Ladyfinger Cake (simple variation on Malakoff)

My grandmother's "Bischkottntuartn" is quick and easy to make and is prepared a day in advance. It's a simplified version of the Malakoff cake, but without eggs or almonds. My grandmother used to make this cake mainly for Christmas because, with all the other preparations for the holiday, there wasn't much time left for baking.

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• 🖨️ RECIPE:
• Ladyfinger Cake (simple variation on Malakoff)

As she got older, my grandma liked to make this ladyfinger cake for family gatherings because she found it increasingly difficult to bake other kinds of cakes.

In the past, though, she mainly made it for Christmas because it’s easy to prepare in advance and doesn’t require much work.

She always makes this recipe by feel, and it was pretty hard to get the exact measurements out of her!

For years (!) whenever I wanted to watch her prepare it, she’d already be done before I even got there, because she didn’t understand that what I was really interested in was weighing the ingredients precisely.

(“Just take a little margarine and a little sugar... as much as tastes good…” )

Eventually, I managed to do it after all and looked over her shoulder while she was cooking (and weighed the ingredients myself along the way…)

Video

Ingredients

You need the following ingredients for this recipe:

16 servings

For a 24 cm Ø (~9½ in) cake with 5 layers

For the cream

• 400 g butter (1¾ cups / 3½ sticks / 14 oz)
• 60 g powdered sugar (½ cup)
• 2 pkg vanilla sugar (4 teaspoon / 16 g) - You can replace the vanilla sugar with about ⅔ teaspoon vanilla extract + 4 teaspoon granulated sugar.
• 90 g milk chocolate (about 3¼ oz)
• 50 g dark chocolate or baking chocolate, about 40% (about 1¾ oz)
• 125 ml cold milk (½ cup)

For the cake

• 400 g ladyfingers / sponge fingers (about 80 pieces)
• 250 ml milk (1 cup)
• 3–5 tablespoon dark rum

Additionally

• 2 tablespoon apricot jam
• 125 ml heavy cream (½ cup)
• 15 g grated dark chocolate (about 2 tbsp)

Instructions

Here is a detailed step-by-step guide with pictures.

Note: The cake should be prepared one day in advance and then left to set overnight in the refrigerator so that the ladyfingers can absorb the cream well.

Preparations

Take the margarine out of the refrigerator a few hours before you start preparing it so it can soften. If you're short on time, cut it into small pieces so it warms up faster.

1. Mix Cream

Using a mixer, beat the 400 g of softened margarine with the 60 g of powdered sugar and the 2 packets of vanilla sugar until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, heat the 90 g of milk chocolate and 50 g of dark chocolate until melted. Gradually whisk in 125 ml of cold milk.

Mix the chocolate-milk mixture with the margarine, which has been beaten until fluffy.

If the cream is too runny, you'll need to add more softened margarine or butter, or chill the cream before continuing.

This is roughly what the finished cream should look like; it may also turn out a little darker depending on the chocolate you use:

2. Assembling the cake

Cut or break the 2 packages (about 80 pieces) of ladyfingers in half.

In a bowl, mix about 250 ml of milk with 3 to 5 tablespoons of rum.

Spread about 2–3 tablespoons of the cream in a circle on the cake plate so the ladyfingers don't slide around.

Dip each ladyfinger individually into the mixture of milk and rum and arrange them in a circle on top of the first layer of cream.

Important:

• Don’t let them soak in the milk for too long, or the ladyfingers will fall apart. Place them on the cake immediately after dipping.
• Arrange the ladyfingers as close together as possible so that the cake becomes firm and stable. (In other words, closer together than in the photo below…)
• Make sure the top layers aren’t larger or smaller than the ones below them, otherwise the cake will end up lopsided.

Fill the center with ladyfingers as well, leaving as little space as possible between them.

Continue in this manner: one layer of ladyfingers, then spread 2-3 tablespoons of the cream over them.

Make the cake one day before serving and store it in the refrigerator overnight so that the ladyfingers absorb the cream well and soften.

Note: The cake, as it’s made here, can’t be transferred to another plate. That’s why my grandma uses a nice, big plate for it right away. If the cake needs to be transported, she stacks it directly in the transport box.

Tip: Divide the 2 packages of ladyfingers by 5 (for 5 cake layers) and arrange one layer as a test so you know how big the circle needs to be and whether it will fit on the plate.

Alternatively, you can arrange the ladyfingers inside a cake ring to ensure the circle stays perfectly round (with this method, you may have a few ladyfingers left over).

3. The next day

The next day, spread about 2 tablespoons of apricot jam on top. If the jam is very thick, stir it in a bowl beforehand (adding 1–2 teaspoons of water or rum if necessary).

Whip 125 ml of heavy cream until stiff and spread it over the top of the cake.

Do not spread the mixture on the sides so that the ladyfingers stand out better.

Sprinkle with about 15 g of grated chocolate (dark or milk chocolate, whichever you prefer).

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Equipment

You'll need the following equipment to make this:

• 1 large mixing bowl for the cream
• 2 small bowls for the chocolate and the milk-rum mixture
• Mixer
• Cake plate

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