German Rahm Kuchen (Cream Cake)

It has been six years since I originally posted this German recipe for "Apricot Cream Cake".  I'd describe this more of a tart, filled with fresh apricots with a baked layer of sour cream and some sugar.

This is the photo that I took in 2006 with my old point-and-shoot camera.  I still find it to be mouth-watering.

This recipe comes from my cousin.  Like my Mutti, she was born and raised in Bavaria, but now lives in Northern California.   Thank you, Ursula, for showing me how to make this recipe.

The summer apricot season is a short one, so I wanted to make this again-- and to repost it, with some more clarity on the ingredients and amounts.

Ursula's recipe is hand written, in German.  I've done my best to convert her measurements into what we Americans are more familiar with.  (A printable recipe card is at the very end of this post.)

Making pastry isn't terribly difficult, but there are a few important tips.  My cousins uses her own hands to make the dough, but she doesn't overwork it.  Personally, I use my food processor and I pulse it just enough times for the dough to combine enough for me to pat it into a round disk, and then shape with a rolling pin.

My original photos, dated 2009.

This is how Ursula shaped the dough, and that's pretty much  I do it, too. Let's talk about the dough for a moment, shall we? This dough can be a bit soft to work with, so you want to add enough flour so that it rolls out easily and can be placed into a springform pan.  Don't worry about it being perfect!

 Now, she pats the dough and brings the edges up a little higher (this will be filled with fruit and a cream topping, so you want the dough to accommodate that).

So, here's my own attempt at working with this dough.  See? There are plenty of finger prints where I pressed the dough, which cracked in a few places. Nobody will know.

 

The flavor of the dough is buttery, because..well, there's butter in it! No lard.  There are also egg yolks, vanilla sugar and lemon zest.   This has become one of my favorite pie or tart shell recipes.

 

I spooned on a thin layer of apricot jam-- about 1/2 cup very lightly thinned with water. (My cousin says that this prevents the crust from getting soggy.) I've been doing this, ever since she first showed me, and I love it!



She used approximately 15 apricots. (Peaches would be delicious, too, I remarked...and she agreed). She also added that blueberries do very well with this recipe.

 I got a little more "artsy" and so this is how I filled my springform pan.

My cousin uses her hand mixer to blend the sour cream, heavy cream, whole eggs, and sugar . (I simply whisked everything together until the sugar was dissolved.)  This was poured over the fruit.

I baked mine for about an hour-- until the topping jiggled just a bit, but was firm.  Slightly golden on top is okay, too.

(This is my cousin's version, which is baked a little more golden.)

This"tart" should be cooled for at least an hour, and then refrigerated for the cream to "set".

This is why a spring form pan is the best choice of baking pan to use for this recipe.  I think I did my cousin proud!

I waited a few hours, before cutting into this German dessert.  The crust is thick, but I don't care-- because this tastes like a vanilla cookie.  Yum!

So, I have validation that my recipe does work!  Again.

This is a photo of the Apricot Rahm kuchen that my cousin made (photographed with my old camera, before I learned what "white balance" is in photography.  As you can see, the filling is much softer and creamier.

TASTING NOTES:  A recent reader commented that her tart turned out with a soggy crust, and that she had trouble working with it.  So, I tried to add some tips on how to avoid that, in my post.  She also said her crust wasn't cooked and that it took forever for the cream topping to set.  That makes me sad, and I can't really explain why that happened. I can only say, that the my own attempt at making this worked.  I'd like to make this with peaches, as well.

Save the crust recipe, anytime you want to make a tasty crust. I love the notes of vanilla and lemon zest!

Enjoy!