together until light before adding eggs and vanilla, one at a time, and whipping until fluffy.

Step 2—Cream the butter with the sugar until very light (image 3) before adding the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla (image 4). Whip the mixture until it is very light and fluffy (image 5). You want to incorporate a lot of air!

Note: When you are taking away flour from a recipe, even if it's a fraction that is removed, the key to this making the cake light and fluffy is beating the butter and sugar for a very long time (like 4 minutes), and then beating in the eggs, one at a time, and then 4 minutes more after they are all added. The resulting batter at this stage is emulsified nicely and extremely light and fluffy, resembling soft whipped cream. Don't even bother moving forward with the recipe until you achieve that texture.

Incorporating dry ingredients and sour cream before adding rhubarb to make a thick batter for moist rhubarb cake.

Step 3—Add half the dry ingredients to the mixer (image 6) and stir them in before adding the sour cream (image 7), then mix in the last of the dry ingredients to create a thick batter (image 8). Stir in the chopped rhubarb (image 9).

Square rhubarb sour cream cake before and after baking.

Step 4—Transfer the rhubarb sour cream cake batter to a prepared square cake pan (mine is non-stick, so I buttered it then lined it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang). Arrange logs of rhubarb decoratively in a cross-hatch pattern or weave, sprinkle generously with sugar (image 10), and bake until golden brown (image 11). Use a cake tester to make sure it's done.

Tip—make sure the logs of rhubarb on the top aren't too thin because they become thinner and a little tough to bite through when baked.

The resulting rhubarb cake is very moist and full of rhubarb chunks that go so well in this sweet, nutty cake. It's absolutely addictive and the perfect cake to bake with rhubarb this season. This rhubarb cake is quite different than the rhubarb pudding cake (with rhubarb compote baked under a thick layer of cake) and the orange cake made with cornmeal and topped with rhubarb.

Square rhubarb cake served on pink plates.

Baking With Rhubarb Tip: Metal And Rhubarb Don't Play Well Together

When you're baking with rhubarb, keep in mind that rhubarb is quite acidic. You need to consider the material of your cake pan or bakeware, especially for recipes where the rhubarb may come into direct contact with the pan. I used a square 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, but I found the rhubarb chunks in the cake discoloured the stainless steel finish in places. So even though I used a stainless steel pan for this recipe, it might be more appropriate to bake it in a coated stainless steel, ceramic, or even glass pan to avoid discolouring your pan. You may have to adjust the baking time accordingly since glass, for example, is insulating and slower to heat up, which means your cake will take a little longer to bake.

Regardless of whether your pan has a special coating on it (ceramic or non-stick) or not, be sure to take the time to prepare the pan before baking: grease the pan, and dust the sides with flour or line with parchment. If the pan doesn't have a coating on it, line the bottom with parchment with an overhang to avoid the rhubarb reacting with the metal as much as possible.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve this cake plain, but also with lightly-sweetened whipped cream. This maple whipped cream would also be lovely paired with this rhubarb cake. And you can also serve it Ă  la mode with a scoop of cardamom ice cream.

Other Rhubarb Recipes

I love to bake with rhubarb. The tart flavour of rhubarb allows it to pair nicely in sweet baked goods like these rhubarb recipes:

If you tried this recipe for the best moist rhubarb cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Slices of moist rhubarb cake served on plates.
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Moist Rhubarb Cake with Pumpkin Seeds

This rhubarb pumpkin seed cake reminds me of a giant financier, it's nutty and moist, and full of rhubarb.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 9 pieces
Calories 367kcal

Ingredients

  • 450 grams fresh rhubarb washed and trimmed
  • 156 grams bleached all-purpose flour
  • 108 grams pumpkin seeds
  • 5 mL baking powder
  • 3.75 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
  • 153 grams unsalted butter room temperature
  • 150 grams granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg(s)
  • 5 mL pure vanilla extract
  • 65 mL sour cream (14% fat)
  • 30 mL granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter a 9x9-inch (23x23-cm) square pan (preferably non-reactive and non-stick). Line with parchment paper leaving an overhang. Set aside.
  • Slice rhubarb in half, lengthwise (or even in quarters for thicker stalks of rhubarb) and then into 2 œ" pieces. Select about 27–36 of the prettiest and set them aside for the top of the cake. Chop the rest into œ" pieces. Set aside.
  • In a food processor (like this KitchenAid on Amazon), pulse together the flour, pumpkin seeds, baking powder, and salt until the seeds are finely ground and the dry ingredients are evenly mixed.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (like this KitchenAid on Amazon), cream together the butter and sugar, then beat them together on medium-high speed for a full 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as needed with a spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Then add the vanilla, and beat the mixture again for another 4 minutes on medium-high until it's very pale, light (like soft whipped cream).
  • With the mixer on low, add half the dry ingredients, mix them in, then add the sour cream. Scrape down the bowl again, then add the rest of the dry ingredients, and stir just to combine. Take the bowl off the stand, then fold in the œ" rhubarb pieces with a spatula. The batter will be very thick.
  • Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smearing and pressing it into the corners and edges of the pan. Then arrange the reserved sticks of rhubarb on the top into a pattern (see picture). Sprinkle with 2 tablespoon granulated sugar. If you are using a pan with a removable bottom, place it on a baking sheet.
  • Bake the cake until the edges are nicely browned, and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. This takes about an hour (more or less).
  • Let cool before serving. Unmold after about 20 minutes. Cut into squares once cooled.

Notes

  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  • You can replace the sour cream with full-fat Greek yogurt (around 9 % fat or more).
  • Substitute light brown sugar for granulated sugar in the cake batter (same weight).
  • Use ground almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios in place of pumpkin seeds (same weight). Or you can use sunflower seeds if you'd like to keep the cake nut-free.
  • Beware of baking in aluminum pans: the rhubarb is acidic and can cause the pan to blacken in places if the aluminum pan is uncoated (or not anodized). 

Nutrition

Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 574IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 2mg

This rhubarb cake recipe was adapted from the April 2015 issue of Bon Appétit magazine, page 66. You can find a version online here: Bon Appétit recipe,

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Coconut Financiers With Sungold Kiwis https://bakeschool.com/sungold-kiwi-coconut-financiers/ https://bakeschool.com/sungold-kiwi-coconut-financiers/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2016 22:38:49 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=6347 Learn how to make coconut financiers with this easy recipe. These sweet coconut tea cakes are so adorable, topped with slices of Sungold kiwi fruit. These little kiwi cakes are a lovely dessert and also a nice snack. I love baking financiers, but I especially love combining these sweet cakes with fruit. Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit...

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Learn how to make coconut financiers with this easy recipe. These sweet coconut tea cakes are so adorable, topped with slices of Sungold kiwi fruit. These little kiwi cakes are a lovely dessert and also a nice snack.

A plate of coconut and golden kiwi cakes ready to be eaten.

I love baking financiers, but I especially love combining these sweet cakes with fruit. Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit have a pronounced tropical flavour, reminiscent of sweet mango, much sweeter than green kiwis. I had a feeling SunGold kiwis would be perfect in a coconut financier, just likes raspberries and blueberries make beautiful berry financiers. This recipe is a tropical twist on a classic French pastry.

Jump to:

What You Need To Make Coconut Kiwi Cakes

The beauty of financiers like these is that you likely have all the ingredients in your pantry for them already! Here's what you need to make these little coconut cakes:

Ingredients to make coconut financiers topped with golden kiwi fruit, all measured out and ready to be mixed.
  • kiwis—I used golden kiwis, which are sweeter. Look at the skin of the kiwi to tell if it's a golden kiwi, which has a smooth, soft skin unlike the fuzzy skin of a green kiwifruit. To find Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, check your local supermarket between May and October. I've found them in big boxes at Costco too!
  • butter—I love to use nutty brown butter to make all my financiers. If you're new to making it, please read about the process of how to make brown butter.
  • sugar—I prefer to make financiers with granulated white sugar for the cleanest taste. This way the coconut and kiwi fruit can really shine in this recipe!
  • flour—I bake with regular bleached all-purpose flour but unbleached should also work.
  • eggs—financiers are always made with egg whites. Use the leftover yolks to make homemade ice cream
  • salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount to avoid making these kiwi cakes too salty

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Golden Kiwi Cakes

For this recipe, I used a couple of vintage mini muffin pans that I found at a flea market years ago. The size of the muffin cups is slightly larger than a traditional mini muffin pan. If the finish isn't non-stick, make sure to take the time to prepare the pan before baking: grease and flour 16 of the wells! If you are worried about sticking, you can cut out rounds of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of each muffin cup or even bake these with cupcake liners!

Processing shredded coconut with the other dry ingredients to produce a finer texture for coconut financiers.

Step 1—Combine the dry ingredients (flour, coconut, sugar) in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade (image 1). Process the ingredients to break down the coconut into a finer texture (image 2). Process it as much or as little as you want to achieve the desired texture.

Steps to make batter for coconut financiers with frothy egg whites combined with dry ingredients, including coconut, and browned butter. The bowl of batter is covered to chill it in the fridge before baking later.

Step 2—Whip the egg whites until they are thick and frothy (image 3) and then combine them with the dry ingredients, brown butter and vanilla extract (image 4). Stir the mixture with a Danish dough whisk until you have a thick batter (image 5). Cover the bowl to chill the batter before baking (image 6).

Portioning out coconut financier batter in mini muffin pans and slicing sungold golden kiwis to use as a garnish for the coconut cakes before baking.

Step 3—Portion out the chilled batter into prepared mini muffin pans. I used a Ÿ ounce scoop to make the job easier (image 7). Meanwhile, peel and slice the kiwi fruit so you have 16 rounds to garnish your coconut cakes (image 8).

Golden kiwi cakes before and after baking.

Step 4—Top each coconut cake with a slice of Sungold kiwi (image 9) before baking until golden brown (image 10). You can use a cake tester to check that the middle is baked through.

Unmoulding little golden kiwi cakes from a mini muffin pan with the help of a mini offset spatula to serve them.

Baking With Kiwis—Tips and Tricks

To peel kiwi fruit like golden kiwis, you can use a vegetable peeler or a pairing knife to remove the peel all around. Or you can use the method most of us are most familiar with: "cut & scoop" before slicing. While using a peeler to take the skin off a kiwi works, the fruit is rather slippery and difficult to handle, and the surface isn't as smooth as the scooped-out fruit. Definitely opt for the tried-and-true "cut & scoop" method to get the kiwi fruit out of the peel. It's easy, and all you need is a spoon!

You can eat the peel! You can choose to leave the peel on and slice the whole golden kiwi fruit into rounds to garnish these coconut financiers. SunGold kiwis have a thin, smooth, hairless skin that is perfect for this.

Other Recipes for Financiers

If you love these mini coconut tea cakes, you will enjoy these other financiers recipes:

If you tried this recipe for the best coconut financiers (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

SunGold kiwi coconut financiers | @ktchnhealssoul
Print

Sungold Kiwi Coconut Financiers

Sungold kiwifruit are the perfect pairing with coconut financiers. The cake is sweet, buttery, and light, with a delightful coconut flavour.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 16 financiers
Calories 125kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In small food processor (like this KitchenAid on Amazon), finely grind the sweetened coconut with the granulated sugar, flour, and salt. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until very frothy. Dump the egg whites over the dry ingredients, along with the cooled brown butter, and the vanilla. Fold everything together until you obtain a thick batter.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the batter chill for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter and flour 16 cups of a mini muffin pan (like this push pop pan on Amazon (or line the bottom of each cup with a small round of parchment paper or use mini cupcake liners if you are worried the cakes will stick). When the batter has chilled, divide it between the prepared muffin cups. Top each coconut financier with a slice of Zespri SunGold kiwifruit.
  • Bake on the middle rack for 20–25 minutes, until the edges are golden and a skewer inserted into a cake comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before unmolding to a wire rack to cool completely

Notes

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg

This post is sponsored by Zespri Kiwifruit to promote their SunGold kiwi fruit. I was compensated monetarily and in product. As always, please know that I wouldn’t work with a sponsor nor recommend a product if it wasn’t worth it.

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Hot Milk Cake (Easy Sponge Cake Recipe) https://bakeschool.com/hot-milk-cake/ https://bakeschool.com/hot-milk-cake/#comments Mon, 17 May 2021 15:30:53 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=25624 This is an easy recipe for a hot milk cake, a sponge cake that makes an excellent base for layer cakes and trifle. This is an easy sponge cake recipe, the perfect base for many of summer desserts, like Victoria sponge cake, fraisier and framboisier cakes, and berry trifles. The hot milk cake is my...

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This is an easy recipe for a hot milk cake, a sponge cake that makes an excellent base for layer cakes and trifle. This is an easy sponge cake recipe, the perfect base for many of summer desserts, like Victoria sponge cake, fraisier and framboisier cakes, and berry trifles.

Sponge cake cooling on a wire rack.

The hot milk cake is my favourite for summer layer cakes and desserts because it is moist, sweet, light, and fluffy! This sponge cake was a recipe from my mom's recipe box. She made it every summer for her berry trifles, combining it with layers of lightly sweetened whipped cream and pastry cream in a big trifle dish. You can see how this sponge cake soaks up syrup and alcohol in trifles, like in this Christmas trifle. I also use it to make this gorgeous framboisier cake (or the classic strawberry version, the fraisier cake) and these raspberry lamingtons.

In my family, we don't call this a hot milk sponge cake: it's called a "Zilla's cake" on my grandmother's recipe card. We don't know who Zilla is, unfortunately.

Jump to:

Hot Milk Cake Explained

The hot milk cake is a wonderfully light and fluffy sponge cake: when you press on it lightly with your finger, you can hear the sound of the air releasing from inside the tiny bubbles of the cake, like pressing a sponge.

It gets its name from the ingredients used to make this particular type of sponge cake: it's made with milk that was warmed hot enough to melt the butter. It's also made from whipped eggs, giving it a light, fluffy texture.

You could compare this sponge cake to a genoise, but this is much, much easier to throw together: you don't need to carefully fold the flour into airy, whipped eggs and sugar. Yet this cake is more airy and tender than a classic génoise because of the milk in the cake batter and also the leavening agent used.

Ingredients To Make The Easiest Sponge Cake

This cake is a classic British recipe made from simple ingredients that most bakers and households have on hand at all times. This recipe calls for a chemical leavener, baking powder, which gives this sponge cake a more open crumb and a light texture.

Ingredients to make a hot milk cake measured out and ready to be assembled.

As suggested by its name, this cake is made with hot milk (or warm milk) and also melted butter, two ingredients that aren't usually included in most sponge cake recipes. The milk and butter create a tender cake that is even lighter than classic sponge cakes. Some recipes also include oil, which will give a more moist texture and mouthfeel than butter does.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Steps To Make Hot Milk Cake

I think this is the easiest sponge cake you can make. Like most sponge cakes, the mixing method involves whipping the eggs with the sugar for several minutes to incorporate air and create volume.

The baking powder helps create more volume as the cake bakes, which means you don't have to be so worried about folding in the dry ingredients into the whipped eggs to maintain that air and volume: the baking powder will compensate for any loss of air during the mixing so you always get a light cake, even if you under-whipped the eggs or mix the batter a little too roughly.

Heating milk with butter while whisking dry ingredients separtely to make a hot milk sponge cake.

Step 1—Start by combining the butter and milk in a microwave-safe bowl or a large measuring cup (image 1) and heat the mixture until the butter melts and the milk is hot (image 2). Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients. I like to sift them to remove any lumps (image 3) and to lighten the mixture.

Whipping eggs and sugar together before folding in dry ingredients and hot milk to make a hot milk sponge cake in a stand mixer.

Step 2—You can either use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer to combine the eggs and sugar (image 4), whipping them together until pale, fluffy and thick (image 5). At this stage, my mom who makes this cake with an electric hand mixer likes to add the dry ingredients and milk alternately, using the hand mixer to mix them in (image 6). I sometimes fold these ingredients in using a spatula (image 7). The cake batter should still be very fluffy!

Tip: The mixture will be pretty thick, and when you lift the whisk, the batter falls off like a ribbon and is relatively stable.

Hot milk sponge cake before and after baking in an 8-inch (20-cm) round pan with 3-inch (7.6 cm) sides.

Step 3—Transfer the cake batter to a greased and floured cake pan (either 8-inch or 9-inch springform pans or tall 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans). I like to line the bottom to ensure the cake doesn't stick.

Note: My mom baked this cake in a tube pan. Sometimes she would butter and dust the pan with granulated sugar instead of flour.

Freshly baked hot milk sponge cake cooling in cake pan.

My hot milk cakes generally bake into flat layers, so they don't require levelling, making them ideal for layering without extra work!

Baking Tips For Hot Milk Cakes

The hot milk cake is a sponge cake, so there are a few important steps to take to ensure you will be successful:

  • Sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder and salt) in order to lighten the dry mixture, to remove clumps, and to help these ingredients mix evenly into the cake batter. You can triple sift to be sure that they are properly mixed, or you can sift into a bowl and then whisk them.
  • Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. In order to whisk the eggs and the sugar enough to incorporate more air, I recommend using an electric mixer or a stand mixer. Sure, you can whisk the two ingredients together with a whisk by hand, but it will take longer, and you may not achieve the same volume, nor incorporate as much air.
  • Whip the eggs with the sugar for several minutes (even 5 minutes if you are using an electric mixer). You want the mixture to be very light, airy, and thick. The mixture should be stable. When you lift the beater over the mixture, it should fall back like a ribbon that doesn't disappear right away.

Desserts With Sponge Cake

The tiny bubbles and spongy texture of this cake make it ideal for soaking flavourful syrups or liqueurs like sweet sherry. Use it to make:

Sponge cake split into two equal layers.
A slice of framboisier cake on a pink glass plate with a gold fork.

If you tried this recipe for the best easy sponge cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Hot milk sponge cake cooling on a copper wire rack.
Print

Hot Milk Cake

This hot milk cake recipe is the easiest homemade sponge cake you can make!
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 130kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 ÂșF (175 °C). Butter and flour an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides or an 8-inch (20 cm) springform. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
  • In a small saucepan (or in a microwave safe bowl), heat the milk with the butter until the butter is melted on low heat. Add the vanilla and let cool slightly.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with the sugar until very light and fluffy. The mixture should at least double in volume, if not more.
  • Add dry ingredients alternately with wet ones.
  • Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. A cake tester inserted into the middle should come out clean. The cake will be spongy and light and spring back when gently pressed.
  • Let cool slightly before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  • If you have the patience, you can beat the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. If you don’t have the time, just make sure that they are frothy. I’m not sure that beating them to the ribbon stage is necessary, but sometimes I go the extra mile.
  • When adding the wet and the dry alternately, remember to start and end with the dry. Thus: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. This is one of the golden rules of baking.
  • We always butter (or spray with cooking spray) the inside of the pan and coat it with either sugar or flour. Sugar gives a nice crunchy sweet layer on the outside but can cause more sticking than flour. If using sugar, you have to be very careful and get the baked cake out of the pan when it is just cool enough to release from the pan, but not so cool that the sugar has recrystallized, thereby irreversibly gluing the cake to the inside of the pan. Let it cool a maximum of 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Run a knife around the edge to help get the cake out and make sure to line the bottom of the pan with parchment to prevent sticking on the bottom.
  • The 35-minute baking time is pretty exact. Normally, my mom and her mom would bake this in a tube pan (like an angel food cake pan). It always takes exactly 35 minutes for the cake to bake. No joke. This time, I chose to deviate from the tradition, and I baked it in a loaf pan. And, once again, it came out perfectly! The only difference was that it baked for 47 minutes. Now, I’ve only baked it once in the loaf pan, so I cannot say for sure that it will take you 47 minutes. So start checking it after 45 minutes, or when you notice the edges coming away from the sides.

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
Cake with cream and berries

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Framboisier Cake (Fraisier With Raspberries) https://bakeschool.com/framboisier/ https://bakeschool.com/framboisier/#comments Tue, 25 May 2021 23:21:51 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=25568 Learn how to make the best framboisier cake, a twist on the classic French layer cake called fraisier. The fraisier is two layers of sponge cake filled with mousseline cream and fresh strawberries, while the framboisier is made with fresh raspberries. The cake is traditionally topped with marzipan, dyed a lovely shade of pastel pink. However, sometimes...

The post Framboisier Cake (Fraisier With Raspberries) appeared first on The Bake School.

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Learn how to make the best framboisier cake, a twist on the classic French layer cake called fraisier. The fraisier is two layers of sponge cake filled with mousseline cream and fresh strawberries, while the framboisier is made with fresh raspberries. The cake is traditionally topped with marzipan, dyed a lovely shade of pastel pink. However, sometimes it is simply topped with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Framboisier cake topped with fresh raspberries on a terrazzo board being served with a gold cake lifter.

Fraisier and framboisier cakes are my favourite type of cake. Growing up, they were the cake we always got from the local French bakery to celebrate any and all occasions, mostly birthdays and baptisms.

Sadly, the local bakery we used to order them from shut down, so here is my version of the classic fraisier made with raspberries, mousseline cream, and layers of my mom's hot milk sponge cake recipe.

The recipe may seem overwhelming with many components, but you can actually make it in an afternoon, so don't panic! This cake is worth the time spent!

Jump to:

Meaning Of The Name

The framboisier cake is the raspberry variation of the fraisier cake, a traditional French layer cake made with strawberries. The fraisier is named after the French word for strawberry, which is "fraise." Similarly, the framboisier is named after the word "framboise," which is the French word for raspberry.

This French dessert is designed to showcase summer's most popular berry because the sides of this layer cake are not frosted, allowing you to see the strawberries that are layered inside.

Framboisier is also the French word for a raspberry bush, as the word fraisier can also refer to a strawberry plant. So, if you look up either of these words, you might get mixed results, some articles about gardening and others about baking!

Components Of Framboisier And Fraisier Cakes

The fraisier is made from two layers of sponge cake (often thin layers of génoise), brushed with a simple syrup, and filled with mousseline cream and fresh strawberries. The framboisier cake, on the other hand, is made with raspberries. Both are topped with either a dusting of powdered sugar or with a thin layer of marzipan.

A slice of framboisier cake on a pink glass plate with a gold fork.

As you can see, the fraisier and framboisier cakes are the French equivalent of the Victoria sponge cake recipe, which is a British layer cake made from two layers of sponge cake, filled with whipped cream, jam, and fresh berries.

To make a framboisier (or a fraisier), you will need:

  • two layers of sponge cake or vanilla cake (traditionally, the recipe would be made with a gĂ©noise or even a biscuit joconde)—I like to use a hot milk cake because it's easy!
  • soaking syrup that is made from 2 parts water and 1 part granulated sugar, by weight—you can leave the syrup plain or flavour it with a little spiced rum, Chambord, or another sweet fruity liqueur.
  • vanilla mousseline cream, which is a French baking term for a filling made from pastry cream lightened with butter—alternatives for it include Italian meringue buttercream or a diplomat cream, which is a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and stabilized with gelatin
  • fresh raspberries if you are making a framboisier (or strawberries if you are making a fraisier)
  • marzipan or icing sugar (I like to use German marzipan that is clearly labelled with the quantity of almonds so that you know you are using the good kind)

What You Need To Make Homemade Fraisier

Ingredients to make a homemade framboisier cake measured out.
  • milk—ideally, use whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat milk. Fat-free milk could work, but the texture of the cake may be drier, and the mousseline cream won't be as rich.
  • flour—you will need both bleached all-purpose flour (for both the sponge cake and pastry cream) and a little cornstarch (to thicken the pastry cream)
  • leavening—you will need baking powder for the sponge cake for the lightest texture. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you aren't sure of the difference
  • salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid the cake being too salty
  • eggs—I bake with large eggs. Smaller or larger eggs will affect the texture of this dessert.
  • sugar—I made all the components with granulated sugar to avoid adding any unwanted molasses flavour to the cake and filling.
  • butter—I bake with unsalted butter, but if using salted butter, you may want to adjust the salt content in the cake
  • flavour—I used pure vanilla extract for the sponge cake and the syrup, and vanilla bean paste for the pastry cream (a vanilla bean would also work). I also added a splash of spiced rum to the syrup for extra flavour
  • marzipan—preferably a marzipan that is high in almonds
  • berries—since I opted for raspberries, I used fresh raspberries for the filling and topping and freeze-dried raspberries to colour the top of the marzipan. Strawberries are the classic option (pair with freeze-dried strawberries for decor).

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Special Baking Tools

The beauty of framboisier and fraisier cakes is that they are "naked cakes" with unfrosted sides that reveal the layering. To create the neatest naked cakes, without any stress, you will need to invest in a few special tools:

  • cake ring—I use 6-inch cake rings for the Milk Bar cakes and for framboisier cakes and fraisier cakes, I like to make them in 8-inch cake rings
  • acetate—the cake ring is lined with acetate to make unmoulding easy and completely stress-free. The acetate prevents the cake from sticking to the mould and it also creates a perfect, smooth edge.

Using a cake ring and acetate allows you to build a "naked" cake with perfectly smooth, straight edges. It's the same technique that is used for the Milk Bar recipes, like the Milk Bar birthday cake, the blackberry almond cake, and the banana split cake.

How To Make Fraisier Cakes

The beauty of fraisier and framboisier cakes is that the edges of the layer cake are not frosted. The cut berries are lined up all the way around the edge of the cake to feature them, otherwise, the mousseline cream would hide them.

A classic génoise cake works perfectly well here, but I'm a big fan of the hot milk cake, which is what we use for most of our summer cakes and desserts, like berry trifle.

The hot milk cake is lighter than a génoise because it's leavened with both whipped eggs and baking powder. It's also more tender because of the higher sugar content in the cake batter and the milk, which yields a softer cake with a more open crumb.

Making the vanilla sponge cake layers for a fraisier cake with strawberries (or framboisier cake with raspberries)

Step 1—Start by making the hot milk sponge cake by whipping the eggs and sugar until thick and fluffy (image 1), then fold in the flour alternating with the hot milk mixture (image 2). Bake until the cake is golden brown in a tall cake pan (image 3). Once the cake has cooled completely, you can split it into two equal layers (image 4).

Tip: Don't confuse baking soda and baking powder in this recipe. If you are unsure, read this comparison of baking soda versus baking powder.

Heating water and sugar until the sugar dissolves before adding flavouring (like vanilla and rum) to make simple syrup for brushing on cakes to keep them moist.

Step 2—Heat the water and sugar (image 5) in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, then add flavourings (rum and/or vanilla extract) off the heat to flavour the syrup and the cake (image 6).

Note: Layer cakes made from sponge cakes often feature a soaking syrup or a simple syrup made from water and sugar (in a 2:1 ratio, by weight). The liquid is brushed onto each layer of cake, sometimes on both sides, to lock in moisture and to add a little flavour. Of course, you don't have to add alcohol to the syrup.

Making pastry cream by first tempering eggs with hot milk before cooking until thick, then straining while hot and mixing with butter and vanilla for mousseline filling of fraisier cake with raspberries.

Step 3—Make the pastry cream by whisking the eggs and sugar (image 7). Then, pour the hot milk over the eggs to temper them (image 8). Cook the mixture on the stove until it boils and thickens. Pass the pastry cream through a sieve to remove any lumps (image 9), then mix in the butter and vanilla (image 10). The pastry cream should be thick and emulsified.

How to make mousseline cream from pastry cream and butter using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whipping until light and smooth.

Step 5—Rewhip the pastry cream after it has cooled to room temperature until creamy and smooth (image 11). Meanwhile, whip the butter until creamy and soft (image 13) before adding in the pastry cream slowly (image 13). Whip the mixture until fluffy, smooth, and light (image 14).

Tip: If the pastry cream was chilled in the fridge, let it come to room temperature before attempting to make the mousseline filling. If not, the mixture will end up lumpy and curdled, and you will have to use heat to melt a portion and adjust the texture (see the next section).

Assembling a framboisier cake in a cake ring with layers of sponge cake, mousseline cream and fresh raspberries.

Step 6—Assemble the fraisier cake in a cake ring, set on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and with a piece of acetate fitted inside the walls of the ring (image 15). Start with a bottom layer of cake brushed with ⅓ of the syrup, then line up raspberries along the perimeter (image 16). Fill with most of the mousseline cream and more fresh berries (image 17), smoothing any leftover mousseline cream on top to hide the berries inside (image 18).

Topping a cake assembled in a pastry ring with a round of marzipan to make a fraisier cake.

Step 7—Place the last layer of sponge cake on top, being sure to brush both sides generously with the remaining syrup (image 19). Meanwhile, roll out the marzipan into a 9-inch round (image 20) and place it on top of the last layer of sponge cake. Chill the cake as is for at least 4 hours to set the filling before unmoulding the cake onto a cake plate and removing the acetate.

Raspberry layer cake on a terrazzo stone board.

You can colour some marzipan a pastel pink with food dye, kneading marzipan and working the colour in by hand. I prefer to leave the marzipan uncoloured, and then to sprinkle the top of the cake with freeze-dried raspberry (or strawberry) powder to add a pop of colour. You can use a mini strainer to evenly sprinkle the ground berries on top.

Tip: Many bakeries mix the marzipan with a small amount of gel food colouring to dye it a pale pink or pale green. I prefer to leave the marzipan the way it is, a pale beige. For colour, I like to sprinkle (or grate with a Microplane) some freeze-dried raspberries.

A slice of framboisier cake on a pink glass plate with a gold fork.

The key to the marzipan layer is to roll it out and cut it to exactly the size of the cake. In fact, you can use the cake ring you build the cake in as a giant cutter for the marzipan layer. Just make sure to do this step before you start building the layer cake!

Tips For Perfect Mousseline Cream Filling

Mousseline cream is a pastry cream that is whipped with a generous amount of butter. Ironically, the extra butter gives this filling a lighter texture than straight pastry cream!

Heating the outside of a mixer bowl of mousseline cream to melt a portion of the filling to improve texture and emulsion, creating a light, fluffy, smooth cake filling.

In order to successfully make a mousseline cream, like with other real buttercreams, it's important that the butter and the pastry cream are similar temperatures:

  • If the pastry cream is too cold (like if you chilled it in the refrigerator for hours), the softened butter will harden as you whip the two together. This lead to a grainy frosting with tiny chunks of butter.
    • To fix this, you will have to warm the mixing bowl with a hair dryer or a heat gun to warm the filling and whip the mixture a lot (images 22-23).
  • If the butter is too warm (and if your kitchen is too warm), the emulsion in the filling will break, and the fat may separate out of the filling, leading to an overly shiny, greasy texture.
    • To fix this, you may have to chill the filling in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes to cool it down and then whip the mixture a lot.

Either way, the filling needs to be whipped/whisked extensively to emulsify it and achieve a lighter, more airy texture and taste.

Slices of raspberry and cream layer cake served on glass plates with gold forks.

Storage

Given this raspberry cake is made with fresh berries and a mousseline cream, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Cover the whole thing loosely with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week in the refrigerator, or freeze slices for later. The berries will break down if you defrost this cake, so it's best stored in the fridge and eaten within a week.

For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

Other Berry Recipes

When it's peak berry season, here are a few other berry baking recipes to try:

If you tried this recipe for the best framboisier cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Raspberry layer cake on a terrazzo board.
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Framboisier Cake

This framboisier cake is like a fraisier made with raspberries: layers of sponge cake filled with mousseline cream and raspberries. You can top it with powdered sugar or a layer of marzipan.
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 553kcal

Ingredients

Vanilla bean pastry cream

  • 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature (softened)
  • 5 mL vanilla bean paste
  • 500 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat
  • 100 grams granulated sugar divided
  • 2 large egg(s)
  • 24 grams bleached all-purpose flour
  • 16 grams cornstarch
  • 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Hot milk sponge cake

Syrup

  • 100 mL water
  • 50 grams granulated sugar
  • 15 mL spiced or dark rum or a splash of vanilla extract

Mousseline cream

Framboisier assembly

  • 300 grams Fresh raspberries
  • 200 grams marzipan rolled out and trimmed into an 8-inch circle
  • freeze-dried raspberries optional, either ground or grated on a microplane

Instructions

Pastry cream

  • Place a strainer over a large bowl that contains the butter and vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
  • Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Stir in half the sugar. Heat over medium–high until the milk is almost boiliing.
  • Meanwhile, whip the eggs with the remaining sugar until light in colour and fluffy. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until smooth.
  • When the milk is hot, turn off the stove and, whisking constantly, pour the milk over the egg mixture.
  • Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat it on medium—high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, whisking constantly.
  • Boil the mixture for 2 minutes until very thick, then immediately take off the heat and pour the custard over the strainer and push it through. Whisk the strained pastry cream to incorporate the butter (which has likely melted) and vanilla at the bottom.
  • Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature.

Hot milk sponge cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter and flour an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides or an 8-inch (20 cm) springform. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a small saucepan (or in a microwave safe bowl), heat the milk with the butter until the butter is melted on low heat. Add the vanilla and let cool slightly.
  • Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with the sugar until very light and fluffy. The mixture should at least double in volume, if not more.
  • Add dry ingredients alternately with wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry. You can fold it in or just whisk it in.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth it out. Tap the cake pan on the counter a few times to release any big air bubbles.
  • Bake the cake until golden brown. A cake tester inserted into the middle should come out clean. The cake will be spongy and light and spring back when gently pressed. This takes about 35 minutes.
  • Let cool slightly before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely. You can cool the cake upside down to flatten the top.

Syrup

  • In a small saucepan, combine the water and the sugar. Heat it on medium until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Remove from the heat and add the rum (or vanilla). Let cool.

Mousseline

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter until creamy and smooth.
  • Rewhip the pastry cream to loosen it up, then gradually add it to the stand mixer, whipping constantly.
  • Whip the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
  • Transfer the mousseline to a large pastry bag and use immediately.

Framboisier assembly

  • Prepare an 8-inch cake ring (from Amazon) by placing it on a parchment-lined rimmed (or your cake stand) baking sheet, lining the inside of the ring with a 26 inch long piece of acetate (also on Amazon).
  • Using a serrated knife, trim the top of the sponge cake if necessary so that it is flat and levelled. Slice the sponge cake into two equal layers.
  • Place the bottom layer on the bottom of the ring and press it gently so that it fits flat.
  • Brush the cake with one third of the syrup, roughly 50 mL (a little more than 3 tbsp).
  • Slice 13 to 14 raspberries in half and arrange them neatly on top of the bottom layer of cake, pressing them gently against the acetate to set them in place.
  • Pipe half the mousseline in the middle and smooth it from edge to edge, gently pushing it against the berries to lock them in place.
  • Scatter raspberries over the mousseline (you'll need 50 to 60 berries depending on their size). Press the berries into the cream, gently.
  • Pipe the rest of the mousseline over the berries, then smooth it from edge to edge with an offset spatula. The berries should be completely covered.
  • Brush the underside of the top cake layer with 50 mL of syrup, then place over the mousseline cream, pressing gently to make sure there are no gaps of air.
  • Brush the top of the cake with the rest of the syrup.
  • Place the marzipan on top and press it gently to smooth it out.
  • Chill the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
  • Before serving, remove the cake ring and gently peel off the acetate.
  • Let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes so that the mousseline isn't too cold.
  • Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of ground freeze-dried raspberries or freeze-dried raspberry powder.

Notes

  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  • For the sponge cake:
    • For detailed step-by-step photos and instructions, read about the hot milk cake recipe.
    • If you have the patience, you can beat the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. If you don’t have the time, just make sure that they are frothy. I’m not sure that beating them to the ribbon stage is necessary, but this time I did go the extra mile and was pleased with the extra sponginess that it gave the final cake.
    • When adding the wet and the dry alternately, remember to start and end with the dry. Thus: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. This is one of the golden rules of baking, although I’m not quite sure why.
    • We always butter (or spray with cooking spray) the inside of the pan and coat it with sugar (not flour) because sugar is delicious. Flour works best to prevent sticking so that's what I did in this recipe.
  • For the mousseline cream:
    • Look over the pastry cream recipe to review the detailed step-by-step photos and instructions.
    • If the pastry cream or the butter is too cold, the texture will be lumpy. Use a blowdryer to heat the outside of the bowl, melting a portion of the filling. It will look even worse, but then when you whip it, it will come together into a light, fluffy, creamy, smooth mixture. Repeat this process until you achieve the desired texture. It takes some time, but it's worth it!
  • You can make this exact recipe, replacing the raspberries with strawberries.
  • You can dye the marzipan with a small amount of gel food colouring (traditionally, it is dyed pale pink or pastel green). Instead, I opted to leave the marzipan as is and dust it with ground freeze-dried raspberries for a pretty effect on top.
  • Let the cake chill for 4 hours before unmoulding it to solidify the layers. At that point, you can place it on a plate and remove the cake ring. Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving for the optimal texture and flavour.
  • Store the leftover cake in the fridge, wrapped tightly.

Nutrition

Calories: 553kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 294mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 824IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg

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Orange Rhubarb Cakes https://bakeschool.com/mini-orange-rhubarb-cakes-with-cornmeal/ https://bakeschool.com/mini-orange-rhubarb-cakes-with-cornmeal/#comments Thu, 08 Jun 2017 03:44:13 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=8945 Learn how to make the best orange rhubarb cakes with this easy recipe. These orange cakes are made with a little cornmeal, creating a light, flavourful citrus cake that pairs well with fresh rhubarb. Rhubarb pairs well with sweet ingredients like almonds (ground almonds, amaretto, and almond extract) and corn (such as polenta and cornmeal)....

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Learn how to make the best orange rhubarb cakes with this easy recipe. These orange cakes are made with a little cornmeal, creating a light, flavourful citrus cake that pairs well with fresh rhubarb.

Unmoulding rhubarb cakes from mini loaf pans with a mini offset spatula.

Rhubarb pairs well with sweet ingredients like almonds (ground almonds, amaretto, and almond extract) and corn (such as polenta and cornmeal). The tart flavour of rhubarb also plays nicely with bright orange zest. By combining all these elements, I ultimately adapted a classic orange polenta cake recipe and topped it with rhubarb. If you don't have rhubarb, fresh blueberries or raspberries would make a fantastic replacement for these mini orange polenta cakes.

Unlike this glazed orange cake, which is made with ground almonds and is gluten-free, this orange rhubarb cake has both regular flour and cornmeal.

Jump to:

What You Need To Bake Rhubarb Orange Cakes

Ingredients measured out to make orange rhubarb cakes flavoured with honey and cornmeal.
  • butter—I bake with unsalted butter and add the salt myself. If using salted butter, you may want to reduce the salt in the recipe
  • sugar—I like to use a combination of granulated sugar (sweet, but tasteless) and honey (with a robust flavour). Use a strong honey like Greek honey or autumn honey
  • eggs—use large eggs for this recipe
  • flour—I bake with bleached all-purpose flour but unbleached should work fine
  • cornmeal—use a fairly finei cornmeal, otherwise the cake crumb may be too crunchy
  • leavening—since the cake batter contains sour cream (an acidic baking ingredient), you will need both baking soda and baking powder for this recipe. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you are confused about the difference
  • salt—I bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount
  • sour cream—I prefer to bake with full-fat sour cream, not low-fat or fat-free
  • flavouring—both vanilla extract and orange zest are used to flavour this sweet cornmeal cake batter.
  • rhubarb—use fresh rhubarb only for this recipe. Trim the stalks and remove the leaves, splitting the stalks into thinner pieces (see photo).

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions And Variations

  • Greek yogurt—replace the sour cream with the same amount of Greek yogurt (preferably with 9–10 % fat content). Don't use low-fat Greek yogurt, though it will work just fine, but could result in a dryer texture.
  • Citrus—replace the orange zest with any citrus zest, like lemon or clementine or mandarine. I don't think grapefruit zest has enough flavour but it's worth a try.
  • Glaze—if you want to glaze these, make the orange glaze from this orange almond cake recipe or this orange poppy seed cake. Brush it on top of the cakes
  • Almonds—you could replace the cornmeal with ground almonds.

With most substitutions, you will have to retest the recipe to ensure it works. Tread carefully and take notes!

How To Make Mini Rhubarb Cakes

I love baking muffins and cakes with cornmeal. These orange cakes with cornmeal and rhubarb are moist and buttery, with a light texture and a pronounced orange flavour. The rhubarb is just right for these cakes. I really hope that you will try this recipe.

Whisking dry ingredients separately in a bowl while combining butter and sugar with honey before adding eggs and vanilla in a stand mixer.

Step 1—Whisk the dry ingredients, including the leavening and salt, in a small bowl (image 1) while creaming the butter, sugar, honey, and orange zest in the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment (image 2). Then, add the eggs and vanilla (image 3). Ensure that you mix everything thoroughly to incorporate a lot of air and lighten the mixture (image 4).

Step 2—Add a third of the dry ingredients (image 5) alternating with the sour cream (image 6), stirring between each addition. You will end up with a very thick batter (image 7).

Scooping orange cornmeal cake batter into mini loaf cake pans that are greased and flour so that they are non-stick.

Step 3—Portion out the orange batter with a medium scoop (image 8). Divide the batter evenly between the mini loaf pans (image 10) and smooth it out from edge to edge (image 10).

Note: The pan I used to bake this recipe is a Wilton mini loaf cake pan similar to this one on Amazon. If you don't have one, feel free to use muffin pans, but you will have to adapt the size of your rhubarb pieces accordingly, and the baking time will need to be adjusted. The recipe as is would probably make 10 rhubarb muffins.

Orange rhubarb cakes before and after baking in mini loaf pans.

Step 4—Garnish each cake with 2-3 small pieces of rhubarb (image 11) and bake the cakes until fluffy and golden brown on the edges (image 12).

Let the cakes set before unmoulding them with a mini offset spatula..

Unmoulding rhubarb orange cakes from pan with a mini offset spatula.

Tips For Baking With Cornmeal And Polenta

Cornmeal, also known as polenta, is made from dried corn that is ground. The grind can range from coarse to very fine. It's important to pick the right one when you are baking:

  • Coarse cornmeal, also known as coarse polenta is slower to soften when it comes in contact with moisture, which you need to know if you want to bake with it because it will likely stay crunchy and inevitably add a lot of texture to cakes and cookies if you don't give it time to hydrate. Coarse cornmeal is also useful when making homemade bagels or pizza. The cornmeal prevents the dough from sticking to the pan.
  • Fine cornmeal or fine polenta will soften faster when incorporated into cake batters and so that is what I used in these orange polenta cakes because I didn't want too much texture, but I still wanted that flavour
  • Don't confuse either of these with corn flour, made from dried corn or masa harina, which has been treated with a basic (alkaline) solution in a process known as nixtamalization, which affects the texture and taste. In the UK, cornflour refers to cornstarch, which adds another layer of confusion.

You can add cornmeal to various recipes to enhance both flavour and texture, as seen in the recipe below. Fine cornmeal in these chilli cheese cornbread muffins adds sweetness to balance the spicy chilli peppers and adds texture too. Cornmeal adds crunch to fritters.

Other Rhubarb Baking Recipes

And if you need more things to bake with a bumper crop of rhubarb, check out my best rhubarb recipes, whether you like to bake it on its own in a rhubarb lattice pie or rhubarb crumble or mixed with other berries like raspberry in this raspberry rhubarb upside down cake or strawberries in this strawberry rhubarb muffins. You can even mix it with blueberries like in this blueberry rhubarb crisp with oat crumble topping.

If you tried this recipe for the best orange rhubarb cakes (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

unmolding orange rhubarb cakes with cornmeal from mini loaf cake pan
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Orange Rhubarb Cakes

These orange cakes are made with cornmeal and topped with rhubarb. The cake batter includes greek yogurt so they are moist, buttery, fluffy with a light texture and a lovely orange flavour.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 9
Calories 267kcal

Ingredients

  • 94 grams bleached all-purpose flour
  • 100 grams fine cornmeal
  • 5 mL baking powder
  • 1.25 mL baking soda
  • 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
  • 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature
  • 100 grams granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg(s)
  • 85 grams honey
  • 5 mL pure vanilla extract
  • 15 mL orange zest
  • 60 mL sour cream (14% fat) or full-fat Greek yogurt or labneh
  • 145 grams fresh rhubarb sliced into 27 thin logs of about 2–3"

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350ÂșF (175 °C). Grease and flour a 9-cavity mini loaf pan (like this one from Wilton on Amazon).
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. Set aside
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter with the granulated sugar for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
  • Add the honey, the vanilla, and the zest, and beat it all in well.
  • Add half the dry mixture to the mixer bowl and stir it in on low. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the labneh, mix again, then add the rest of the dry ingredients.
  • Divide the mixture between the greased & floured cavities, smoothing each with a mini offset spatula (like my fave Ateco spatula on Amazon) or the back of a spoon. Top each with 3 strips of rhubarb.
  • Bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the edges of the cakes are golden. This takes about 20 minutes or so.
  • Let the cakes cool at least 10 minutes before unmolding them carefully with the help of an offset spatula.

Notes

  • Substitutions (With most substitutions, you will have to retest the recipe to ensure it works. Tread carefully and take notes!)
    • Greek yogurt—replace the sour cream with the same amount of Greek yogurt (preferably with 9–10 % fat content). Don't use low-fat Greek yogurt, though it will work just fine, but could result in a dryer texture.
    • Citrus—replace the orange zest with any citrus zest, like lemon or clementine or mandarine. I don't think grapefruit zest has enough flavour but it's worth a try.
    • Almond—you could replace the cornmeal with ground almonds.
    • Glaze—if you want to glaze these, make the orange glaze from this orange almond cake recipe or this orange poppy seed cake. Brush it on top of the cakes
  • Make sure to take the time to prepare the cake pans properly by applying a thin layer of softened butter and dusting with flour
  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 392IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg
Mini orange rhubarb cakes with cornmeal baked in mini loaf cake pans for the perfect rhubarb treat that you can share

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Baked Cheesecake https://bakeschool.com/baked-cheesecake/ https://bakeschool.com/baked-cheesecake/#respond Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:48:14 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=50797 Learn how to make the best baked cheesecake with this easy recipe. This vanilla cheesecake is made with a baked graham cracker crust, flavoured with vanilla bean paste, and baked in a water bath to make the smoothest cheesecake without cracks. I love to bake this cheesecake year-round, but especially during berry season, serving it...

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Learn how to make the best baked cheesecake with this easy recipe. This vanilla cheesecake is made with a baked graham cracker crust, flavoured with vanilla bean paste, and baked in a water bath to make the smoothest cheesecake without cracks.

A vanilla cheesecake being sliced to serve it.

I love to bake this cheesecake year-round, but especially during berry season, serving it with fresh berries and lightly sweetened whipped cream. This no-fail recipe creates a classic vanilla cheesecake that has the perfect texture and never cracks!

This is a simple variation of the pumpkin cheesecake bonus recipe featured in the All About Pumpkin bundle and this coffee cardamom cheesecake.

Jump to:

Ingredients

The secret to baking the perfect cheesecake is using the right ingredients and the best baking techniques. For a vanilla cheesecake, the ingredients are simple, but here's what you need to know:

Ingredients to bake a cheesecake measured out.
  • graham cracker crumbs—use pre-ground crumbs or grind graham crackers into fine crumbs. Use the same weight of whole graham crackers
  • butter—I used unsalted butter for the crust. If using salted, omit the salt in the crust
  • cream cheese—use blocks of full-fat cream cheese, preferably Philadelphia brand. In Canada, each block weighs 250 grams, and this recipe calls for four blocks or 1 kg of cream cheese. Do not use low-fat, whipped or spreadable cream cheese!
  • sugar—I used white granulated sugar for the crust and filling to ensure the sugar doesn't interfere with the vanilla flavour of the cheesecake filling
  • eggs—I bake with large eggs. Don't use smaller or extra large eggs as this may impact the texture of the filling
  • salt—I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt in all my recipes. If using regular table salt, add half the amount.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

This is a straightforward recipe for a vanilla bean cheesecake. Here are a few ways you can change it:

  • Sour cream variation: Some people like to add sour cream to their cheesecake fillings for more tang. Replace one block (250 grams) of cream cheese with 1 cup (250 mL) of sour cream or, alternatively, you can add a cup of sour cream to this recipe and increase the number of eggs to 5 large eggs instead of 4. Either way works!
  • Cookie crumb alternatives: you can use graham cracker crumbs from the store or grind up graham crackers or Teddy Grahams in the food processor. You can also use chocolate wafer crumbs or whole Oreos for an Oreo cookie crust or social tea biscuits for a vanilla crust.
  • Gluten-free—use gluten-free graham crackers for the crust if you'd like to make a gluten-free cheesecake.

With any substitutions, you may have to adjust baking times and do further testing.

Instructions

To make a cheesecake from scratch, first you bake the graham cracker crust, and then you mix the filling and bake the cheesecake in a water bath. Here's how it's done:

Mixing ingredients for graham cracker crumb crust together in a small bowl with a fork.

Step 1—Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt (if using) in a bowl (image 1) and stir them before adding the melted butter (image 2). Mix everything together until the ingredients begin to clump together (image 3).

Spreading out, smoothing and compressing graham cracker crumbs in a springform pan to create a smooth, solid base for cheesecakes.

Step 2—Transfer the crust mixture to a prepared springform pan (image 4) and spread it out, pressing it down to even it out (image 5).

Tip: If you don't have a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan, you can use a 9-inch round cake pan with tall, 3-inch sides, making sure to line the bottom with parchment paper. You will have to flip the cheesecake onto a parchment paper-lined board, upside-down, to get it out of the pan, which may ruin the smooth finish on top

Graham cracker crumb crust before and after baking in a springform.

Step 3—Once you have a smooth, even crust (image 6), you bake the crust until the edges just begin to brown a little (image 7). The difference is subtle but you can tell the crust has baked enough when the edges are lightly browned and pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Mixing cheesecake filling in a stand mixer and straining it through a sieve to remove lumps of cream cheese so that the filling is perfectly smooth.

Step 4—While the crust is baking and cooling, mix the filling by combining the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla bean paste (image 8) and mixing it until smooth before adding the eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition (image 9). If you find your filling is lumpy, you can pass it through a strainer with the help of a whisk to press it through (image 10) to create a smooth cheesecake filling (image 11).

Tip: Rather than incorporate too much air in the filling trying to smooth out the lumps of cream cheese, instead we strain the filling. This way you ensure the smoothest texture without too much air, which can expand and cause the filling to crack.

Smoothing out cheesecake filling over a graham cracker crust in a springform pan lined in foil before baking it in a water bath.

Step 5—Transfer the cheesecake filling to the baked crust (image 12), smoothing the surface with an offset spatula (image 13).

Tip: Make sure to wrap the springform pan in 3 layers of foil to protect the crust and prevent water from leaking into the springform. As an alternative to the foil, you can try a roasting bag (the kind used for turkeys!).

Baking a cheesecake in a hot water bath to ensure the top is perfectly flat without cracks.

Step 6—Place the cheesecake pan in a deep roasting pan and pour boiling water to come up halfway (image 14). Bake until set with a slight jiggle in the middle (image 15).

Hint: To prevent the cheesecake from baking too quickly and cracking, which will cause the edges to brown and the centre to rise up and fall, we use a water bath. The water bath insulates the edges of the cheesecake, promoting a flat, even bake. Cake strips may also do this adequately well. We also slowly cool the cheesecake in the oven to prevent temperature shock that can also cause cracks to form.

Storage

Chill the cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator to ensure it is cold before slicing and serving. I like to chill the cheesecake overnight in the pan before unmoulding to slice and serve the cake.

A baked cheesecake sliced into pieces to serve it.

Store any leftovers in the fridge. I've also frozen whole or slices of cheesecake for up to a month. This works quite well, slowly defrosting the slices in the fridge overnight before serving.

Cheesecake Filling Ratio For Scaling Up And Down

I like to bake my cheesecakes in a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan to serve a crowd. If you want to scale it down, remember that for every block of cream cheese (250 grams) you use, you need 1 large egg and 50 grams (Œ cup) of sugar.

Slices of perfect baked cheesecake on dessert plates.

If you'd like to bake this vanilla cheesecake recipe in a 6-inch (15.2 cm) springform instead of a 9-inch (23 cm) pan, you will need a little less than half the recipe. I suggest making a half batch with two blocks of cream cheese and 2 eggs, baking the excess cheesecake filling in a muffin pan.

If you'd like to bake a classic cheesecake in a 12-inch (30.5 cm) springform pan, you will need to multiply the recipe by 1.75, so for the filling, you will need 7 blocks of cream cheese and 7 eggs. You will need more crust as well (make 1.75 times the recipe).

Baked Cheesecake FAQs

Can I skip the water bath to bake my cheesecake?

The water bath is essential for reducing browning, for preventing the filling from overbaking, and for creating a flat, smooth cheesecake surface that doesn't crack.
If you prefer to bake your cheesecake without a water bath, you have to do so at a lower temperature (200 °F or 93 °C). I think low and slow is the way to go for a flat surface and perfect texture if you don't want to use a water bath (please see Splendid Table). Unfortunately, most ovens don't go down that low...

Can I put the water bath on a different shelf to prevent water from leaking into my springform pan and ruining the cheesecake crust?

Some bakers put the water bath on a different oven shelf, but the logic behind this is flawed, and the results are mixed. The water bath is not there for humidity but to provide insulation. If you can, place the cheesecake pan in a water bath for perfect cheesecake every time!
The trick to preventing the crust from coming into contact is to wrap the pan in several layers of aluminum foil. I always use three layers of foil, and I've never had water leak into the pan. Bonus: You can reuse the foil later to cover the cheesecake or leftovers.

What can I use instead of a water bath to insulate my cheesecake and prevent it from overbaking and cracking?

Try to wrap cake strips soaked in water around the cheesecake springform pan instead of a water bath. The cake strips insulate the edges of the pan so that the cheesecake bakes more evenly. This is the secret to baking flat cake layers!

How do I prevent the cheesecake from browning?

Using a water bath will prevent the edges from browning so that they are the same colour as the centre of the filling. Baking the cheesecake at a lower temperature (325 °F or 165 °C) stops the top from browning.

What To Serve With Cheesecake

Looking for what to serve with your cheesecake? Here are my suggestions for cheesecakes toppings, which also work for disguising cracks, should your cheesecake need it:

If you tried this recipe for the best baked cheesecake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Slicing and serving a perfect baked vanilla cheesecake.
Print

Baked Cheesecake

Learn how to make the best baked cheesecake with this easy recipe. This is a classic vanilla cheesecake made with a graham cracker crumb crust and vanilla bean paste, baked in a water bath to create a delicious flat, smooth cheesecake with no cracks.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Chill time 4 hours
Total Time 6 hours 5 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 473kcal

Ingredients

Baked Graham Cracker Crust For 9-inch Cheesecakes

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling

  • 1 kg Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) use the block kind (see note), softened
  • 200 grams granulated sugar
  • 15 mL vanilla bean paste
  • 4 large egg(s)
  • boiling water to create the water bath in the roasting pan

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Boil a full kettle of water (1.75–2 L)
  • In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 26 grams of sugar (2 tbsp) and salt. Mix them together with a fork.
  • Pour the melted over top and stir well until all the ingredients are moistened and the mixture begins to clump.
  • Transfer the crust mixture to your prepared pan and spread it out from edge to edge in an even layer, flattening and pressing it out with a flat-bottomed glass to create a smooth, tight crust.
  • Bake the crust until the edges just begin to brown (10–15 minutes). Take out of the oven and let cool.
  • Drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C).
  • Wrap the outside of the cheesecake pan in three layers of foil so that it is well protected.
  • Prepare the cheesecake filling by creaming the blocks of cream cheese together until smooth and creamy, then mix in the sugar and vanilla bean paste.
  • Mix in the eggs, one at a time, only adding the next egg when the previous one has been completely incorporated.
  • Strain the filling to remove any lumps if necessary, then pour it over your cheesecake crust.
  • Place the foil-wrapped cheesecake pan in the roasting pan and pour water in the roasting pan (making sure to avoid splashing the cheesecake filling!). Fill with enough water to come halfway up the cheesecake pan.
  • Place the roasting pan in the oven, carefully, and bake the cheesecake until set but the centre remains a little jiggly (this takes about 75 minutes for me).
  • Turn the oven off when the cheesecake is done baking and prop the oven door slightly to allow the oven to slowly cool down. Leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door propped open for about 2 hours to cool completely.
  • Take the cheesecake out of the water bath and transfer it to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, if not overnight, before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • For the crust, I prefer to use graham cracker crumbs but this will also work with speculoos cookies, chocolate wafer crumbs (Oreo crumbs), or even social tea biscuits. Use any dry cookies/biscuits for the crumbs.
  • I bake with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty. 
  • For the cream cheese, use full-fat cream cheese sold in block form. Do not use whipped, light, or spreadable cream cheese as these products may have more water or fat.
  • You can flavour the cheesecake filling with vanilla bean paste (preferred) or vanilla extract. You could also scrape a vanilla bean (or half a large bean) and add that to the filling instead.
  • Use a water bath made from a roasting pan and boiling water to bake the cheesecake. Make sure to wrap the springform pan in three layers of aluminum foil to prevent water from seeping into the pan and to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Alternatively, you could use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch sides, making sure to line the bottom with parchment paper. You will have to flip the cheesecake onto a parchment paper-lined board, upside-down, to get it out of the pan, which may ruin the smooth finish on top. 

Nutrition

Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 382mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 1319IU | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 1mg

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Chocolate Financiers https://bakeschool.com/chocolate-financiers/ https://bakeschool.com/chocolate-financiers/#respond Tue, 11 Apr 2023 19:16:26 +0000 https://bakeschool.com/?p=39205 Learn how to make chocolate financiers with this easy recipe. These mini chocolate almond cakes are made with brown butter, ground almonds, cocoa powder, and egg whites, giving them a lovely texture and flavour. Financiers are small almond cakes made with brown butter, ground almonds, and egg whites. The combination of ingredients gives them a...

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Learn how to make chocolate financiers with this easy recipe. These mini chocolate almond cakes are made with brown butter, ground almonds, cocoa powder, and egg whites, giving them a lovely texture and flavour.

Chocolate financiers on a cooling rack with text overlay that reads "chocolate financiers".

Financiers are small almond cakes made with brown butter, ground almonds, and egg whites. The combination of ingredients gives them a nutty flavour and crispy edges.

Financiers are easy to make and can be flavoured in many ways, replacing all-purpose flour with an alternative (like in these chestnut financiers) or replacing the ground almonds with a different ground nut (like in these pistachio financiers) or even coconut (in these coconut financiers). You can also top them with fruit before baking, like in these berry financiers.

Before making these chocolate almond financiers, read about how to make beurre noisette (the French pastry term for brown butter) if you've never made it before.

Jump to:

What You Need to Make These...

The beauty of financiers is that they are made from a very simple list of ingredients and you likely have them on hand if you bake fairly often!

Ingredients to make chocolate financiers measured out and ready to be mixed.
  • butter—I used unsalted butter, but salted will work fine. You may reduce the salt if you are worried that the cakes will be too salty.
  • sugar—traditionally, financiers are made with powdered sugar but I usually use granulated sugar
  • flour—bleached all-purpose is what I use, but unbleached will likely work fine
  • ground almonds—you can buy ground almonds (also called almond flour) at most bulk stores and grocery stores with the nuts and baking products
  • cocoa powder—use Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a rounder flavour
  • egg whites—be sure to weigh the egg whites to make sure you have the right amount since the size of eggs can vary. Feel free to use boxed egg whites for this recipe if you prefer!
  • salt—I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt which is less salty than table salt. If using regular salt (or even Morton's kosher salt), you may like to use half the suggested amount
  • cocoa nibs (optional)—I like to garnish financiers before baking them and for chocolate financiers, cocoa nibs bring a ton of chocolate flavour and a little crunch.

Please see the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions

With a short list of ingredients, your substitution options are limited:

  • Sugar—instead of granulated sugar, you can try icing sugar or a combination of the two. Brown sugar will also work, but watch for lumps!
  • Nut-free—instead of ground almonds, you can try ground sunflower seeds for a nut-free version
  • Gluten-free—for a gluten-free version, you can test the recipe with an alternative flour. For example, millet or sorghum flour should work well, but I've also successfully made gluten-free financiers with chestnut flour and even white rice flour! Buckwheat flour would also be a really interesting option here.
  • Cocoa—you can try natural cocoa powder instead of Dutch-processed in this recipe, but the flavour and colour of the chocolate tea cakes may differ with a different cocoa powder.

Note that you will have to test any substitution you make to ensure it works!

Variations

I consider the base recipe for financiers a sort of blank canvas for creativity. Here are some ways to jazz it up:

  • Coconut— grind coconut to replace the almond flour to make a chocolate coconut version
  • Orange—incorporate the zest of an orange or a clementine in the batter to add orange flavour
  • Chocolate dip—dip the edge of the financiers in melted chocolate, either white or dark chocolate and let set
  • Chocolate chip—add chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate to the batter
  • Raspberry—top each financier cake with a fresh raspberry before baking (instead of the cocoa nibs)

Instructions to make Chocolate Financiers

This might be one of the simplest cake recipes to make. The mixing method is a two-bowl method, where the dry ingredients are mixed in one bowl and the egg whites are whipped separately before combining the two.

Butter sizzling in a pan to boil off the water and make brown butter.

Step 1: Start by melting the butter in a small saucepan because you will need to give it ample time to cool down later.

Browned butter in a saucepan.

Step 2: Brown the butter until it smells nutty and the milk solids have browned and caramelized.

A glass bowl with dry ingredients to make financiers, including ground almonds, flour, sugar, and cocoa powder.

Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the sugar, ground almond, flour, and cocoa powder.

Whisking dry ingredients in a glass bowl to make chocolate financiers cakes.

Step 4: Use a whisk to make sure there are no lumps. If the mixture is too lumpy, use a sifter to smooth it out.

Egg whites in a glass bowl with a whisk that are ready to be whipped to make financiers.

Step 5: In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites and salt.

Whipping egg whites in a glass bowl until very frothy and foamy.

Step 6: Whip the egg whites until thick and foamy using a balloon whisk.

Dry ingredients to make chocolate financiers mixed in a glass bowl with a whisk.

Step 7: Once the dry ingredients are evenly mixed and pretty much lump-free, you are ready to add the whipped egg whites.

Incorporating whipped egg whites with dry ingredients with a whisk to make financiers.

Step 8: Pour the whipped egg whites over the dry ingredients and work the two components together with a whisk.

Thick chocolate cake batter in a glass bowl mixed with a whisk.

Step 9: The chocolate almond batter will be quite stiff and thick at this stage.

Incorporating brown butter in a chocolate batter to make financiers.

Step 10: Whisk in the cooled brown butter.

Chocolate batter for financiers in a glass bowl.

Step 11: The chocolate almond batter will be glossy and thick.

Chocolate financiers batter in a glass bowl wrapped in plastic wrap to chill it before baking.

Step 12: Cover the bowl of chocolate financiers batter with plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour until cold.

Portioning chocolate batter into buttered muffin pan with a cookie scoop (disher) to make financier cakes.

Step 13: Use a Ÿ ounce disher to divide the batter evenly among the greased cups of a mini muffin pan.

Smoothing the tops of financier batter in a muffin pan with the back of a small spoon before baking.

Step 14: You can use the back of a spoon to flatten out the mounds (optional but helpful if garnishing with cocoa nibs).

Garnishing chocolate financiers with cocoa nibs before baking them.

Step 15: I live to garnish financier cakes with a "little something" before baking to make them extra special. Since these are chocolate cakes, I garnished them with cocoa nibs.

Another great option would be a few mini chocolate chips, or chopped almonds since the batter is made with ground almonds.

Chocolate financiers before baking in a 24 cup mini muffin pan.

Step 16: Chocolate financiers should look quite even before baking.

Chocolate financiers after baking in a 24 cup mini muffin pan.

Step 17: After baking, the financiers have puffed and are set. The batter loses some of its shine as they bake.

Tip: Use a cake tester to check if the cakes are done baking.

Top Tip

Whip the egg whites with the salt in the recipe to help break up the globular proteins. This will make it easier for you to build a stable egg white foam more quickly by hand with a whisk.

Storage

Store chocolate financiers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I actually prefer to freeze them in a freezer bag to keep them fresh for up to 2 months. These cakes are small and defrost quickly when taken out of the bag and placed on a plate at room temperature. It takes about 30 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

Financiers are served with tea and coffee as a treat on their own, as you would cookies. In fact, financiers are often referred to as a cookie in French pastry and taught alongside cookie recipes and madeleines.

Financiers Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between financiers and madeleines?

Both financiers and madeleines are small classic French pastry cakes. Financiers are made with egg whites, brown butter, and ground almonds, baked in small rectangular moulds (or round). On the other hand, madeleines are not made with any nuts, and are traditionally flavoured with orange zest or lemon and baked in seashell-shaped pans. Madeleine recipes usually call for a chemical leavener, specifically baking powder, while financiers do not.

How do I prevent financiers from sticking to the pan

Buttering the wells of a mini muffin pan with softened butter and a butter wrapper.
Many pastry chefs bake financiers in silicone pans to ensure they don't stick to the pan. If you don't have a silicone pan, you can use a non-stick pan and then butter and flour the wells of the pan to ensure the sweet cakes don't stick.

Other Financiers Recipes To Try

Looking for other financier recipes like this? Try these:

If you tried this Chocolate Financiers Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know you like it in the 📝 comments below.

📖 Recipe

A plate of chocolate financiers ready to be eaten.
Print

Chocolate Financiers

Learn how to make chocolate financiers with this easy recipe. These little chocolate cakes are made with ground almonds and brown butter, which create a sweet, nutty chocolate cake!
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Chill time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 36 minutes
Servings 24 mini cakes
Calories 92kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and continue cooking it until it turns light brown in color. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the brown butter to a small bowl to cool down sllightly. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, sugar, flour, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites and salt. Whisk them until they are very frothy and foamy.
  • Pour the frothy egg whites over the dry ingredients. Whisk vigorously to mix everything together, then add the cooled brown butter and whisk the batter more to completely incorporate it. The batter will be quite stiff.
  • Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the batter for at least 1 hour until cold.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter a non-stick 24-cup mini muffin pan.
  • Divide the batter among the 24 wells of the prepared pan. Sprinkle the tops of the financiers with cocoa nibs to garnish them.
  • Bake the chocolate financiers until the centres are set. This takes about 16 minutes. Use a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of them to verify they are baked through. Let cool slightly before using a mini offset spatula to unmould them.

Notes

Here are a few substitutions and variations you can explore:
  • Sugar—instead of granulated sugar, you can try icing sugar or a combination of the two. Brown sugar will also work, but watch for lumps!
  • Nut-free—instead of ground almonds, you can try ground sunflower seeds for a nut-free version
  • Gluten-free—for a gluten-free version, you can test the recipe with an alternative flour. For example, millet or sorghum flour should work well, but I've also successfully made gluten-free financiers with chestnut flour and even white rice flour! Buckwheat flour would also be a really interesting option here.
  • Cocoa—you can try natural cocoa powder instead of Dutch-processed in this recipe, but the flavour and colour of the chocolate tea cakes may differ with a different cocoa powder.
  • Salt—This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!

Nutrition

Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 59mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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