Fruit and Cream Tunnel Cake is a soft berry pound cake with a tunnel of pastry cream running through the middle. It was the result of an experiment in which I put leftover pastry cream down the center of pound cake batter.
Freezer Magic!
The results weren't impressive at first. The tunnel of cream blended in with the cake and you could barely tell it was there. Thinking I'd eat the cake slowly over time, I wrapped it in plastic and froze the loaf. The next day I cut it while frozen and let it thaw. Everything about the cake was better. The crumb was now tighter, denser, softer and was more visually distinct from the cream tunnel, while the cream was smooth and cool from the low temperature.
Varying the Fruit
I liked the new blueberry and cream cake so much that I made a peaches and cream version and a raspberry. The recipe worked perfectly every time.
Fruit Cream Tunnel Cake for Summer
This is a great cake for summer when peaches, blueberries and raspberries are in season, plus it's colorful when sliced and served on a plate. The only drawback is the wait time. It's not an immediate gratification type recipe, because the freezing and thawing process really does something for the overall texture.
Small Batch Pastry Cream
The cake recipe includes a small batch pastry cream recipe that you can use to make the tunnel. Or maybe you just need a small batch of pastry cream? I've found myself coming back to this page just to grab the small batch pastry cream for other recipes.
Recipe
Fruit and Cream Cake Tunnel Cake
Ingredients
Small Batch Pastry Cream
- 2 tablespoons flour ½ oz
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch ½ oz
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Blueberry Cake
- 1 stick 114 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar 240 grams
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 270 grams
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 heaping cup fresh blueberries
- 1 heaping cup maybe a little more of cold pastry cream
Instructions
- Make the pastry cream first. Weigh out your flour and cornstarch and stir them together in a small cup.
- Whisk the egg yolks, half of the sugar, and the cornstarch mixture together in a mixing bowl and set it next to the stove.
- Place the remaining sugar and the 1 cup of milk in a small (1 ½ quart) saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Gradually whisk half of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, then pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and continue whisking over medium until mixture thickens and large bubbles break the surface. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.
- Transfer the pastry cream to a clean container and press a piece of plastic wrap over the surface. Let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then refrigerate until ready to use. Cream should be cold when used to fill the bread.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease two 8x4 inch (see note) loaf pans and line with strips of parchment paper. Dust the sides with flour.
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 30 seconds after each egg. Scrape sides of bowl and beat in vanilla, then beat in the baking powder and salt. Scrape sides of bowl again. Add half of the flour and stir with a heavy duty scraper (or large mixing spoon) until blended, then stir in the sour cream. Add remaining flour and stir until blended, then carefully fold in the fruit. If you are using delicate fruit such as raspberries, you may want to add it in the next step.
- Spread some of the batter across the bottom of each loaf pan -- use just enough to cover bottom, because you'll need enough batter to seal in the pastry cream. If you haven't added the fruit yet, press pieces of fruit into the batter by hand.
- Spoon a thick line of cold pastry cream down the center. It should not touch the sides.
- Spoon remaining batter over the pastry cream, sealing it in. Press pieces of fruit into the batter if you didn't fold it in already.
- Bake loaves on center rack for about 60 to 65 minutes. Let loaves cool slightly. Loosen sides with a knife while still warm and let cool completely in pan. Carefully remove loaves from the pans and wrap cooled loaves with plastic wrap. Freeze for 8-12 hours.
- To serve, allow the loaves to thaw for about 15 minutes, and slice while loaves are partially frozen. Let the slices thaw individually. That, or just let the loaves thaw and then slice.
Anna says
Hi Emily,
Thanks for making the biscuits! I want to try your Grown Up Brownies.
Emily says
Mmm this looks good! I love all of the different flavors. I made those biscuits the other day, by the way. So good!
Anna says
Nancy and Sue, thanks for the comments! I'm pretty excited about this recipe and hope someone else besides me makes it. I'm especially curious to see how it works when baked in a 9x5 inch pan. I've only made half batches in 8x4 inch pans, but I think baking all the batter in a 9x5 inch cake would make a big, impressive cake. Then again, the smaller size loaves are pretty cute and it gives you the option of using different fruits in each loaf.
Sue says
Those really do look great! And it's wonderful that they improve after freezing. Wonderful for making ahead!
Nancy says
Those look great!