Midsummer dessert: pancake cake with rhubarb and strawberries

A pancake cake inspired by summer's homemade flavours is perfect for celebrating Midsummer. Hidden between thin pancakes is a filling of rhubarb jam, the season's first strawberries and cream cheese frosting. The cake suits both garden parties and a cosy home coffee table.

Midsummer is here, and the table awaits a summer-flavoured dessert: a pancake cake with rhubarb and strawberries that brings together the season's finest flavours from the home garden.

The heart of the cake lies in three components: thin, soft pancakes, a juicy rhubarb-strawberry jam filling and delicate cream cheese frosting. All three layers together create a cake that is light enough to enjoy in summer heat, yet has enough festive appearance to grace a table with guests.

Pancakes and jam

When making pancakes, one important tip must be kept in mind: the pan should not be too greasy. The amount of oil should be kept to a minimum, otherwise the pancakes will turn out greasy when layered in the cake. The batter consists of eggs, milk, wheat flour, sugar and salt; it should be left to rest for 30 minutes before baking.

For the rhubarb jam, the stalks are cut into approximately one-centimetre-thick slices and heated in a pot on moderate heat until the liquid begins to release. Then sugar is added and the mixture is simmered, stirring, for 12-15 minutes. Once removed from the heat, finely chopped strawberries are stirred in and the mixture is left to cool.

Frosting and assembly

To prepare the cream cheese frosting, gelatine sheets are soaked in cold water for 10 minutes. Cream cheese is rubbed with sugar and vanilla sugar until soft, and whipped cream is folded in. Gelatine dissolved in hot milk is whisked into the cream cheese, which gives the frosting the firmness needed for the cake.

To assemble the cake, a 20 cm diameter springform pan is used. Four pancakes are laid along the sides of the pan so that half of each pancake remains inside the pan and half extends outside. One or two additional pancakes are placed on the bottom. The filling is arranged in four layers, alternating between cream cheese frosting and jam. Finally, the filling is covered with pancakes, the edges extending over the pan are folded inward and the cake is gently pressed together.

The cake should chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Before serving, the cake is turned out onto a plate, decorated with strawberries and edible flowers, and dusted with icing sugar.