On Wednesday I made cake! It was for my dad's birthday and it was a "bird's milk" cake - a cake inspired by a Slavic souffle/marshmallow type chocolate covered treat.
I referenced this lovely recipe, making some adjustments to it to create my cake. Yes, it was a meticulous process, but it was also very fun (for me anyway) and I was pretty happy with the results, as were the people who got to enjoy this cake=). I think in the future I'll keep working on this recipe, playing around with different flavor combinations. And I also hope some one else will give this recipe a spin and enjoy it!
Ptasie Mleczko / Птичье Молоко / “Bird Milk” Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 4 eggs
- 150 g sugar
- 150 g flour
- 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons of (cooled) coffee
- 2 dark chocolate squares - zested
Soufflé:
- 9 eggs
- 300 g sugar 1 ¼ cup
- 150 g butter or margarine (melted)
- 200 ml milk (3/4 cup)
- 21 g gelatin (3 small packets of Knoxx gelatin)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Topping
- Some hazel nuts
- 250 g of dark chocolate
* Some quick notes: When I say
heat-proof bowls, I recommend using glass
or metal bowls, not plastic ones. I
also recommend using a mixer for the majority of this recipe in order to ensure
smooth even textures.
Directions:
(Prep + Sponge)
1. Dissolve
the gelatin with 150 ml of drinking water and let it sit for an hour. (Dissolve
it in a heat proof dish)
2. Preheat
the oven to 350F. Line a baking pan (about 7-9 inches in diameter, 3-4 inches
deep) with parchment paper and grease well with some butter or margarine.
3. For the sponge
cake – beat the eggs together with sugar.
4. Add the
flour, cocoa powder, zested chocolate, and coffee, and mix well.
5. Pour the
cake batter and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a
toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean – the cake is done!
(Soufflé)
6. Separate the
egg yolks and whites (into separate bowls) of all 9 eggs.
7. Beat the
egg yolks with 150 g of sugar in a heat proof bowl.
8. Add milk
and mix together.
9. Add flour
and mix well.
10. Heat the
mixture by putting your heat-proof bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. Heat
and periodically mix until the mixture thickens, becoming dense and creamy.
Take the bowl off the boiler and let it cool for a few minutes (5-10 minutes). (Also,
don’t worry if it’s sort of lumpy. Those lumps can get smoothed out later.)
11. Add melted
butter or margarine to this cooled mixture and mix well with the mixer. Add the
vanilla extract and give everything another good mix.
12. Heat the
gelatine mixture until it’s completely melted and no longer grainy. Set aside
to cool for a bit.
13. Take your
egg whites and with a pinch of salt, whip them up until they’re slightly frothy.
14. Add the
remaining 150g or sugar and whip the mixture until it is big, white, and puffy.
15. Add the liquefied
gelatin and mix well together.
16. Add the
egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and mix the two thoroughly together. Put
the soufflé in the refrigerator, until you’re done completing the next step.
17. Take your
cooled sponge cake and dissect it horizontally into two layers. Put one half
back in the parchment lined pan.
18. Now we’re
going to make our layers. The way I did it was to pour all of the soufflé mixture
over the first layer of the sponge cake, and then top it with the second layer
of cake – like a sandwich. You could also pour half of the soufflé mixture over
the first cake layer, add the second layer, and pour the remaining soufflé on
top of that. It’s up to you!
19. Leave the
cake in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours to set.
(Topping)
20. After the
cake is set, take it out of the pan and transfer it to a large enough plate.
21. Melt about
250g of chocolate and carefully pour or brush it over the cake.
22. Crush and
zest some hazelnuts to use as a nice decoration. Or feel free to use any other
kinds of nuts you like, or even chop up some dried fruit, or whatever you like as
your finishing touch.
23. Put the
cake back in the fridge for a few more hours, until the chocolate sets.
Enjoy!
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