Recipe for Apricot Soufflé Cake with Cream Cheese

Prepare the dough. In a bowl, sift the flour and powdered sugar. Add the vanilla sugar, baking powder, salt, and mix. Add the cold butter cut into small pieces and mix with your fingertips to incorporate it into the dry ingredients. This should be done quickly so that the butter doesn't soften due to the heat of your hands. In the end, you should obtain fine, fairly uniform crumbs. Make a well and add the egg yolks into it. Mix quickly to form a smooth, homogeneous, non-sticky dough ball. If needed, add a little bit of flour (I had to add about 1 tablespoon of flour extra). Wrap the dough and place it in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.

Prepare the fruits. Pit the apricots and cut them into small pieces.

Prepare the mousse. In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt with the cornstarch and vanilla sugar until you have a smooth mixture. Separately, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and continue mixing until you have a firm and glossy meringue. Gently fold the egg whites into the yogurt in 3-4 additions using the hand whisk, mixing from top to bottom and turning the bowl.

Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C, static heat.

Prepare the pan. Line the bottom and sides of a 24 cm round springform pan with parchment paper.

Assemble the cake. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 portions of approximately 2/3 and 1/3. Roll out the larger piece of dough by hand directly in the pan to cover the bottom, without extending over the edges. Lightly flour your fingers if the dough starts to stick a bit as it warms up. Add the fruits on top, then pour the mousse. Spread it evenly and smooth the surface. Cover the surface with the remaining dough, taking small pieces rolled out thinly.

Cooking. Bake for about 50-55 minutes. The surface should be golden. The cake itself will be a little wobbly, especially in the middle, which is normal. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. As it cools, it will deflate slightly.

Serve. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Keep refrigerated.