Schmand-Kirsch-Kuchen (sour cream cherry cake)

Method

1. Rub the cold butter into the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until it looks like coarse crumbs, then work in the egg just until a dough forms. Press into the base of a 24 cm springform, about 2 cm up the sides.
2. Drain the cherries thoroughly in a sieve, pressing gently, then scatter them evenly over the base.
3. Whisk the sour cream, eggs, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla sugar together until smooth, then pour evenly over the cherries.
4. Bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custard is set at the edges and still wobbles gently as one piece in the centre.
5. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then chill at least 1 hour before releasing and slicing.

Notes

• Draining the cherries properly matters more here than in a streusel version. With no streusel to soak up excess liquid, an under-drained cherry layer leaves the custard too wet to set.
• This is a quicker, plainer cake than the streusel and pastry cream versions elsewhere in the book. It suits an ordinary weekday coffee rather than a occasion that calls for something more elaborate.
• The custard should still wobble when it comes out. Baked until completely firm, it will have overbaked by the time it cools, and the texture turns rubbery rather than soft.
• It keeps for 3 days in the fridge, covered.

Ingredient substitutions

• Sour cherries can be sweet cherries, pitted, with the sugar reduced slightly to keep the balance.
• Sour cream can be a mix of sour cream and quark for a firmer set, or crème fraîche for a milder tang.
• Frozen sour cherries work if thawed and well drained.
• A dusting of icing sugar over the cooled cake is the only decoration this cake needs.