Sunflower seed cake

Today I want to share a delicious cake that will be the pride of any family gathering. This time we'll prepare a sunflower seed cake: a fluffy chocolate sponge cake interlaced with smooth caramel filling and candied sunflower seeds.

Fluffy, moist sponge cake combines subtle cocoa flavour and delicate, but prominent coffee notes. The dominant flavour of the filling is caramel, supported by candied seeds that bring subtle, nutty aroma. All of that under a simple chocolate glaze and crispy candied sunflower. Delicious although slightly time-consuming dessert that you can serve both at a party and at a family gathering in the festive season.

You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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List of ingredients (35 x 24 cm baking tin)

Biszkopt

• 160 g cake flour
• 50 g cornstarch
• 50 g dark cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 8 large eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 50 g vegetable oil

Filling

• 400 g butterscotch filling
• 500 g mascarpone cheese
• 300 ml whipping cream (36%)
• 30 g icing sugar

Candied sunflower

• 100 g sugar
• 50 g butter
• 50 ml milk
• 300 g sunflower seeds

Cake soaking mixture

• 150 ml coffee liqueur
• 150 ml water 

Chocolate glaze

• 200 ml whipping cream
• 200 g dark chocolate

Method

1. Sift 160 g cake flour, 50 g dark cocoa powder, 50 g cornstarch and 2 flat tsp baking powder through a fine sieve to remove any lumps. Stir through the dry ingredients shortly with a whisk until everything gets evenly distributed and set them aside.
2. Pour 8 large eggs into a separate, very large bowl and add 200 g fine white sugar. Beat the contents of the bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. It would be most convenient to beat eggs in a standing kitchen robot, but a handheld mixer will cope with it if that's all you have.
3. Once eggs become fluffy and thicken considerably, bring mixer speed down to medium and add 100 g vegetable oil to eggs. Do it slowly, in a thin trickle, while mixing the ingredients. This way they'll combine to form uniform, lightly shiny emulsion. Once you've added all of fat continue mixing for another 30 seconds, making sure that everything has combined as intended.
4. Add dry ingredients to batter. Do it in three batches, a few tablespoons at a time, and combine the contents of the bowl carefully after each part with a silicone spatula. It's important not to overmix the cake or remove too much air, so mix it only until you no longer see raw powder. Try to reach the bottom of the bowl as this is where most of flour will gather, and it's easy to miss.
5. Pour ready batter into a baking tin, 24 x 35 cm, and spread it evenly across the surface. The bottom of the baking tin should be lined with baking paper, and the sides should be dry and clean. Cake will stick to them during baking and not deflate while cooling.
6. Bake the cake in an oven preheated to 170 deg C, no fan, for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Take the cake out of the oven then and set it aside, in the baking tin, to cool. An hour or two should be enough.
7. Prepare sunflower seeds in the meantime. Put 100 g fine white sugar, 50 g butter and 50 ml milk into a pan. Heat them up at medium-low speed, stirring constantly, until they form a uniform mixture. Let it come to a boil then.
8. Add 300 g sunflower seeds. Keep stirring the contents of the bowl from that point on until sunflower seeds begome lightly golden, and sugary crust forms around them. It will take a few minutes, so be patient and don't stop stirring to prevent mixture from sticking to the pan. It may seem difficult at first as there will be a lot of liquid in the pan, but it will evaporate soon enough. The whole process took me around 13 minutes from the point I added sunflower seeds, but the exact time may differ depending on your cooker hob.
9. Once sugary crust forms around sunflower seeds, take pan off heat. Transfer sunflower seeds onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and spread them in a thin layer across the surface. It will cool down faster this way. Set the tray aside until seeds cool completely.
10. Prepare cake soaking mixture. Pour 150 ml cool water and 150 ml coffee liqueuer into a small jug. Stir through the contents of the jug until uniform and put it into a fridge until you need it.
11. After about an hour, return to sunflower seeds that should be cool by now. Transfer 3/4 of seeds into a ziplock bag and set 1/4 aside - we'll use it to decorate the cake. Close the bag almost completely, leaving a 1 cm opening to let air escape/ Crush sunflower seeds with a rolling pin into smaller pieces that will be easier to mix into filling.
12. Set sunflower seeds aside and move on to filling. Transfer 500 g cold mascarpone cheese, 400 g butterscotch filling from a can, 300 g cold whipping cream and 30 g icing sugar into a large bowl. Beat the contents of the bowl with an electric mixer until stable, stiff filling forms. It can take a while because of large amount of ingredients, so be patient. Once you've got the right texture stop beating, add crushed sunflower seeds and mix it in shortly with a spatula.
13. Carefully cut off sponge cake from the sides of the baking tin, remove baking paper from the bottom and transfer cake onto a worktop. Cut it into two roughly even layer using a long, serrated knife. Return the bottom layer into the clean baking tin. Its bottom should be lined with baking paper, and its sides - with baking paper or acetate foil. Soak the bottom of the cake using coffee cake soaking mixture.
14. Transfer all of caramel filling onto the cake and spread it evenly across the surface. Put the second cake layer on top and press it down lightly to make it stick. Soak the top cake layer with cake soaking mixture. Put the cake into a fridge while you're preparing a chocolate glaze.
15. Put 200 g chopped chocolate (72%) into a small bowl and add 200 ml whipping cream. Put the bowl into a microwave oven for 20 seconds, take it out, stir through the contents and return the bowl into a microwave for another 20 seconds. Repeat the steps until smooth chocolate glaze forms. It should not take longer than a minute. You can also prepare chocolate glaze in water bath instead. Once you've got the right texture pour the glaze on top of the cake and spread it evenly across the surface. Scatter remaining sunflower seeds on top. Put ready cake into a fridge for a few hours, or best overnight, until filling sets completely.
16. Enjoy! 

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

• 402 kcal
• Carbs: 30 g
• Fat: 28 g
• Protein: 7 g
• Fibre: 2 g

1 slice (recipe makes 24 slices)

• 527 kcal
• Carbs: 40 g
• Fat: 36 g
• Protein: 9 g
• Fibre: 2 g