Swirl Sour Cream Cake with Dried Fruit and Walnuts

 

The following swirl cake is a wintry version of a summery fresh fruit cake I have posted a few years ago.
In the earlier version of the cake, I have used quark cheese as the base for the swirl, along with fresh summer fruits. As I didn’t have quark cheese this time, I substituted it with a mix of sour cream and yogurt.
Instead of fresh fruits, I used dried cranberries and dried apricots, and also added some chopped walnuts – all were mixed into the sour cream and yogurt layer.
For more aroma and flavors, I added honey and orange juice and zest to both the cake batter and the sour cream yogurt layer.
All these additions made the cake a bit sweeter than the previous one, and a lot more aromatic, with different flavors and textures in each bite. Even with all that, the cake is light and refreshing, and relatively low in fat and sugar. It is perfect for serving with a hot beverage on a cold day, or as part of a dessert buffet. Try it and enjoy.

Makes: 20 squares
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
For the sour cream-yogurt layer:
1 cup sour cream
½ cup Greek yogurt (I used Fage 2%)
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs fresh orange juice
2 tsp orange zest
¼ cup cornstarch
1 cup roughly chopped dried cranberries, dried apricots, and walnuts
1 Tbs cornstarch
For the cake layer:
2 L eggs
½ cup sugar
2 Tbs honey
¼ cup oil
¼ cup fruity white wine
1 Tbs fresh orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1¾ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line a 12”x8” (20.5cm x 30cm) pan with baking paper.
2. The sour cream yogurt layer: in a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream and yogurt with the sugar, honey, orange juice, and orange zest. Add ¼ cup cornstarch and whisk to a smooth mixture.
3. In a separate small bowl, mix the dried fruit and walnuts with 1 Tbs cornstarch. Add to the sour cream-yogurt mixture, once the cake batter is ready, and mix lightly
4. The cake batter: in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and honey. Add oil, white wine, orange juice and zest, sour cream and vanilla, and whisk again. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix to a smooth batter.
5. Pour the cake batter into the lined pan, and add dollops of the sour cream-yogurt-dried fruit mixture on top. Using a fork, gently swirl the two layers together, to create a layered marble effect.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake batter part comes out clean. Place on a rack and let cool to room temperature before cutting.

Orange and Quince Duck Legs

 

Whenever I’m lucky enough to find quince at the store, I immediately grab a few. It is such a wonderful and versatile fruit, and it is a real shame its’ season is fairly short.
On top of being such a fragrant fruit, quince has so much pectin in it, it is no wonder that its’ main use is in making jams, jellies and fruit pastes. Quince is also great for making Pate de Fruit, a recipe I have shared a while ago, and can be found HERE.

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The following old fashioned/”retro” Jelly Roll cake, is just perfect for this purpose, or for any other weekend brunch. It can be easily prepared from simple ingredients, yet still looks sophisticated and festive. Try it and enjoy.