Recipe:
Ingredient Notes:
- Spinach. Both fresh and frozen spinach work well. If using frozen, thaw it completely and squeeze out any excess water. For fresh spinach, trim the stems and blanch the leaves in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Note that the weight listed in the recipe is the final weight of the prepared spinach ready for the batter. Make sure to account for extra weight when buying, as it will decrease after thawing or blanching.
- Cranberries. Fresh or frozen berries are both fine. There is no need to thaw frozen berries before using. As mentioned, cherries or raspberries make excellent substitutes.
- Cream cheese. Any full-fat cream cheese (like Philadelphia) is perfect for this frosting.
- Heavy cream. You’ll need cream with at least 30% fat content (heavy whipping cream). Avoid 20% cream—it’s meant for sauces and won’t hold its peaks. Ensure the cream is well-chilled before whipping.
- Oil. Any neutral refined vegetable oil works here. If you prefer not to use vegetable oil, you can substitute it with melted butter in a 1:1 ratio.
- Eggs. Use Medium or Large eggs (approx. 50–55g without the shell).
- Pectin. I used Pectin NH for this recipe. Apple pectin or commercial blends will also work, though you may need to experiment with the proportions. If you can’t find pectin, you can substitute it with a cornstarch slurry. For the amount of cranberries in this recipe, use 15g of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp of cold water.
Let’s start cooking!
Make the spinach sponge.
Separate the eggs into yolks and whites.
Mix the spinach with the butter, egg yolks, vanilla sugar and a third of the regular sugar. Blend until smooth.
Add the flour sifted with baking powder and mix.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the remaining sugar until soft peaks form.
Add a third of the egg white mixture to the spinach mixture and fold in gently until smooth.
Add the remaining egg whites to the mixture and fold in gently. Mix gently to try and push as little air as possible from the batter.
Pour the mixture into the baking pan and place it in an oven preheated to 170°C (340°F). Bake for about 45–50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Do not open the oven during the first half of the baking time.
Leave the finished sponge to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out and leave to cool completely.
Trim any uneven edges from the cooled sponge cake. Cut the sponge cake into 3 layers.
Make the cranberry confit.
Set aside 2 tablespoons of the total sugar and mix it with the pectin.
Place the cranberries and the remaining sugar in a saucepan over a high heat.
Bring to the boil, then cook over a medium heat for about 5–7 minutes. Mash the berries as you cook (if using fresh cranberries, you can do this at the beginning, for example with a potato masher). At the end of the cooking time, stir in the sugar and pectin mixture. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool completely.
Make the syrup for soaking.
Combine the water with the condensed milk and stir until smooth.
Make the frosting.
Combine the cream cheese and condensed milk, beating until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream. Just before finishing, add the powdered sugar.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until smooth.
Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag and cut off the tip.
Assemble the cake.
It’s best to do this in an adjustable cake ring.
Place the first cake layer on the bottom and soak it.
Evenly spread a layer of frosting on top. Then, using the piping bag, pipe circles around the edges.
Place half of the confit between the circles of frosting.
Repeat with the second cake layer. Cover with the third layer and soak it.
Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6–8 hours to set.
Ideally, you should have some frosting left over for the outer decoration after assembling the cake. You can store it in the refrigerator until tomorrow, right in the piping bag.
Once set, cover the cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate to your liking. I sprinkled crumbs from the trimmed edges of the sponge cake on the sides of the cake and topped it with additional whipped cream, pistachios, and freeze-dried cherries.
After decorating, let the cake sit in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. After that, it’s ready to serve.
Enjoy!
This Emerald Spinach Cake with Cranberries recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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