Kiev Cake

Kiev cake is like a business card for confectioners in Ukraine. It's a classic dessert of the post-Soviet space. If you don't have time and don't want to prepare it at home, you can run to the Republic of Moldova, where you can find it in any decent confectionery. And when the events that are now on the front page of all the news will end well, visit Kiev and try it there.

An exemplary Kievskii cake must be crunchy - the meringue, with an intense aroma of butter and roasted hazelnuts. This cake is very filling, so the portions must be small, especially if you've eaten something hearty before.

This is my mother's favorite cake. She would always get it when she would visit her mother in Ukraine. When I told her that I wanted to end the year with this recipe on the website, she started to cry ...

I would just like to forget the past year like a bad nightmare and let's wait for the peace, with all our hearts, in the coming year!

Ingredients
Egg
12 pieces
Sugar
800 g
Hazelnuts
400 g
can be replaced with cashews
White flour
100 g
Milk
350 ml
Butter
400 g
softened, at room temperature
Cocoa powder
2 tbsp
Vanilla sugar
2 tbsp
Step by step
Step 1

Take 3 bowls to separate the whites from the egg yolks. In 2 of the bowls, place 6 egg whites in each, and all 12 yolks together in the third bowl.

Kiev Cake - Step 1
Step 2

Cover the bowls with cling film, return the yolks to the refrigerator.

Let the egg whites sit on the kitchen table, at room temperature, for 12-24 hours.

Kiev Cake - Step 2
Step 3

Meanwhile, put the hazelnuts in a tray and toast them in the oven, stirring periodically. They can burn very quickly, so be careful.

Kiev Cake - Step 3
Step 4

After they cool down, grind them coarsely in a food processor, or chop with a knife.

Kiev Cake - Step 4
Step 5

In 2 plates (one for each layer of cake) combine together:

- 200g of sugar;

- 50g of flour;

- 175g of hazelnuts.

Kiev Cake - Step 5
Step 6

Line with baking paper the base and the sides of a 28cm diameter springform pan.

Grease the paper with a little oil or soft butter. For even more stickiness, you can also grease the sides of the pan with a bit of oil, before lining.

Kiev Cake - Step 6
Step 7

In a large bowl, put the first 6 egg whites and beat to soft peaks. Then, gradually add 50g of sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.

Kiev Cake - Step 7
Step 8

Add the contents of the first plate: 200g of sugar, 50g of flour and 175g of chopped hazelnuts, plus 1 sachet of vanilla sugar.

Carefully mix with a spoon or spatula.

Kiev Cake - Step 8
Step 9

Move this mixture to the pan lined with baking paper, level out.

This will be the first cake layer.

Kiev Cake - Step 9
Step 10

Place in the preheated oven to 140 degrees C for 2.5 hours. We want to dry it well, without browning too hard, see the picture.

After the oven, remove from the pan and leave it on a wire rack to cool, up side down.

Kiev Cake - Step 10
Step 11

Then we prepare the second cake layer. Repeat steps 6-10: line the pan again with baking paper, beat 6 egg whites with 50g of sugar and mix in the 200g of sugar, 50g of flour and 175g of roasted hazelnuts (the second plate).

Bake in the same way for 2.5 hours at 140 degrees C.

Kiev Cake - Step 11
Step 12

You'll notice both the layers are well dried only at the top, while the base is a little wet. In order to dry completely, let the cakes dry base up on a grill at room temperature for 24 hours.

Kiev Cake - Step 12
Step 13

On the day you assemble the cake, in the morning you must make the egg yolk syrup from the egg yolks left in the refrigerator, as follows:

Bring to the boil 350ml of milk mixed with 300g of sugar in a saucepan, then leave it on the table for 15-20 minutes to cool.

Kiev Cake - Step 13
Step 14

Beat the egg yolks well with a whisk or mixer, then gradually add in the boiled milk.

Kiev Cake - Step 14
Step 15

Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and place over heat. Stirring continuously, cook until it starts to boil and thickens slightly.

Kiev Cake - Step 15
Step 16

Let this syrup cool at room temperature for 5-6 hours, covered with cling wrap.

In the meantime, don't forget to take 400g of butter out of the fridge.

Kiev Cake - Step 16
Step 17

After this time, we'll start to assemble the cake, but first we must prepare the filling.

In a large bowl, beat well with the mixer 400g of butter, then gradually add the yolk cream until you have a smooth mixture.

Kiev Cake - Step 17
Step 18

Place one cake on a plate and spread over with a thin layer of buttercream, about a third of the whole amount.

Kiev Cake - Step 18
Step 19

Cover with the other cake layer. I placed the layers bottom up, so that the cake is smoother at the top.

Kiev Cake - Step 19
Step 20

Add 2 spoons of cocoa to the remaining filling, mix.

You can fill a piping bag with 2-3 spoons of white cream to decorate the top with it.

Kiev Cake - Step 20
Step 21

Spread the cocoa cream on the cake, on the sides and on top.

Kiev Cake - Step 21
Step 22

Smooth out with a knife. Optionally, you can decorate it with some white buttercream.

Kiev Cake - Step 22
Step 23

Or you can simply sprinkle the top with the remaining 50g of toasted hazelnuts.

Kiev Cake - Step 23
Step 24

Keep the cake in the fridge for about 8-10 hours before serving.

Here is a section. The portions must be small as this is a very filling cake, and yet so special and tasty.

Enjoy!

Kiev Cake - Step 24
Quantity: 16 serv (a large cake of 28 cm in diameter)
Prep time:
400 min
Difficulty: intermediate
Ready in: 360 min