“50 shades of summer” cake

This cake is just like August - juicy, sultry and captivating!

Delicate almond biscuits, no-bake cheesecake with caramelized apricots, blueberry confit, marmalade with juicy apricot pieces and puffed cream cheese… The heady taste of summer in every piece of cake! The cake is light and bright, and has not even a drop of dye!

The calculation is for a 16 cm (6.3 inch) cake.

For the sponge biscuit:

• 155 g flour | 5.45 oz
• 55 g almonds | 1.95 oz
• 221 g eggs | 7.80 oz
• 5 g baking powder | 0.20 oz
• 180 g sugar | 6.35 oz
• 160 g butter 82.5% | 5.65 oz
• 2 g salt | 0.05 oz

All the ingredients should be at the room temperature. Sift the flour with baking powder; add the chopped almonds (you can use the almond flour) and salt, and mix well with a whisk. Whip the butter and the sugar with a mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring the mass well each time. Add the dry ingredients in three passes. Mix them in gently with a silicone spatula, from the middle to the edge.

Pour the dough into a prepared ring. Bake the biscuit in the oven, preheated to 170C (338F) for 45 to 55 minutes until a dry skewer. Focus on your oven! Cool it on a wire rack, and wrap with the cling film; put the biscuit in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours (better overnight). Cut the biscuit into three layers.

For the apricot no-bake cheesecake (14 cm | 5.5 inch):

• 100 g apricots | 3.55 oz
• 30 g sugar | 1.05 oz
• 230 g cream cheese | 8.10 oz
• 70 g powdered sugar | 2.45 oz
• 90 g cream (with at least 33% fat content) | 3.15 oz
• 1 g salt | 0.05 oz
• 48 g gelatinous mass (8 g gelatin + 40 g water) | 1.70 oz (0.30 oz + 1.40 oz)

Cook the caramel apricots: simmer the apricots with the sugar in a saucepan until the liquid is completely boiled away. Cool it down. Mix the cheese at room temperature and the powdered sugar, using a silicone spatula. Stir until smooth, and add the cream; combine. Add the gelatinous mass, and mix; at the very end, mix the caramel apricots into the mass. Spread the cheesecake in a prepared ring, and send it to the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.

For the apricot marmalade (14 cm | 5.5 inch):

• 150 g apricots | 5.30 oz
• 30 r water | 1.05 oz
• 50 g sugar | 1.75 oz
• 28 g gelatinous mass (4 g gelatin + 24 g water) | 1.00 oz (0.15 oz + 0.85 oz)

Place the apricots, cut into cubes, with water in a saucepan with a thick bottom on a low heat. Add the sugar, and bring the mass to a boil; simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the marmalade base from the heat, and add the gelatinous mass; mix and pour into a prepared ring. Cool the marmalade, and place it in the freezer.

For soaking:

• 70 g apricot puree | 2.45 oz
• 30 g sugar | 1.05 oz
• 80 g water | 2.80 oz

Put all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed saucepan; bring to a boil, and cool.

For the blueberry confit:

• 220 g blueberries | 7.75 oz
• 40 g sugar | 1.40 oz
• 10 g corn starch | 0.35 oz

Combine the sugar with the starch. Heat the blueberries in a saucepan with a thick bottom; add the sugar and the starch, and bring the mix to a boil. Keep boiling for two more minutes. Place the confit in a container; cover it with foil in contact, and cool. Place the confit in the fridge.

For the cake assembling crème:

• 500 g cream cheese | 17.65 oz
• 80 g powdered sugar | 2.80 oz
• 100 g cream (with at least 33% fat content) | 3.55 oz

Combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar at a low mixer speed, and add the cream. Mix again. That's it, the crème is ready!

For the covering crème:

• 510 g cream cheese | 18.00 oz
• 90 g powdered sugar | 3.15 oz
• 60 g cream (with at least 33% fat content) | 2.10 oz
• 50 g blueberry puree | 1.75 oz

Combine the cheese with the powdered sugar at the lowest mixer speed; add the blueberry puree and the cream. Mix again, and place the crème in a pastry bag. That’s it!

Assemble the cake, following the next order:

a sponge biscuit layer / soaking / crème rim / blueberry confit / crème / cheesecake / crème / a sponge biscuit layer / soaking / crème / crème rim / blueberry confit / soaking / a sponge biscuit layer.

Bon Appetit!