Gift Cake

The syrup for soaking the biscuit should be prepared first - it must be cold. Pour 110 ml of hot water over 100 grams of sugar, heat to boiling. Cool and add rum and a tablespoon of cognac.

Take four eggs, separate the whites from the yolks and beat them separately: yolks with 80 grams of sugar into a thick light cream, and whites first to stiff peaks, then add 40 grams of sugar and beat into a dense mass.

Mix the egg whites with the yolks. Add 120 grams of sifted flour, mix thoroughly, and pour the batter into a greased and floured (preferably square) mold, leveling it out. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Allow the sponge cake to cool and rest for half a day at room temperature.

For the Charlotte cream, mix 130 grams of sugar with one egg and add 90 ml of milk. Constantly stirring, heat on low until boiling and simmer for a few more minutes - the mixture should become transparent yellow and viscous. Cool it to room temperature.

Whip 160 grams of butter, gradually pouring in the chilled milk-sugar mixture, add vanilla sugar and a spoon of cognac.

Cut the baked biscuit in half, soak the layers with syrup. Spread cream on one layer and cover with the second biscuit layer. Use the remaining cream to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Roast peanuts in the oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Clean the nuts and chop them into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the cake with nuts and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar.