Czech Bubble Cake Makes The Most Of Fresh Fruits
Fresh fruit cakes come in all sizes, shapes, and styles. Some come served with generous dollops of whipped cream; others are blanketed with a frosting of some kind. Some are dressed up with a streusel topping, and there are those that come to the table tarted up with just the fruits that flavor them, giving them a pop of color. Czech bubble cake is one pastry that is defined by the fresh fruit used in it. Also known as bublanina, this cake is reminiscent of the French clafoutis, traditionally made with black cherries, per 196 Flavors. The site also says clafoutis' Czech cousin was named after the bubbles formed as the batter cooked up around the fruit.
While Czech bubble cake can be made with just about any fruit, including plums, apples, and peaches, it was once just made with either cherries or blueberries. The cake would then be dusted with icing flour before it is ready to be served. Travel Food Atlas says the origins of bubble cake are unknown. What we understand is that just about every Czech family will have a recipe that someone in the past created and improvised, and another might have improved it so that no two cakes are made in the same way, nor do they taste the same, per Bon Appétit.
The secret to making good Czech bubble cake
Making bubble cake seems simple enough, but the trick to making this dessert is tracking down a recipe you can confidently and comfortably work with. Bon Appétit's base recipe for bubble cake contains eggs, flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, and salt, although Cook Like Czechs says bubble cake can also be made with heavy cream, eggs, all-purpose flour, and sugar.
Cook Like Czechs offers a few tips to help ensure your bubble cake is a success. It suggests ensuring your eggs are brought to room temperature since cold eggs might not rise properly. In case there are no fresh fruits on hand, canned or frozen fruits will do the trick, although canned fruits need to be drained properly and frozen fruits thawed before they are poured on top of the bubble cake. And if you're looking to serve a show-stopping bublanina, add a streusel topping or drobenka, which Bon Appétit says must be added to the cake before it is popped into the oven to bake. When stored in an airtight container, the cake can be enjoyed for about five days.