Yeast Cake with Sea Buckthorn Recipe

I love sea buckthorn. It has such a delicious tart taste. Also, it’s high vitamin C content makes it a healthy addition to one’s diet. Aside from making jam, I like using it for baking. Today, I made a beautiful rustic yeast cake from it, very pure and with little sugar. You could almost call it a yeast bread. I like the combination of the yeast flavor with the sourness. I’ll show you how to make the cake into a beautiful yeast flower! This yeast cake with sea buckthorn filling is also suitable for breakfast – and while you are enjoying it, think of a vacation by the sea, where the sea buckthorn grows in the dune areas.

Ingredients for making Yeast Cake with Sea Buckthorn:

For the Dough:

• Spelt flour
• Maple syrup
• Vanilla sugar
• Dry yeast (alternatively fresh yeast)
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Oat milk (or another vegan milk)
• Vegan butter substitute
• Optional: powdered sugar for dusting the ready baked cake

For the Filling:

• Frozen sea buckthorn
• Apple sauce
• Sugar
• Agar-agar

How to make a Yeast Cake with Sea Buckthorn:

We will first prepare the dough. The yeast needs time and must be allowed to rest. While the yeast is rising, we will prepare the delicious sea buckthorn filling. We will spread the layers of dough with the filling, and I will show you how to create a great look with a few cuts and hand movements – from a filled layered yeast cake to a beautiful yeast flower! Afterward, the yeast is happy to get another rest before baking to grow again. This makes the cake super light and fluffy.

Prepare the Yeast Dough:

Choose a large mixing bowl, as the yeast dough will at least double in size and require space in the bowl. First, we mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl – flour, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, dry yeast, and salt.
Next, I melt the butter in a saucepan and add all the wet ingredients. Add the oat milk, maple syrup, and apple sauce. Please warm the ingredients only slightly, the mixture shouldn’t simmer. Otherwise, the dry yeast will get a shock when mixing and becomes unusable, so only heat the wet ingredients to 30°C (85° F). Add the liquid to the flour mixture and knead into an elastic dough.

I like to knead the dough with my hands – if it gets too sticky, sprinkle a little more flour over it. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and leave it in a warm place for about 1 hour until it has approximately doubled in volume. I prefer to place the bowl in a slightly preheated oven at a maximum of 30°C (85°F) – above 40°C (104°F) the yeast dies! For that reason, you better turn off the oven heat. The yeast fungus likes humid air, so I also put a bowl of water in the oven. You have to make it as comfortable as possible for the yeast so it can multiply and grow.

I have had good experiences with dry yeast, but you can also use fresh yeast. In that case, add the fresh yeast to the wet ingredients and dissolve it in the oat milk.

Sea Buckthorn Filling:

In a pan, bring the frozen sea buckthorn berries to a gentle simmer for three minutes. Add the sugar and simmer until the sugar has dissolved while continuously stirring. Then, strain the mixture through a sieve until only the seeds and skin remain. You can use a tablespoon to press the pulp through the sieve. We now have delicious sea buckthorn pulp in the pot, but it is still too liquid for further processing – so I have added agar-agar to thicken it. If it turns into a solid jelly, just stir it up again with a fork to make it spreadable.

How to make a Yeast Cake Flower:

Next, prepare your springform pan without assembling it. Also, place baking paper on the base.

Now, flour the work surface and place the risen yeast dough on it. Divide the dough into three equal parts.

Next, shape the first part into a pizza-like shape with your hands. Use the ring of the springform pan to check the diameter, and place the round dough on the springform base. Spread half of our delicious sea buckthorn fruit mixture on the yeast base. Form your next pizza-like dough and place it on top of the already-topped one. Distribute the rest of the sea buckthorn from the pot on top and add a third layer of dough on top.
We now have three layers of dough with two layers of fruit puree in between. Next, take a glass with a diameter of approx. 8-10 cm and press the edge of the glass into the center so it leaves a round impression. Then, we can slice the layered dough into 16 equal parts while only cutting until the marked area.

Twisting the Flower Petals:

Next, we work on the petals of our flower. Take two adjacent strands and twist them against each other two or three times. Once you have twisted all the strands, carefully place the springform ring on the base.

Cover the dough with the cloth again, and let the cake rest in a warm place for 30 minutes (I used the still warm oven).

Then, set the oven to 200°C (390°F) and bake the yeast flower for 20 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Finally, remove the springform ring, turn the yeast flower over, and bake the white underside for 15 minutes until it is golden brown as well. It should sound hollow when you tap on it – then it is ready. I sifted a little powdered sugar over the top.

Tips:

Frozen sea buckthorn berries are not easy to find and are also seasonally limited. You can also buy ready-made sea buckthorn pulp, which is made from 100% fruit.

The cake is minimally sweetened. If you like it sweeter, use more maple syrup or serve the cake with sea buckthorn jam for an extra flavorful sweetening.

I hope you enjoyed this sea buckthorn yeast cake recipe. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Some Recipe Suggestions:

• Sea Buckthorn Tea
• Sea Buckthorn Jam Recipe
• Sweet Pull-Apart Bread 
• Easter Puff Pastry Cookie for Kids
• Vegan Banana Bread Recipe (Simple & Delicious)

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