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Cream Cakes, Layer Cakes

Speculoos Mulled Wine Cake

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Speculoos mulled wine cake with a sour cherry layer, spiced sponge and crumbled mini speculoos cookies on top

4.7 (3)out of 5, 3 ratings

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Prep
20 min
Bake
35 min
Total
55 min
Makes
14 slices

The holiday season is knocking at the door, and with it Advent coffee afternoons, time with family and enjoying good things together! It really is a special time, when we eat cookies and cakes during Advent. I'm already so looking forward to spending the next few weeks enjoying lovely moments with my loved ones. This cake is just perfect for your Advent table! Mulled wine cream, speculoos filling, no gelatin: what more could you want? In this recipe I don't use mulled wine but grape juice, which even makes it alcohol-free, so kids can eat it too, yippee :) The delicate sponge is flavored with Christmas spices and cocoa, so it makes a nice change from the classic vanilla sponge ;)

Ingredients

Makes 14 slices

Shortcrust base

  • ⅔ cup80 gpowdered sugarVery finely ground sugar for icings and dusting. In the US use powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar); in the UK, icing sugar.
  • 1 stick plus 3 tbsp160 gunsalted buttersoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter; European-style unsalted butter is closest. In the UK, unsalted butter.
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g). Vanilla sugar is sugar flavored with vanillin (artificial vanilla), sold in small packets of about 8 g. In the US use 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar for each 8 g packet; in the UK, vanilla sugar sachets, or 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar per sachet.
  • 2 cups240 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.

Sponge

  • 6large eggsroom temperature
  • 1 cup plus 1 tbsp220 ggranulated sugar
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g)
  • 1 pinchspeculoos spiceA spice blend for spiced Christmas cookies, mainly cinnamon with cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger. In the US use speculoos spice, or cinnamon with a little ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger; in the UK, speculoos spice, or mixed spice with extra cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom.
  • 1 tspunsweetened cocoa powderPure unsweetened cocoa powder for baking. In the US use unsweetened cocoa powder (not hot cocoa mix); in the UK, cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate).
  • 2 cups240 gall-purpose flour
  • 1 tspbaking powderGerman baking powder is sold in 15 g packets, each meant for about 500 g (4 cups) of flour. In the US and the UK, use baking powder, 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp per 15 g packet.

Sour cherries

  • 1 ½ cups350 mlgrape juiceor mulled wine
  • 1 jarsour cherriesor morello cherries. A standard German jar holds about 12 oz (350 g) drained cherries. Sour cherries are tart cherries, in German baking usually from a jar. In the US use jarred morello cherries, or canned tart cherries in water (not pie filling); in the UK, jarred morello cherries.
  • 1 packetcustard pudding powderA packet of flavored starch (about 37 g) that is cooked with 2 cups (500 ml) of milk and sugar into a thick pudding. In the US use about 1/3 cup (40 g) cornstarch plus 1 tsp vanilla extract per packet; only when the recipe cooks it with milk as a pudding, one box of cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix (not instant) per packet, with the recipe's sugar reduced because the mix is sweetened. In the UK, custard powder, about 40 g per German packet (it is unsweetened, so it swaps 1:1 by weight).
  • 1 tbspgranulated sugar

Cream

  • 2 cups500 mlmilk
  • 1 packetcustard pudding powderchocolate flavor
  • 1 tbspunsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tspspeculoos spice
  • 3 tbsp50 gspeculoos cookie butterA sweet spread made from ground speculoos cookies. In the US use Biscoff cookie butter (smooth); in the UK, Lotus Biscoff spread (smooth).
  • 2 sticks plus 2 tbsp250 gunsalted buttersoftened
  • ½ cup60 gpowdered sugar

Decoration

  • mini speculoos cookiesThin, crisp spiced shortbread cookies. In the US use speculoos cookies such as Biscoff; in the UK, speculoos biscuits such as Biscoff.
  • cherries or cranberries

Method

Shortcrust pastry

  1. Mix the butter with the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla sugar until everything is creamy, then add the flour and knead it into a dough.

  2. Press the dough flat and chill it for about one hour, then knead it briefly again, roll it out on a floured work surface and cut out a round using the ring of a 10-inch (26 cm) springform pan.

  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), convection (fan) or conventional (top and bottom heat). Place the shortcrust base on a baking sheet and bake in the hot oven until light golden, about 10 minutes. Then let it cool completely on the baking sheet.

Sponge

  1. Beat the eggs with the sugar, salt and vanilla sugar vigorously for about 10 minutes until the volume has tripled.

  2. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, spice and baking powder thoroughly.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) convection (fan). Line the bottom of the springform pan with parchment paper.

  4. Sift the dry ingredients onto the foamy egg mixture, lovingly fold them in and pour the batter into the pan.

  5. Bake the sponge for about 30 minutes, then turn it upside down onto a wire rack and let it cool like that (still in the pan!).

  6. Once the sponge has cooled completely, remove it from the pan and cut it into 3 layers (so slice through it twice).

  7. Spread a small amount of the cookie butter over the shortcrust base and place one of the sponge layers on top. Close the springform ring around this first layer.

Cherry filling

  1. Bring the grape juice or mulled wine to a boil together with about 7 tbsp (100 ml) of the cherry juice, the sugar and the pudding powder. Drain the rest of the cherries. Once the mixture has bubbled up once, take it off the heat and gently, lovingly stir in the cherries.

  2. Once the mixture has bubbled up once, take it off the heat and gently, lovingly stir in the cherries.

  3. Pour the hot cherries into the prepared springform pan, cover with another sponge layer and let it cool. Meanwhile, prepare the cream.

Cream

  1. Mix the milk with the pudding powder, spice and sugar, bring it to a bubbling boil once on the stove, then cover and let it cool completely.

  2. Once the "pudding" has cooled, beat the butter with the powdered sugar vigorously for 5 minutes, then add the cooled pudding a spoonful at a time and keep beating until you have a smooth cream.

  3. If the cream separates, you can make it creamy again by warming it gently, for example over a water bath. Give it a brief moment of warmth, then beat it vigorously again.

  4. Now spread about ⅓ of the cream evenly over the layer in the springform pan and cover it with the last sponge layer. Spread another ⅓ of the cream over it and put the cake, still in the springform pan, into the fridge. Chill for at least one hour.

  5. Now carefully remove the springform ring, spread the remaining cream around the side and decorate the cake with it.

  6. For the decoration, lightly crush the mini speculoos cookies and crumble them over the cake.