Easy Layer Cream Cake with Fresh Berries & Custard for National Holidays

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Last Updated on April 7, 2021 by Chef Mireille

This easy Cream Cake recipe is used to celebrate many of our national holidays like Memorial Day or July 4th.

However, so many countries of the world have the flag colors of red, white and blue and that’s why there are versions of thie easy Cream Cake in many European countries, as well as the United States.

I went a little Scandinavian in this version with the use of ground cardamom – one of my all time favorite spices.

Do you love cardamom as much as I do?

Cream Cake recipe with fresh berries and vanilla custard with whipped cream forsting.

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Delicious layers of cake, custard, fresh berries and covered with light and airy whipped cream make this a delicious summer cake.

Cream Cake with Fresh Berries and Custard.

Ok so if you didn’t already know I am a HUGE fan of the TV show Vikings so since the show is on hiatus right now, I’m instead getting my Viking fix by whipping up some traditional Scandinavian food!

This is a very traditional Norwegian cake that usually makes an appearance at any special occasion in Norway, but especially on May 17, the national day of Norway. This cake is especially made on that day as the red, white and blue colors represent the colors of the Norwegian flag, where it is known as Blotkake.

Since the same flags are on the color of our flag, this cake can just as easily be made to celebrate the US Independence Day, so when July 4th rolls around this year, let’s celebrate it….Norwegian style!

In fact, there is a version of this Cream Cake here in the United States also. It is believed to have originated in Texas, so I’m not sure how it got the name Italian Cream Cake. However, it is pretty much the same cake.

Whether you call this simple Cream Cake Italian Cream Cake or Blotkake like the Norwegians call it, it is just as delicious.

There are many variations and you can customize the cake as you like. With or without custard – it’s up to you. Use any varieties of berries you like, but if it’s being served on National Day you must have both red and blue colored berries – the same as for any of our American holiday cakes like Memorial Day Cakes, Independence Day or Veterans Day.

Layered Cream Cake with Fresh Berries.

Cream Cake Variations

I made a few changes to this traditional cake to up the flavor a bit, however you can keep it traditional if you prefer. To keep it traditional, use jam instead of the mascerated berries and omit the cardamom. Cardamom is the most common spice used in Scandinavian sweets and it is one of my favorite spices, which is why I added it here.

I also used white wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.

However, before we get to today’s recipe, let’s take a look at some of my other Norwegian recipes…

Norwegian Recipes

  • Fjelbrod – Whole Grain Yeast Quickbread
  • Lefse – Potato Flatbread

How to Make Cream Cake

  • Make the Cake
steps for making Cream Cake.
  • Then we make the custard
  • Now we assemble the cake with layers of cake, custard, fresh berries and whipped cream.
Putting together the layers of cake, fresh berries and whipped cream for Cream Cake.

The frosting is not meant to be smooth. This is a great cake that is often brought as a summer picnic cake here in the United States.

Cream Cake recipe with fresh berries and custard with whipped cream frosting

This cake is light and creamy and perfect to celebrate Independence Day in the USA with the same red, white and blue colors as the Norwegian flag!

Serve it with extra custard on the side to make it even more luscious and memorable!

Custard Cream Cake with Fresh Berries

Norwegian Cream Cake – Norwegian National Cake – Blotkake

this light and fruity cake is a perfect summertime cake to celebrate US Independence Day or Norway’s National Day
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Course: cake
Cuisine: Norwegian, Scandinavian
Servings: 12
Calories: 417kcal

Ingredients

Mascerated Berries Ingredients

  • Ingredients:
  • 1 ½ cups blueberries
  • ½ cup sliced strawberries
  • ¼ cup sugar

Cake Ingredients

  • 5 eggs
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • Custard Ingredients
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups milk + 4 tablespoons
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Ingredients

  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 2 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

  • To mascerate the berries, combine berries and sugar in a bowl. Leave for at least 1 hour, until berries soften.
  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9” cake pan with non stick spray.
  • To make the cake, beat eggs in an electric mixer until well combined.
  • Add sugar and beat on high speed for 10 minutes, until batter is a pale yellow and has increased 2-3 times in volume.
  • In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and cardamom.
  • Add flour mixture to mixer and beat for 2 minutes on high speed.
  • Transfer to prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, until tester comes out clean.
  • To make the custard, heat the 2 cups milk but do not boil.
  • In a bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until light and creamy. Add cornstarch and whisk until thoroughly combined.
  • Slowly add heated milk while beating continuously to slowly temper the eggs. (if you add the hot milk to the eggs all at one time, you will get scrambled eggs)
  • Add vanilla and return to the stove.
  • Simmer for about 10 minutes while stirring constantly, until custard is thickened. Chill.
  • To make whipped cream, beat cream and sugar with an electric mixer until whipped cream consistency.
  • To assemble cake, split cake in half horizontally. Pierce both halves of the cake with a toothpick. Pour 2 tablespoons of the remaining milk over each half of the cake. (the cake is quite dry so you need to feed the cake with the milk to soften the texture)
  • On the bottom base, add a thick layer of custard, then a layer of the mascerated berries of jam (if using) and then some of the whipped cream. Add the top layer of the cake on top and cover the entire cake with the remaining whipped cram.
  • To make a feathered rustic decoration, use a silicone pastry brush to create the effect.
  • Decorate with fresh berries.
  • To serve, serve with the extra custard!

Nutrition

Calories: 417kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 186mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 1093IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 1mg
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Cream Cake Recipe with text
Fresh Berry Cream Cake with layers of fresh fruit and custard and topped with fresh cream frosting. #creamcake #layercake Just like Italian Cream Cake #picnicrecipes #porluckrecipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Good one, Mir. I have read about this cake when I was reading up on Scandinavian recipes but stayed away from the cake as I felt it was time consuming. My kids were so mad that they missed out on a cake 🙂

  2. omg cream cake looks addictive 🙂 and well you have garnished it.. Nice pick from the Scandinavian recipes Mir.. Always love reading the history behind the recipes in all your posts 🙂

  3. Wonderful pick for the theme, I did lot of research on the theme and ended up with simple dishes..heheheh..this is surely worth the efforts I feel..very nicely done!

    • thanks – the cake itself is quite dry but by feeding it with the milk and then with the cream and berries, it’s a perfect balance. I think with a super rich cake it would have been too much over the top

    • wish you did too. I was giving away part of this cake to so many friends so I wasn’t eating the whole thing – it was so tempting hard to resist – I needed to get it out of the house 🙂

  4. Good one… No pain no gain… Even though its time consuming, I can see the rich and moist cake that is so inviting. Great idea to bake for Jul 4th as well. 🙂

  5. Loved reading about the cultural references and history of the cake. The cake, needless to say, looks fabulous!

  6. 5 stars
    Beautiful cake. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will save it for the upcoming birthday celebration. My guests will love this cake.

5 from 5 votes

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