Surprise!! TWD - Berry Surprise Cake

Everyone loves a surprise, and so it is in this week's Tuesday with Dorie, hosted by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen - there's a surprise in the middle of the lovely cake featured in this post.

Now I am not a huge fan of creamy cakes, but I did enjoy this one - the tartness of the berry "surprise" balanced out the sweetness of the cream, making for a satisfying mix. The base genoise, although a "diva" of a cake (most people's sank to some degree, as did mine), was a light and fluffy vehicle for the filling and topping, so that you were not wallowing in a feeling of fullness by indulging in a slice.

Without ado, you start off with a genoise (this is a somewhat flattering photograph of it - in reality, I was sure that it was more sunken):

which you chop the top off of, and carve out a "nest" for the filling:

then brush some kirsch-flavoured syrup in the base and up the sides of the nest before lining with the cream cheese-whole cream filling:

then pop some berries on top and cover them with the remainder of the filling:

and finally pop the top of the cake back on and smother the lot in whipped cream. Decorate with berries before slicing:

and enjoy!!!

Thanks to Mary Ann for hosting TWD this week - you can find the full recipe at her site. And if one surprise is not enough, feel free to indulge by checking out variations of this cake at the TWD blogroll.