Ekaterinburg Cake
8 servings
120 minutes
Many cities in the world can boast of their own dishes, some of them are rich in their desserts. Who has not heard of the New York cheesecake or the Viennese Sacher cake? Several years ago, our capital Moscow also acquired its own cake, its recipe is now available to housewives, small confectioneries and even huge confectionery associations. Ekaterinburg is increasingly heard on the world stage, we host Innoprom, hosted the World Cup, with enviable consistency we host international boxing competitions, and very soon we will celebrate our 300th anniversary and welcome guests from all over the planet - participants of the 2023 Universiade. We, Ekaterinburg, simply need our own cake! Which one? This is a complex and multifaceted question, desserts are alien to Russian gastronomy , so we use international experience and enrich it with original Russian flavors — rye malt, buckwheat porridge and the bright, warm and familiar taste of baked milk. Outwardly, it is severe and laconic, like the Ural Mountains, but hides riches — bright flavors and malachite-emerald "gems". Between two layers of rye sponge cake with malt there is soft apple marmalade, a crispy layer of buckwheat with cardamom, whipped ganache from concentrated milk and salted caramel. The outside of the cake is covered with a ganache of dark chocolate, sprinkled with cocoa powder on top and decorated with green-blue gilded sugar crystals. Yes, it sounds difficult, but are they afraid of work in the Urals? No! So let's get started!
1
Prepare the 'gem candies' in advance. Mix sugar with water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix blue and green food coloring.
- Water: 54 ml
- Green food coloring: to taste
- Blue food coloring: to taste
2
Pour into the syrup to achieve a light malachite shade. Pour the boiling syrup onto a non-stick mat. Drip the dye on top and swirl with a stick. Let the caramel set, then break it into small pieces.
3
Prepare popcorn from buckwheat. Pour buckwheat groats with water and boil for 10 minutes after boiling. Drain the groats in a sieve to let the water drain. Place on a baking sheet and dry in a partially open oven at 160 degrees until dry.
- Buckwheat groats: 120 g
4
Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan to 180 degrees. Add buckwheat in parts to the heated oil and immediately after the grains open, transfer to a napkin to remove excess fat. Store the finished popcorn in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use it for cakes and as a crunchy component in salads, soups, and other dishes and desserts.
- Vegetable oil: 250 ml
5
Crush coriander with the flat side of a knife or grind it in a mortar. In a cooled mixing bowl with a hook attachment, mix buckwheat popcorn (60 g) and coriander. Gradually add melted chocolate (20 g). Mix until coated. The room should be cool for successful coating.
- Buckwheat groats: 120 g
- Dark chocolate 70%: 120 g
- Ground coriander: 2 g
6
Mix all ingredients with a silicone spatula, spread in a thin layer on parchment or silicone mat, and place in the refrigerator until crystallized, then break into pieces.
7
Prepare salted caramel. Heat salt and butter (60 g) to room temperature. Heat condensed milk (40 g) to steam. Make dry caramel from sugar (100 g), deglaze with hot cream, then mix in soft butter and add a pinch of salt. This recipe will yield more caramel than needed for the cake, but making smaller batches is harder; plus it's very tasty and can be used for cake making, as a topping for ice cream, desserts, porridge, or added to toast. Store in the refrigerator.
- Butter: 80 g
- Concentrated milk: 250 ml
- Sugar: 35 g
- Salt: to taste
8
Prepare ganache. Heat the remaining condensed milk to steam. Pour it over the chocolate and mix thoroughly with a silicone spatula. Add the liqueur and mix again. Cover with plastic wrap in contact and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Concentrated milk: 250 ml
- Milk chocolate: 176 g
- Baileys liqueur: 25 ml
9
Prepare whipped ganache from condensed milk and salted caramel. Soak gelatin in cold water, mix, and let it sit for 15 minutes. If necessary, heat the caramel to room temperature.
- Gelatin: 4 g
- Sugar: 35 g
- Butter: 80 g
10
Heat the milk to steam. Pour it over the chocolate. Heat the gelatin to 60 degrees, pour it into the chocolate, and add caramel. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender without frothing. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours for stabilization.
- Concentrated milk: 250 ml
- Milk chocolate: 176 g
- Gelatin: 4 g
11
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Grease a pastry ring or mold with butter and dust with flour. Shake off excess flour. Whisk the eggs at high speed until frothy, adding a pinch of salt.
- Chicken egg: 4 pieces
- Salt: to taste
12
Reduce the speed to medium and gradually add sugar. Melt the butter, add the malt, mix and set aside. Combine the flour with cocoa.
- Sugar: 35 g
- Butter: 80 g
- Rye malt: 30 g
- Rye flour: 120 g
- Cocoa: 10 g
13
Using a sieve, gradually add dry ingredients to the beaten egg mixture, trying not to lose volume. Incorporate the butter-malt mixture, immediately pour the batter into the mold, and bake for 20-30 minutes. Check readiness with a toothpick.
14
Cool the baked sponge on a rack and cut it into two layers.
15
Prepare apple marmalade. Mix sugar (35 g) with pectin. Transfer apple puree to a saucepan and heat to 40 degrees. Continuously stirring, gradually add the pectin with sugar to the apple puree.
- Applesauce: 250 g
- Sugar: 35 g
- Pectin: 5 g
16
Add a drop of citric acid or juice, mix and spread over the bottom layer of the cooled biscuit. Place in the refrigerator to stabilize.
- Lemon juice: 1 ml
17
Assemble the cake: carefully pour the jelly onto the layer, smooth it out, and refrigerate until set.
18
Sprinkle the buckwheat crumble. Heat the white chocolate ganache in short intervals in the microwave to room temperature. Whip the ganache with a mixer. Spread it over the apple marmalade with crumble.
19
Cover the ganache with the second layer and press down slightly. Place in the refrigerator for stabilization. You can also put it in the freezer for a short time.
20
Heat the dark chocolate ganache to room temperature (you can use a microwave in short intervals). Use a spatula to cover the frozen cake with ganache and smooth it out. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder and decorate with 'gem lollipops'.