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Cookie Fish Cake with Sour Cream and Bananas No-Bake
Instructions
Take a deep mixing bowl and pour in 150 to 200 grams of granulated sugar. The exact quantity depends entirely on personal preference and how sweet you like your desserts, so start with the lower amount if unsure and taste the cream later before adding more sugar to the final mixture.
Pour the 500 grams of sour cream over the sugar in the bowl. Choose sour cream with at least 20 percent fat content for the richest creamiest result, since lower-fat varieties tend to thin out during whipping and produce a noticeably less satisfying final cake texture in the dessert.
Whisk the sugar into the sour cream with an electric mixer on medium speed until the sugar has completely dissolved into the cream and no gritty undissolved crystals remain visible at the bottom of the bowl. This usually takes about three to four minutes of steady continuous whisking with the electric mixer.
Add the 200 grams of room-temperature butter to the sweetened sour cream mixture and continue whipping with the mixer until thoroughly combined. The butter must be properly soft enough to mix in smoothly without leaving any lumpy chunks behind, so plan ahead and take it out of the fridge an hour or two before starting the recipe.
Slice the two ripe bananas into small rounds and add them to the mixing bowl with the cream mixture. Continue whipping with the mixer for another minute or so until the bananas break down into the cream and produce a uniformly smooth banana-flavoured base for the cake.
Pour the 50 grams of poppy seeds into the sour cream and banana mixture and stir to combine evenly. Poppy seeds add a subtle crunch and pretty visual flecks throughout the finished cake, but they are not absolutely essential and can be omitted if not available or not to your taste.
Add the 400 grams of fish-shaped cookies to the prepared cream mixture and stir everything together gently with a spatula. The cookies should be coated thoroughly with the cream on all sides without breaking up too much, since whole or nearly whole cookies look more attractive in the finished cross-section.
The mixture should now have the consistency of a thick chunky cream studded throughout with whole fish-shaped cookies. If the mixture seems too dry and the cookies are not properly coated, add an extra spoonful of sour cream to bind everything together more thoroughly before transferring to the cake tin.
Prepare a springform cake tin by lining the bottom with baking paper to prevent any sticking. Transfer the cookie and cream mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top gently with a spatula. Place the cake in the refrigerator for about eight hours, ideally overnight, to set firmly and develop properly.
After the eight-hour resting time, carefully remove the springform ring from around the cake. Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the tin first to release any cake that may have stuck slightly during chilling, then unclip the springform mechanism for a clean release.
Decorate the top of the unmoulded cake with any confectionery topping you fancy. Coloured sprinkles, grated chocolate, fresh banana slices, more poppy seeds or a simple dusting of icing sugar all work beautifully and turn the simple homemade cake into a properly festive-looking dessert for the table.
The cookie fish cake with sour cream and bananas without baking is now ready to serve. Brew a generous pot of fragrant tea and invite your family and closest friends over to enjoy this delicious gentle homemade dessert. Make this cookie fish cake according to our recipe and enjoy your meal!
Tips
- 1
Use sour cream with at least 20 percent fat content for the richest creamiest result in the finished cake. Lower-fat varieties tend to thin out during whipping and can produce a runny mixture that struggles to set properly in the refrigerator. The fattier sour cream also tastes considerably more luxurious and provides the perfect textural contrast against the firmer fish-shaped cookies that give the cake its distinctive name.
- 2
Bring the butter to proper room temperature an hour or two before starting the recipe, since cold butter refuses to incorporate smoothly into the cream and leaves unattractive lumpy chunks throughout the finished cake. To pair this beautifully simple no-bake dessert with another classic Italian dessert, try our beautifully creamy eggless tiramisu with cream and mascarpone for a special celebration spread.
- 3
Choose properly ripe bananas with brown speckles on the skin for maximum natural sweetness in the finished cake. Underripe green-tinged bananas taste starchy and bland and contribute very little flavour to the dessert beyond their texture. Overripe brown-spotted bananas mash effortlessly into the cream and provide a pronounced banana flavour that makes the cake genuinely memorable on the palate at first taste.
- 4
The full eight-hour resting time in the refrigerator is genuinely essential rather than optional, so plan ahead and assemble the cake the day before you intend to serve it. For another homemade cake that benefits from similar advance planning, try our richly indulgent Bounty cake with coconut flakes, which combines chocolate sponge with sweet coconut filling.
FAQ
Can I substitute different cookies for the fish ones? +
Absolutely. Any small dry cookie works well in this recipe and produces broadly similar results. Animal crackers, plain shortbread biscuits, vanilla wafers or even broken tea biscuits all stand in nicely for the traditional fish-shaped variety. The fish cookies give the cake its characteristic playful name and visual identity, but the underlying technique works with virtually any small biscuit you happen to have available in the cupboard at home.
Why did my cake turn out too soft? +
A too-soft cake usually means either too short a chilling time in the refrigerator or sour cream that was too low in fat content. Make sure to use at least 20 percent fat sour cream and rest the assembled cake for the full eight hours called for in the recipe. If the cake still feels soft after that, leave it for an additional hour or two in the fridge before unmoulding to firm up properly before slicing.
How long does this cake keep in the refrigerator? +
Store the assembled cake covered tightly with cling film in the refrigerator for up to three full days for best results. The flavours actually improve on the second day as the cookies continue to absorb the cream and develop a softer cake-like texture throughout. Avoid freezing the assembled cake, since the texture of both the bananas and the cream suffers significantly during defrosting and produces an unpleasantly watery final dessert.
Can I add other flavours to this cake? +
Of course. A teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, a tablespoon of grated lemon zest, a small splash of rum or Cointreau, or a generous handful of chocolate chips all work beautifully in this recipe and produce delicious variations on the basic theme. Cocoa powder mixed into the cream produces a gorgeous chocolate version, while crushed nuts add a satisfying extra crunch alongside the poppy seeds in every spoonful.
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