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Wow, just the smell of this Erdbeerboden reminds me of my childhood! I might not have mentioned this before, but my parents moved to Germany just before I was born – So I grew up in Germany, surrounded by some truly amazing food! I love German baking, the bread is obviously amazing, but they also make some terrific cakes, too! This strawberry flan called an “Erdbeerboden” (literally translates to “strawberry floor”) is an absolute classic! All it is, is a light sponge topped with strawberries, but served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream you simply cannot beat it!
This strawberry flan cake is perfect for summer! Enjoy the most of the strawberry season and check out some of my other strawberry recipes, including Mary Berry´s Strawberry Fraisier Cake, Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes, Swiss Roll Cake with Strawberries and Cream, Classic British Trifle or Strawberry and Cream Meringue Roulade.
Erdbeerboden – A German Baking Classic
I can almost guarantee that every German has made an Erdbeerboden at least once in their life. And that is because it is extremely easy to make, especially as the flan, cake base can be bought ready-made. All that´s left to do then is place the strawberries on top! And hey presto, you are done!
I have made many of these strawberry flan cakes using the shop-bought base, but I finally thought, hey, it´s such a simple cake, I really want to give making it myself a try!
Making an Erdbeerboden from Scratch
Making an Erdbeerboden, a classic German strawberry flan cake, is a lot easier than you may think! The sponge cake is made using the “creaming method”, meaning that the butter and sugar are first “creamed”/whisked together for a few minutes until pale and fluffy. This step is extremely important as it creates air and make sure you end up with a light cake! The eggs are then added one by one, before carefully folding in the dry ingredients.
When using this method, it is very important for the butter and eggs to be at room temperature. If they are not at the same temperature, the two ingredients won´t emulsify properly and your mixture will curdle/split. So, make sure you remove the two ingredients from the fridge in plenty of time, and to add the eggs to the butter very slowly (½-1 egg at a time), mixing really well between each addition. Adding a tablespoon of the flour with the last bit of the egg will also help to prevent curdling.
But the most important thing…
The most important piece of equipment needed to make this cake, however, is the correct baking tin! You have to use a flan tin that has an “elevated” base and a rim around the edges. This means that once baked and turned out of the tin, the cake will have a nice rim around the edges. It creates a natural border for the strawberries and will stop the jelly glaze from running everywhere. I will leave a link to the type of tin I mean here.
Watch how to make an Erdbeerboden here:
Substitutes for “German” Baking Ingredients
The Germans actually have quite a few baking ingredients that I have never seen elsewhere! Quite a few of which are used in this Erdbeerboden recipe, so I´m going to tell you how you can substitute all of those different ingredients! Alternatively, you can always order them on Amazon…
“Vanillezucker”
Vanillezucker, you might have guessed is vanilla sugar. Whilst you can make your own by leaving a dried vanilla pod in a jar of sugar for a few months, in this recipe I am giving you a faster alternative. By simply adding a tad more sugar and half a teaspoon of good-quality vanilla extract, a sachet of Vanillezucker is easily replaced!
“Sahnesteif” or “Sahnefest”
Now, this is an interesting ingredient, and literally translates to “firm or stiff cream”. Normally, it´s used when whipping cream to help it stiffen and hold its shape. Whipping cream in Germany is similar to single cream in the UK, so it needs a bit of help to stiffen due to the lower fat percentage. However, here, when making whipped cream you can simply use double cream, which has a higher fat percentage and therefore has no need for something like “Sahnesteif”.
In this recipe however, the “Sahnesteif” is not used for whipping cream but scattered over the sponge to prevent it from becoming soggy once the strawberries are put on top. So, for these purposes I have simply substituted a sachet of “Sahnesteif” with a mixture of cornflour and icing sugar.
“Tortenguss”
Tortenguss is the jelly-like substance you might have seen on top of fruit tartlets before. The contents of one sachet of Tortenguss is largely cornflour, which is then mixed with water and sugar to make the jelly-glaze. You can either get one that has no colour (“Tortenguss Hell“) or one that is coloured red (“Tortenguss Rot“), which is what people commonly use for making an Erdbeerboden!
The good news is though, that you can easily make the “Tortenguss” yourself. To make a red-coloured jelly (if not just use water), use 250ml of a red juice (e.g. strawberry or raspberry), 30g of cornflour and a little sugar if the juice isn´t overly sweet or you are using water. Heat half of the juice in a small pot and dissolve the cornflour and sugar in the remaining juice. Once the juice in the pot has almost come to the boil, add in the cornflour/juice mix, bring to the boil and stir until thickened.
Variations of the Erdbeerboden
FRUIT VARIATIONS
Of course, this German baking classic isn´t limited to a strawberry topping! You can use the basic recipe for the sponge cake base and then top it with any fresh fruit you like! It would then be an “Obstboden” (Obst = fruit in German) rather than an “Erdbeerboden” (Erdbeeren = strawberries).
Two versions I would highly recommend are a mix of fresh summer berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) or you can go down a more tropical route and add sliced kiwi, mango, peaches, apricots etc. Tinned versions of the latter also work really well if you don´t want to use fresh fruit.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO PREVENT A “SOGGY BOTTOM”
Whilst in my family, a soggy sponge was avoided by dusting the top of the cake with “Sahnesteif” (see above), I have also seen variations of an Obstboden that use different ways to prevent a “soggy bottom”. For one, you could brush a thin layer of melted chocolate (milk or dark would work well with strawberries, whilst white might be better for the tropical fruits). Check out this post here for tips on melting chocolate. Or, I have also seen people spread a layer of thick custard, similar to a Crème Pâtissière before topping with the strawberries. It´s completely up to you – personally I enjoy the simplest (and easiest) version of the cake the most!
More German Baking Classics
Having grown up in Germany, I have had a lot of exposure to German baking and have very much enjoyed baking things traditional to the country. There are loads more recipes for other German Baking Classics on my blog, so make sure to check out some of my favourites listed below:
- Black Forest Gateau | “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte”
- Laugenbrezeln | German Pretzels
- Baked Chocolate Cheesecake | “Russischer Zupfkuchen”
- Seeded and Carrot Loaf | “Muntermacher”
- Strawberry Flan Cake | “Erdbeerboden”
- Marbled Traybake with Cherries and Chocolate | “Donauwellen”
- Beesting Cake | “Bienenstich”
- Enriched Dough Plait filled with Chocolate and Nuts | “Nusszopf”
- German Baked Cheesecake | “Käsekuchen”
- Bauernbrot | Classic German Bread Baking
- “Haselnussbrot” – Hazelnut Shortbread Biscuits dipped in Chocolate
- Chocolate-Orange Crescent Biscuits | Schoko-Orangen Kipferl
- Plum Crumble Cake | Zwetschenkuchen mit Streuseln
- Kirschlikuchen | Cherry and Chocolate Cake
- Neujahrsbrezel | Enriched Dough Plait for New Year’s Day
- Laugenzöpfe | German Breakfast Rolls
- Chocolate and Hazelnut Bundt Cake | Nusskuchen mit Nussglasur
Erdbeerboden | Strawberry Flan | German Baking Classic
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
- 125g butter, at room temperature
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar (or use an extra 15g of caster sugar and a bit of vanilla extract)
- 3 M eggs, at room temperature
- 200g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp milk
TO FINISH:
- 500-600g fresh strawberries
- ½ tbsp icing sugar
- ½ tbsp cornflour
- 1 sachet Tortenguss rot (or 250ml red juice (e.g. raspberry/strawberry) or water, 30g cornflour, a little extra sugar if necessary)
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 28cm flan tin with an “elevated” base
- electric hand whisk
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush the inside of the flan tin with some melted butter and dust with flour to stop the cake from sticking.
- Beat the butter with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and a lot paler in colour. Next, add in the caster sugar and vanilla sugar (or extra sugar and vanilla extract) and cream together for a further 2-3 minutes until smooth and all of the sugar has dissolved in the butter.
- Start adding the eggs, one at a time, beating well (at least 30-60 seconds) between each addition to avoid the mixture curdling. It´s very important that the eggs and butter are at room temperature, and you may want to add a tablespoon of the flour with the last addition of the egg which will also prevent curdling.
- Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt and add half of the flour mix to the mixing bowl. Pour in half of the milk and beat briefly until just combined. Add the remaining flour and milk to the bowl and beat until just combined. You do not want to overmix the batter! You may want to use a spoon for the last bit to prevent knocking out too much of the air.
- Carefully pour the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a dish towel placed on a wire rack. The cake is very delicate, so the dish towel will prevent the cake from sticking and sinking into the cooking rack. Leave the cake to cool completely.
- Whilst the cake is cooling you can prepare the strawberries. Wash and pat dry, then trim the top of the strawberries to remove the stem and cut them in half.
- Combine the icing sugar and cornflour in a small bowl. Once the sponge is completely cool, evenly distribute this mix over the top, as this will prevent the cake from absorbing the liquid from the strawberries and becoming soggy.
- Starting from the outside of the cake and the cut side facing outward, arrange the strawberries on top of the cake in circles. Then cut some of the remaining strawberries into smaller pieces to fill any gaps.
- To make the jelly for the top, follow the packet instructions on the “Tortenguss” or use the method outlined above. Working quickly, spoon the jelly over the strawberries until they are covered and the gaps are filled. Leave the jelly to set completely (either at room temperature or in the fridge to speed things up) before slicing.
- Serve the finished strawberry cake is with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream/crème Chantilly (recipe here) and any leftover strawberries. Enjoy!
Check out how to make Chantilly Cream!
