Kievsky cake
Recipe of one of the famous cakes of the Soviet culinary heritage. In Soviet times, the cake "Kievsky" was practically not available for sale. It was obtained by all righteous and unrighteous means. In the capital of the Soviet Union, with the gift of a "Kievsky cake", many problems could be solved. There are many legends about the history of the creation of this cake. One of them says that in 1965, the confectioners of the Karl Marx factory forgot to put away the egg whites intended for the biscuit in the refrigerator. The head of the biscuit department, Konstantin Petrenko, and his assistant, Nadezhda Chernogor, tried to correct their colleagues' mistake and baked a cake from the white layers with cream, which later became the hallmark of Kiev and enjoyed great popularity.
To prepare the real Kiev cake, it will take about 2-3 days, as time is needed for souring the whites and drying the layers. Souring (or aging) the whites is necessary because during storage (aging), at 30-40 degrees, some of the moisture evaporates and the concentration of coagulated protein molecules in the white increases. Accordingly, the protein beats better and has, I would say, a more airy structure. This gives the layers that unique sponginess and tenderness.
To make the "Kievsky" cake, separate the whites into two bowls, 6 pcs. each. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place (30-40 degrees) for a day. The yolks should also be covered with plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator, they will be needed for the cream. After 24 hours, the whites will have a more liquid structure, with small bubbles forming - they have soured and can be used.
Prepare the dough for the 1st layer. Beat the whites in a mixer (6 pcs.) at high speed until stiff peaks form. While continuing to beat, add 1 packet of vanilla sugar and 50 g of sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix 195 g of sugar, 50 g of flour, and 150 g of toasted and lightly chopped nuts. Do not chop the nuts too finely, there should be pieces both large and small. You can use a blender, or better yet, place the nuts in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Add the mixture to the egg white mass and gently mix in one direction from the bottom up until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
Take a detachable pan with a diameter of 28 cm, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease with oil. Pour the egg white dough into it and slightly level it. Prepare the dough for the 2nd layer in the same way. If you have two pans, you can prepare two layers at the same time. But if you have one, the dough for the second layer should be made just before baking.
Bake the layers in a preheated oven for 2-2.5 hours at a temperature of 150 degrees. Remove the ready layers from the pan, peel off the paper, and dry them for another 12-24 hours.
Why dry the layers? The cream contains a lot of moisture, and if the layers are not dried, the cake will simply melt. The layers should be dried in a dry room so that, for example, there is no boiling kettle nearby, as such layers easily absorb moisture.
The Kievsky cake uses Charlotte butter cream, which we will prepare. Pour milk into a saucepan, add sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
In a separate dish, beat 12 egg yolks (just whisk) and gradually (to prevent the yolks from curdling), add half of the hot milk syrup. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened (the mixture should resemble slightly thickened condensed milk or jelly). Allow the mixture to cool; it will thicken slightly when cooled.
Beat soft butter and a packet of vanilla sugar at high speed until fluffy. Gradually, while continuing to beat, add the cooled milk-egg syrup and 2 tbsp. of brandy. The cream should be fluffy and homogeneous.
Assemble the cake. The Kievsky cake has two types of cream, white on the inside and chocolate on top. Place the first layer on a plate and cover it with a thick layer of Charlotte cream. It is convenient to do this using a pastry bag and a large nozzle.
Cover with the second layer, placing it smooth side up. Gently press down, and spread the remaining cream neatly with a knife or spatula.
Set aside a small portion of white cream for decorating, and add 20 g of sifted cocoa to the remaining cream. Mix well until a uniform chocolate cream is obtained. Coat the sides and top of the cake with the chocolate cream.
You can sprinkle the sides of the cake with nut crumbs, cake crumbs, or decorate with cream. I decorated with cream, adding a little more cocoa to make the cream slightly darker in color.
Take a pastry bag or syringe, pastry tips, unleash your imagination, and decorate the Kievsky cake. To obtain different cream colors, use food coloring or beet, spinach, carrot juice... You can't call this cake easy to make, but it's worth it! A very delicious cake!
I made the "Kievsky" cake with cashew nuts and also tried it with walnuts. In my opinion, the first option is better, it is the classic one (although in both cases the cakes are very delicious!). Initially, cashew nuts were used in the Kiev cake, but then due to their high cost, forest nuts, peanuts, or walnuts were used.