Katharina’s Favorite Cake

My family really loves sheet cakes; we also call them “Mehlspeisen.” Almost every other day, we have a Guglhupf, a roulade, a cake, or a tart. For me, all recipes have to be simple, quick, and delicious. On holidays or on Sundays, I especially love to make the pumpkin seed cake, which is very delicious and moist. You need a lot of eggs and pumpkin seeds for it, but other than that, it’s a piece of cake. That was Katharina’s favorite cake—she was our summer intern this year :-)

Pumpkin Seed Cake Recipe:

8 fresh eggs, 120 g sugar, 80 g breadcrumbs, 200 g toasted and chopped pumpkin seeds, 1 package vanilla sugar, (2 tablespoons rum, if desired). 1 package of whipping cream and red currant jam for the filling, chocolate glaze.

Separate the eggs; beat the egg whites. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar until fluffy; add the breadcrumbs, vanilla sugar, and pumpkin seeds. Finally, fold in the egg whites with a spatula and pour the batter into a greased cake pan lined with coconut flakes or breadcrumbs, then bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees) for about 40 minutes.

Let it cool, then cut it in half twice using a cake knife. Spread a generous layer of red currant jam on each layer, followed by a layer of whipped cream, then place another layer of cake on top, followed by more red currant jam and whipped cream. For the very top, I just add one more layer of fine red currant jam and a thin layer of chocolate glaze. Chill, let it set, and it’s done. If you don’t like pumpkin seeds, it also tastes great with coarsely grated nuts or brittle.

Since yesterday was National Apple Day, here’s a simple shortcrust pastry recipe for an apple crumble cake. It tastes best starting on the second day—if there’s any left, that is—because by then it becomes nice and crumbly and even juicier. It’s also quick and easy to make.

Simple Apple Cake with Crumb Topping (The recipe makes enough for one baking sheet; if using a cake pan, simply halve the recipe).

For the topping: Grate 1.5–2 kg of apples (not too finely), then briefly heat them in a pot. Add cinnamon, sugar, lemon zest or lemon juice, and a splash of water, and blanch briefly. Set aside to cool.

Shortcrust pastry: 500 g butter, 4 eggs, 200 g sugar, 1000 g flour, 2 packets of baking powder.

Make a shortcrust pastry using the ingredients. I simply put all the ingredients into the food processor with the dough hook attachment, turn it on at low speed, and it forms a smooth dough that comes away easily from the bowl. Then roll out about half of the dough onto the baking sheet using a rolling pin, and put the rest straight into the freezer (for the crumble topping). When rolling out the dough, I always place parchment paper underneath and on top of the dough—that way, the dough never sticks to the rolling pin and it goes very quickly. Spread the cooled apple mixture over the dough and distribute it evenly across the entire baking sheet. Crumble the remaining shortcrust pastry by hand and sprinkle it over the dough as a crumble topping. Bake at 170 degrees for about 40–50 minutes.

All the best, and good luck. Yours, Katharina, the farmer’s wife from the Zittrauerhof in the Gastein Valley. Next time, I’ll share more tips about life on the farm—beyond the kitchen :-)