This elegant cherry cream cake combines crisp puff pastry layers with a silky vanilla cream and a sweet-tart cherry filling. Light, refreshing, and visually beautiful, it’s a perfect dessert for celebrations or when you want something impressive without heavy sponge cake.
Ingredients
For the pastry layers
- 10.5 oz puff pastry (fresh or thawed from frozen)
For the cherry filling
- 1.6 lb cherries (pitted, fresh or frozen)
- 3.5 oz sugar
- 0.7 oz cornstarch
- 5 tablespoons reserved cherry juice (for glaze)
- About ½ cup cherry juice total
For the cream filling
- 1 packet gelatin
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Bake the puff pastry
Let the puff pastry soften slightly if frozen. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry. Using a cake pan or ring (about 9 inches / 22 cm), cut out three equal circles.
Place the pastry circles on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush with cold water and prick all over with a fork to prevent puffing too much.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and let all three layers cool completely.
2. Prepare the cherry filling
Place the cherries in a strainer and allow the juice to drain into a bowl. Set aside 12 whole cherries for decoration and 5 tablespoons of juice for the glaze.
In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cherry juice and part of the sugar until smooth.
Heat the cherries with about ½ cup cherry juice and remaining sugar. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook briefly until thickened and glossy. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
3. Make the cream filling
Soak the gelatin in cold water according to package instructions.
Whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
Melt the softened gelatin gently and mix it with 3 tablespoons of whipped cream. Slowly pour this mixture into the remaining whipped cream while gently folding. Chill for about 30 minutes until slightly firm.
4. Assemble the cake
Set aside ¼ of the whipped cream for decoration.
Place one pastry layer on a serving plate and surround it with a cake ring. Spread half of the cherry filling evenly over the pastry, then pipe half of the cream on top.
Add the second pastry layer and repeat with the remaining cherries and cream. Finish with the third pastry layer.
5. Decorate and chill
Mix the reserved powdered sugar with the saved cherry juice and gently brush the top layer.
Pipe 12 cream rosettes on top and place one cherry on each. Refrigerate the cake for about 90 minutes before serving.
Serving Tip
Slice with a sharp knife for clean layers and serve well chilled. This cake pairs beautifully with coffee or tea.
