Soviet Cuisine: Tea Party Cakes II

Esteemed Readers, “Leningr’adskij” is another sweet hit of all the times for any Soviet celebration, especially for the New Year’s Eve. It is not an easy cake but it is worth of trying. The result will be extremely delicious & very attractive if you follow its classic decoration. PS: As the real icing is very demanding, I suggest you a simple alternative that will add more intense chocolate flour to the cake.

“Leningradskij” Cake Ingredients:

Pastry: wheat flour – 330 gr., butter – 185 gr., sugar – 125 gr., 1 egg, sodium bicarbonate – 1 tsp.

Charlotte cream: butter -125 gr., sugar -115 gr., milk – 75 ml., 1 yolk, cognac/brandy – 1 tbsp., cacao powder – 1 tbsp., vanilla sugar – 1 tbsp.

Icing (simple way): see the previous recipe “Charodeika Cake”.

Decoration: sponge crumbs – 30 gr., peanuts – 20 gr..

Preparation:

Pastry: Blend softened butter with sugar, add the egg, mix well. In another bowl blend flour with sodium bicarbonate. Add into the butter mass, mix well. Divide the pastry into 4 pieces, roll & form 4 thin squares (18 X 18 sm).  Cut 4 pieces.  Pierce the squares with fork. Keep in the fridge for 15 minutes. Shape another piece from the pastry rests, (it should not be perfectly square). We shall need it for decoration. Bake the squares 1 by 1 in a preheated oven at 180 -200ºC about 10-15 minutes. The colour should be sugar brown but not too dark. Leave to cool down. Keep in mind that they are very fragile.

Charlotte Cream:

Soften the butter. Mix the yolk with milk & sugar, cook at a low heat stirring until it thickens. Don’t boil! Pour into a bowl & cool down mixing until the texture is smooth. Blend the butter, add it slowly to the mixture. Add the cognac/brandy & mix well again.

Forming & decoration:

Takethe imperfect piece, form the crumbs. Prepare the icing as it is recommended in the previous recipe.  Cover one of the squares & leave until it is perfectly iced. Leave 1/4 part of the cream. Use the rest to cover richly each piece while mounting the cake. The iced square is the top. Cover the sides with the little cream, sprinkle with crumbs . Decorate the surface with the cream left, peanuts & cacao powder. Keep in the fridge for several hours before serving.

I attach the photo version of this recipe for you to comprehend better how to decorate the cake.: Leningradskij cake. (Please, let me know if this Russian site functions in your country.🙃 You know our crazy times).

Enjoy the tea-time! ☕🍰🎉

Maria KethuProfumo

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