Savoury Herrentorte
Herrentorte means Gentleman’s Cake. And a Savoury Herrentorte is a savoury cake for gentlemen. Or anyone really. I ate this one.
I found it so hard to choose a dish from Germany. One of my favourite cakes is Black Forest Gateau. I’d live on it – if it was possible to live on cake healthily. Oh, what a sweet world that would be…
Naturally the first thing I checked out was other German cakes. They look really really good. I was particularly taken with the Danauwelle cake. The cake is a layer of plain pound or sponge cake, marbled with a layer of chocolate sponge or chocolate pound cake, some cherries, a layer of a type of baked very rich vanilla buttercream which is topped with chocolate and/or a cherry or raspberry ganache or glaze.
I found a vegan recipe for it which looks amazing. But I find vegan recipes often don’t work when you try and make them gluten-free.
Even with the regular version, the vanilla buttercream sounded sort of complicated. I guessed I’d have to make it a few times. And I’m the kind of eejit who will still eat attempts that aren’t quite right anyway. And just thinking about eating that much buttercream made me decide to choose something I knew I’d get right first time.
I really do want to make the Danauwelle cake at some stage though because it just looks so good.
Why I opted for the Savoury Gentleman’s Cake
So I decided to opt for something I knew would work. I looked again at all the different sorts of German cakes I could make. And it was actually while searching through images for a different cake that I came across Herrentorte.
Herrentorte means gentleman’s cake. It’s usually a multi-layered cake covered in some sort of ganache. Again, they look amazing. So I was thinking of making a layered chocolate sponge cake, with salted caramel buttercream filling and covered with a chocolate ganache. And I could just use the usual chocolate flourless sponge from the Black Forest Gateau and the caramel chocolate cake bars.
But then I noticed a Savoury Gentlemen’s Torte and I thought that looks very German. I’m not even sure why. But it does.
And also I thought it would be the simplest thing to make. But after making this I’d say baking a cake is usually simpler.
How I made this
I just sort of took things I had and started knocking this together. It was only as I started making it I realised I should have thought up some sort of the recipe first.
I made this just for one person. But the recipe is for four people. I’m advising making it in individual portions. Because gluten-free loaves are generally not as big as wheaten loaves so it’s just easier to make individual portions.
I did think about making a layered no-bake savoury cheese cake using McCambridge’s gluten-free soda bread – turned into crumbs and bound together with a little bit of butter. But the only suitable tin I have for this is for a six portion cake. And at the moment it would all be eaten by just me. And I might have to make it a few times. So …
Yes, another cake I want to make at some stage. I’ve definitely got a lot of inspiration for recipes from this post.
So how did it turn out?
I liked it. But it looked a bit daft. I had 4 filling layers when I made it and I’m going to take out one of those layers in the recipe. Because it actually looked a little like a Leaning Tower of Sandwich. And this is for Germany not Italy.
It’s an avocado layer I’m taking out. The covering has a good bit of avocado in it so I think it’s more balanced without the second avocado rich filling. My favourite part of this is the cream-cheese and smoked salmon filling. So I wanted to make that more dominant.
I did enjoy this savoury herrentorte though. In fact I’m pretty sure I’m going to make it again. And it’s kind of heart-healthy with all the avocado. OK calling it heart-healthy may be a stretch – but it’s balanced.
Have I been to Germany?
No. I haven’t. And I was intending to go this year. So yeah, it’s disappointing that didn’t happen.
So here is a list of some places to visit:
- 25 Best Things to Do in Germany
- I thought this area looked especially lovely – the Moselle Valley
- 10 odd tourist attractions in Germany you shouldn’t miss
- The Best Cultural Activities in Germany
- 20 Must-Visit Attractions in the Black Forest
I’ve no idea what Germany is like for coeliacs or the gluten-intolerant – because I haven’t been there … *sigh*. But I found this guide from Coeliac UK which may be helpful.
Ingredients
- 16 slices bread ( use gluten-free if necessary )
- 200g cream cheese
- 150ml double cream
- 2 large ripe avocados
- 100g smoked salmon
- 180g frozen prawn
- capers
- mayonnaise
- ketchup
- sour cream
- cayenne pepper
- garlic granules (dried garlic)
- lime
- lemon
- dill
- chives
- butter
- sunflower oil
Instructions
- Cut the crusts off the slices of bread.
- Cut up the smoked salmon into small strips and put in a bowl. Hold a few strips aside for the cake topping. To the rest of the smoked salmon add in 100g cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of chopped capers, a bunch of chives and dill, chopped finely and a good squeeze of lemon juice and mix together well.
- Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Add a generous pat of butter. When the butter has melted, add in the frozen prawns. Generously sprinkle with some garlic granules. When the prawns have turned pink and are completely opaque, sprinkle with lime juice. Take off the heat and leave aside.
- In a bowl make a little thousand island dressing with a little sour cream added in. Blend together 2 generous tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, 1 teaspoon of sour cream and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix in the cooked prawns (except of 4 to be used as a topping) and any of the cooking juices left in the pan.
- Peel and stone one of the avocados. Take a couple of slices of avocado and sprinkle well with lime juice. Leave aside for the cake topping. In a bowl mash the rest of the avocado avocado together with a squeeze of lime juice. Take half of the prawn, one tablespoon of the thousand island dressing and mash together very well with the mashed avocado. Taste and see if it needs a little more lime juice or cayenne pepper or thousand island dressing. Leave the rest of the prawns in the fridge for some salad later.
- Assemble by spreading some the first slices of bread with the half the smoked salmon filling.
- Top the slices with another slice of bread.
- Divide the prawn-avocado filling in four and spread on each of the slices.
- Top the slices with another slice of bread and spread the rest of the smoked salmon filling over these.
- Top with the final slices of bread.
- In a bowl beat together 100g of cream cheese with 150ml of double cream, 2 tablespoons of chopped chives and dill, and the strained juice of half a lemon. Top the final slice of bread with a thin coating of this herbed cream cheese.
- Peel and stone the remaining avocado. Mash the avocado flesh to a smooth a consistency as possible and mix into the rest of the herbed cream cheese. I used a food mixer to get this mix as smooth as possible. but I'd advise mashing up the avocado first before blending.
- Spread the avocado-cream-cheese mix around the cake. Don't worry if you can't get it to look totally smooth because it will be easier to smooth out after it has chilled for a couple of hours.
- Top the sandwich cake with the reserved avocado slices and top these slices with the reserved smoked salmon and prawns.
- Leave the cake in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours to chill. Serve with salad in a vinaigrette dressing and with the prawns left aside earlier. Also very good with some salted crisps. Enjoy!
I know this is a recipe post but I just wanted to say – congratulations America on your recent election!!! I’m delighted Biden and Harris won. I know it’s annoying for Americans, but who is in charge of your country matters a lot to many countries throughout the world. However you voted sending you the very best wishes – and positive vibes. Stand united and be the strongest you can be.
