Blueberry Mostachon Cake

I don’t want to distract you with a whole lot of blah-blah-blahbibbity-blah today:  we’ve got the matter of this cake to attend to. And I want to make sure that you aren’t distracted.

Put your full focus on this cake.

In case you’re not familiar with a mostachon cake, it’s a traditional meringue-style cake from Monterrey, Mexico. It typically includes cookies or crackers in the meringue.

But here’s a secret:  I don’t like meringue. Apologies, apologies, apologies – I just don’t.

So I flipped the script on a traditional mostachon and made it much more like a conventional cake. I kept the cookies in the mix, incorporating sweet, crisp Maria crackers. And then I threw in some bursting fresh blueberries and topped it off with a tart goat cheese frosting.

You’re going to want to make some room in your weekend for this cake. Pretty amazeballs.

I think this cake succeeds because it covers all the bases:  texture, flavor play, and dense but moist cake-y consistency.

Plus it’s pretty easy on the eyes as far as cakes go.

Ironically, even though this take on a mostachon has all that good stuff going for it, it’s still pretty simple to prepare:  you’ll want to thoroughly chop your crackers, carefully fold them with the blueberries into the batter, and then whip the goat cheese frosting to a smooth sheen.

And that’s it!

I like how the sweet blueberries work with the tangy goat cheese.
I like how the frosting and blueberries keep the cake moist.
I like how the cookies inside lend just a bit of interest to each bite.
I like how this cake works for an end-of-summer celebration.
I like how this weekend is starting out.

Blueberry & Goat Cheese Mostachon

For the cake:
4 large eggs
1 c. white sugar, granulated
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. whole milk
1 1/2 c. blueberries, roughly chopped
2 c. Maria cookie crumbs (Vanilla wafer cookies may be substituted here. Some mostachon cakes incorporate Ritz crackers but I wouldn’t recommend this:  they may become too soggy in the cake batter. To prepare the cookie crumbs, you’ll want to chop them thoroughly, at least into quarters.)

For the frosting:
1 1/2 c. whipped cream cheese
4 oz. goat cheese
1/4 c. whole milk
1/3 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. blueberries to finish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a 9″ springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in the flour, salt, baking powder and milk, mixing until just combined. Carefully fold in the blueberries and cookie crumbs. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-32 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Set the baked cake aside to cool before unmolding.

Meanwhile, whip the cream cheese and goat cheese together on a high speed until smooth. (I opted to use the whisk attachment for my stand mixer here. If you do the same, you may need to scrape down the bowl and scoop out the whisk before adding the additional ingredients.) Lower the speed of your mixer and add the milk, sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth and uniform.

Once the cake has cooled, unmold and frost generously. This cake is meant to be more rustic so you don’t need to crumb coat it – just spread the frosting on in a single, thick layer. Top with blueberries for garnish and serve.

YIELD:  approximately 10 servings