German Strawberry Shortbread Tart- Erdbeertorte

This is a German strawberry cake that is easy to make and  brings out the fruity flavor of strawberries.

On my last trip to Germany  I was invited to a birthday celebration of my mother's friend and neighbor, Helga. Our families have been friends as long as I can remember. As a child I used to visit them all the time, sitting in their kitchen and watching the women prepare food.  I felt like part of their family. It was a peaceful household where I would go when when I wanted to be somewhere else. Helga was a good friend to my mother and visited her regularly and brought her food. My mom would always tell me on the phone that Helga had brought her some herring salad (one of my mom’s favorites), soup or whatever she’d cooked that day. I am so grateful for the kindness and caring she gave my mother. Helga’s husband, Willie, was my father’s friend and both of them farmed together. My father, a gentle and kind soul, mentored young Willie, who always liked to tease young girls like me. On warm summer nights, with the windows open, he and his friend would lull me to sleep by playing their violins, which made up for the teasing during the day.

Blackberry Forest Cake

Egg Liqueur Torte ( Eierlikörtorte)

Let’s get back to the birthday party and the afternoon coffee and cake. In rural Germany a birthday party usually starts around four in the afternoon with Kaffee and Kuchen (coffee and cake). Later in the evening, a hot meal is served. Sometimes, a savory hot meal is served for lunch and then followed by coffee and cake. For Helga’s birthday, all her friends had baked a fancy cake for her occasion. Of course I had to sample each of them and they were all delicious. I managed to get some of the recipes and hope to post them in the future when I have more time—and strawberries are not in season.

For this post, I chose a common German cake that can be bought in almost any German supermarket, already baked (like a piecrust in this country). I don't care much for the commercial variety, preferring to bake my own. These cakes are called Tortenboden or Obstkuchenboden (try to pronounce that!) which translated means “the bottom for a cake” like you would use for a strawberry shortcake. This cake has fluted edges and the bottom is indented to create an edge. I used a Chef Tell dessert pan by Nordic Ware. I often use it to make flan. Any cake pan will do, and it will taste just as good. Once you bake this shortcake, you can be creative and use any fresh fruit you want. I remember way back when my aunt made it with kiwis and it was delicious. In my recipe I decided to use vanilla pudding for the bottom. Creme anglaise would be fantastic but I wanted to keep it simple and easy to make. Personally, I think it is just as good with a layer of strawberry jam. My husband preferred the one with the custard. In Germany, the cake is covered with a glaze that you can buy. Here in the US, you can buy Dr. Oetker’s glaze for fresh fruit tarts at Cost Plus or Walmart. It comes in small individual packages. I made my own glaze by using some sweetened strawberry/rhubarb juice that I cooked and thickened with pectin. Even though the glaze is traditionally used, I think you can do without it. What makes this cake even tastier is a dollop of Schlag (whipped cream). I sprinkled a handful of slivered almonds over my cake and added some blueberries for color.

My German visitors enjoyed my baked shrimp with quinoa and peas. Its a great dish for  warmer days. ​

Click on the photo for the recipe

Strawberries are in season right now. Here are some recipes from my blog. Click on the photo to see the recipe.

Strawberry Punch

Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

Robert's Strawberry and Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Hazelnut Crisp

The tart  and the custard can be prepared a day ahead of time. The pan has to be thoroughly buttered and then dusted with flour to prevent the cake from sticking. The eggs and  butter need to be at room temperature. The original German recipe called for an 11-inch cake pan, although I used a 9-inch form and had enough dough left to make three little mini-tarts. My strawberries were very large, but smaller ones would be fine too. For the butter, I like to use European-style butter like Kerrygold. For the glaze, I used some sweetened strawberry and rhubarb juice, but you can use cherry juice or any dark fruit juice. There will be some leftover pudding and strawberries, which makes a great snack.

the glaze

the filling

A German baking pan

The baked inverted tart

Print Recipe

Ingredients

The tart :

1 ½ sticks (13 TBS) butter (180g) at room temperature
1 cup (180g) sugar
3 eggs (at room temperature)  
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour (180g)
1 tsp baking powder 


The filling: 

1 package 6½ -cup  Jello Cook-and-Serve pudding & pie filling1½ - 2 pounds of strawberries.


The glaze:

3/4 cup fruit juice 
​3 TBS sugar 
1 TBS powdered pectin
​​

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F/ 180˚C.

The tart
​
Cover all the surface of the baking pan thoroughly with softened butter. 
Sprinkle with flour, shaking off the excess. 

Beat the soft butter in a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the sugar and beat until creamy for several minutes. Add the vanilla extract and one egg at a time, continuing to beat after each addition until the dough is well combined. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and add to the dough in several additions. Add the dough into a well-greased and floured cake pan. Smooth the top of the cake.
Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes. 
Allow the cake to cool slightly and very carefully remove the cake. I ran a knife around the edges before turning it over. Let the cake cool completely. At this point, you can keep it wrapped in the fridge for a day.

The pudding:

Prepare the pudding according to the directions on the package. You want your pudding to be stiff. This can also be done a day ahead of time. 


The glaze:

Whisk together the sugar and the powdered pectin. In a small pan, bring the juice to a boil and drizzle the sugar-pectin mixture into the boiling juice whisking constantly. Boil for 2 minutes. Cool until just barely warm. Drizzle the glaze over the strawberry tart.


Assembling the tart :

Rinse and dry the strawberries. Cut the top off each strawberry to make a flat edge. Spread about a cup of pudding over the cake, leaving the edges free. Beginning on the outside of the cake, arrange the strawberries in a circle with the cut side down. Play with this a little bit and have fun. Drizzle the cooled glaze over the strawberries and allow to set for an hour before serving. The torte can be kept in the fridge covered for a couple of days. Before serving, whip some cream and decorate the cake with it or just serve it on the side. ​

Guten Appetit
recipe from a German website
adapted by ©Sunnycovechef
​