German Strawberry Cremeschnitten

German Strawberry Cremeschnitten or cream slices  – This original German cake recipe is a variation of the classic “Cremeschnitte” that is plain. This recipe is adding strawberries and it makes a completely new cake.  It is made with phyllo dough which is on the bottom and top of the cake. In between there is a creamy layer of pudding, heavy cream and strawberries. Sounds delicious? Happy Baking!

Ingredients German Strawberry Cremeschnitten

phyllo dough about 270 g (fresh or frozen) for pastries
200 ml milk
1 package vanilla sugar – How to make Vanilla Sugar  from Scratch-
60 g sugar
1 egg yolk
25 g vanilla pudding powder – Make your own Vanilla Pudding – Click here –

5 medium to big sized strawberries
7 sheets gelatin, clear
1 dash salt
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 lemon
2 tbsp dark rum or natural rum flavor
600 ml heavy cream
350 g strawberries

Baking Instructions German Strawberry Cremeschnitten

STEP 1
– Place the phyllo dough on a baking tray layered with parchment paper, with a fork poke the dough several times (this is important).
– Pre-heat oven to 390 F.
– Bake dough for 15-18 min until slightly brown. Place a small fire proof form filled with some water on the bottom of the oven. This helps the dough to raise and it will become flaky.
– Mix pudding powder with 2-3 tbsp milk and the egg yolk.
– Place remaining milk in a pan, add sugar, vanilla sugar and the salt, then bring to boil.
– Add the vanilla pudding mix to the milk, stir continuously and let boil for 30 seconds.
– Pour pudding into a bowl, and cover right away with plastic foil on top (inhibits skin building). Place pudding in fridge.

STEP 2
– Cut cooled off phyllo dough in half, so you have 2 rectangles. One will be the bottom, one the topping. Use a rectangle baking frame or place the dough into a higher casserole or an aluminum baking form (Height should be at least 3 inches).
– Soak gelatin in cold water.
– Beat heavy cream until firm.
– Sieve the powdered sugar and add to pudding. Combine with rum and strawberries.
– By using a stick mixer puree the cream.
– Warm lemon juice until it is hot but not boiling.

STEP 3
– Press gently all liquid out of the gelatin, add to lemon juice, stir until the gelatin has melted completely, then add right away to the cream.
– Fold pudding in heavy cream with a baking spatula.
– Place the baking frame around the dough or place dough into the deep baking dish.
– Spread half of the cream on the dough, on each side (left and right) place a whole strawberry, and add remaining cream on top.
– Place the other half of the dough on top (you can cut it out now or do it before but make sure it has the same size as the baking frame (Tip:   use the baking frame as a template to cut it out).
– Keeps the cake for 1-2 hours in the fridge or 40 min in the freezer.

Cut in smaller rectangular pieces before serving. The best would be to use an electric knife or a very sharp knife that you place briefly in hot water before cutting. This is important as you don’t want to mess up the top dough layer during the final cutting step.

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