Slagroomtaart - We vieren feest!

Hieperdepiephoera!! We're celebrating today's 100th post on The Dutch Table with an authentic Dutch slagroomtaart, or whipped cream cake. The name itself already suggests reckless abandon, from a Calvinistic perspective, but what can I say? Today is a special day and in good Dutch tradition, any reason is a good excuse to bring out the coffee, some cake and enjoy the company of friends.

Slagroomtaart is THE birthday cake par excellence. It has a very light and airy batter, and is hard to find outside of the Netherlands. It's an easy cake to bake, and a fun one to decorate. Traditionally you will find fruits and chocolate on top, and nougatine, candied nuts, on the side. Since those last ones are hard to find here in the United States, we're making them, it doesn't take long.

Slagroomtaart
For the cake:
4 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of corn starch
Chocolate, fruits for decorating

For the whipped cream
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of powdered sugar

For the nougatine
1 cup of dry roasted peanuts
3/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of water

Preheat the oven to 320F. Butter and flour a 9 inch spring form.

Beat the four eggs and the sugar at high speed until it's tripled its volume and is light yellow, full of air and falls off the beater in a thick ribbon. Sift the flour and the corn starch together and carefully fold it into the airy batter. Pour it into the mold and place it in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Let the cake cool.  In the meantime, chop the peanuts into small pieces or pulse it several times in the food processor. Take a heavy bottomed pan, and add the sugar and the water. Bring it to a boil and keep stirring until the sugary mixture caramelizes and has a nice, dark golden color to it. Remove from the stove, add in the chopped peanuts and stir them quickly, making sure all the peanuts are coated. Spread the thick layer on a piece of parchment, a marble top or a silicone mat and let it cool. When cooled down, you can use a rolling pin to break it into small pieces, leaving you with caramel coated peanut pieces.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and transfer half of it to a piping bag with a big star tip.

Slice the cake in half lengthwise. Spread a generous amount of whipping cream on the bottom half and replace the top. Now cover the rest of the cake in whipping cream with a spatula, making sure you don't miss any spots.

Balancing the cake on the palm of one hand, cup a handful of nougatine in the other hand and apply it to the side of the cake. Rotate a bit and press some more onto the side until the cake is covered. This takes a bit of practice and maybe an extra set of hands.

Place the cake on a serving tray or pedestal and pipe big rosettes all around the outside rim, and another smaller circle in the middle. Fill the rest up with smaller rosettes or ribbons, however you see fit.

Dry off the decorating fruit (pineapple slices, kiwi, strawberries, maraschino cherries, mandarin oranges.....), and start making up the cake. Usually each rosette receives a piece of fruit, or every other one. Add the chocolate (balls, fans, sprinkles....) for a finishing touch and ready is your cake!!!

Best chilled and eaten the same day, with a cup of hot coffee and in good company. I know I'm in good company with all of you, so I'm helping myself to a large piece. Thank you all for these fantastic first 100 posts, there are many more to follow!!



18 comments:

  1. Hans-from-Curaçao-who-is-happy-that-due-to-the-colonial-past-slagroomtaarten-can-be-bought-hereDecember 4, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    Really the best cake in the world. Funnily enough, even the representatives of the so-called 'culinary highly developed' nations at the then European Hewlett-Packard call center agreed that the Dutch slagroom- and mokka-cakes were unsurpassable (especially those produced by the HEMA). And it is indeed the lightness of the cake itself that does the trick: outside of the Netherlands the cake is far too dry. And of course, the 'banketbakkersslagroom' is another trick...

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  2. Congratulations on your 100th post. Excellent blog.

    Would love to see a recipe for a mokka-cake!

    For the slagroomtaart, is a mixing machine required? Will mixing by hand work?

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  3. Anonymous, I've made a note on the mokkataart, I will tackle it in the next month or so. As for the mixer, you will need something motorized, maybe not a mixer like the one in the picture but a handheld one with two beaters will do just fine. The key is to whip as much air into the mixture as possible. With the mixing machine it takes at least ten minutes, I'd dread to think how long it would take by hand!

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  4. making this today to celebrate my daughter's 3rd birthday!

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  5. Happy birthday Cali!! Hope you had a great day and good cake :-)

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  6. Constance MacDonald-RademacherFebruary 15, 2013 at 9:43 AM

    I soooo love your blog/page!!!! Keep up the wonderful work!!!! Onwijs bedankt. Dit is een van de beste sites over nederlands eten wat ik tot nu toe heb gezien.
    Groetjes Constance.

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  7. Love this recipe, was looking for it everywhere ! thank you sooo much for your amazing blog !

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  8. Finally!! Have been looking for the recipe of a slagroomtaart for a while now. I can finally have a "real" birthday cake!

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  9. Hallo Nicole, ik ben dol op slagroomtaart. Is altijd mijn favoriete taart geweest. Het was 2 jaren geleden dat ik een slagroomtaart hebt gegeten, dus ik was zo blij dat ik eindelijk een recept hebt gevonden in amerikaanse measurements. En nu heb ik een vraagje, heeft je taart geen boter of melk nodig? Alsvast bedankt... groetjes...

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    1. Heerlijk, he, slagroomtaart! Het is een hele luchtige, lichte taart zonder melk of boter: het is belangrijk om de eieren zo luchtig mogelijk te kloppen omdat er ook geen rijsmiddel in zit. Veel plezier ermee!

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    2. Ok bedankt, ik ga het nu proberen.

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    3. I am a groovyoma44 at gmail .com

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    4. love these recipe, will try them for the weekend

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  10. Made this for my father-in-law's birthday last weekend, was loved by all!

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  11. How many pieces can you get out this taart?

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  12. Geweldig al je recepten in cups and spoons, Ik gebruik nu dit recept om biscuitdeeg te maken, En morgen wil ik je mokkataart maken. Zo lang geleden dat ik dat gegeten heb. Ik Gebruik je nougatine recept ervoor maar dan mat hazelnoten. Dank je groetjes uit canada

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  13. I made this cake today and I have NEVER baked a cake that rose so high! I just finished decorating it with mandarin oranges, strawberries, kiwifruit, blueberries and toasted almonds. I also made chocolate decorations for the rosettes. Thanks so much for this recipe!

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  14. Why cannot I copy the recipe (highlite the recipe and then copy it)?

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