Old Bohemian cake “Kuba” with mushrooms and plums
Old Bohemian Kuba Cake with Mushrooms and Plums is an original dessert inspired by a traditional Czech dish that will surprise you with an unusual combination of sweet and savory flavors. Groats, dried mushrooms, plums, jam and spices meet here with creamy cheesecake, plum brandy and a spectacular plum tourbillon.
Ingredients · Servings In 1 bedroom 23-24 cm
- 100 g of groats
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 ml vegetable oil
- 100 ml whipping cream
- 50 g caster sugar
- 15 g dried mushrooms
- 2 g starch
- 6 g butter
- 6 g lard
- 10 ml caramel
- 5 ml lemon juice
- 285 g plums
- 45 g caster sugar
- 2 g cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 g pectin
- 3 g caster sugar
- 5 g gelatin
- 200 g biscuits
- 50g butter
- 600 g cream cheese
- 150 g powdered sugar
- 20 g starch
- 60 g sour cream
- 100 g plum jam
- 200 g sour cream
- 100 g plum jam
- 1 pinch salt
- 200 g mascarpone
- 200 g whipping cream
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 60 ml plum brandy
- 10 g gingerbread spice
- 20 g sugar syrup
Method · 8 h
- For the groat insert, rinse the groats thoroughly several times under running water. Cover them with water, salt, add oil and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Then drain the water and rinse the groats again.
- Pour the cream over the groats, add sugar and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, stirring frequently.
- Meanwhile, soak the dried porcini mushrooms in 40–50 ml of boiled water. After about 10 minutes, roughly blend them with the water so that there are still recognizable pieces of mushrooms in the mixture. Add them to the almost soft groats and cook together briefly.
- Mix the cornstarch in 5 ml of water, pour it into the groats and boil briefly until thickened. Set aside, stir in the butter, lard and 10 ml of the prepared caramel. Season with salt and lemon juice. Spread the mixture into a 20 cm diameter mold, smooth it out and leave it to set in the refrigerator.
- For the plum stew, pit the plums, put them in a saucepan and sprinkle with sugar. Heat, stirring constantly, until they release their juice and soften. Season with cinnamon, nutmeg, rum and a pinch of salt. Blend and leave to cool.
- For the plum tourbillon (see Something extra), mix pectin with 3 g of sugar. Put 215 g of the prepared plum mixture in a saucepan, sprinkle pectin with sugar and bring to the boil. Let the gelatin swell in cold water, squeeze it and stir it into the hot plum mixture. Do not boil any longer. Season with lemon juice, pour into a tourbillon mold or rim with a diameter of 14 cm and leave in the freezer to freeze completely.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C using top and bottom heat. Finely crush the biscuits and mix with the melted butter. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 23-24 cm cake tin and bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.
- For the cheese filling, briefly beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and starch. Add the sour cream and mix until smooth. Stir in the jam, cinnamon and nutmeg. Finally, gradually add the eggs. Do not beat the mixture for too long to avoid incorporating too much air. Season with lemon juice.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C. Place the hardened graham cracker insert on the cooled biscuit base and pour over the cheese filling. Seal the outside of the mould tightly with aluminium foil and place in a larger container of hot water. Bake in a water bath for a total of 60–90 minutes. After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 140°C and after another 15 minutes to 130°C. The finished cheesecake should have firm edges but the centre should still jiggle slightly when the mould is moved slightly.
- Let the baked cake cool for about 30 minutes. For the jam layer, beat the sour cream with the jam and a pinch of salt. Spread the mixture over the surface of the cake and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, ideally overnight.
- Carefully remove the cake from the mold. Place the frozen plum tourbillon in the center, which will gradually soften in the refrigerator.
- Whip the mascarpone with the cream and icing sugar until stiff. Transfer to a piping bag with a plain tip and decorate the cake around the perimeter.
- Mix the plum brandy with the gingerbread spice and sugar syrup and fill the pipettes with the mixture. Stick them around the edge of the cake and decorate the center with gold sugar or chocolate pearls.