Russian Monday: "Prazskiy Tort" - Cake "Prague"

I loved this cake when I was a child. It is not too sweet and has perfect amount of chocolate. It was very difficult to buy in store, people used to queue up in line for a long time to get that cake. That's why we baked it at home very often by ourselves.

I present you the original recipe, how it was supposed to taste, however everyone had their own version, some made frosting differently, some used liqueur between layers. To me, this recipe is absolutely scrumptious as it is. I hope you will try to make it, please let me know when you do - I would love to hear your feedback!

For more Russian recipes, visit Russian Cuisine page.



Serves: about 6

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 6 egg whites
• 6 egg yolks
• 2/3 cups (150g) sugar 
• 1 cup (115g) all-purpoce flour 
• 1/4 cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder ( I like to use Scharffen Berger)
• 3 Tbsp. (40g) unsalted butter, melted

For the frosting:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp (20g) water
• 1/2 cup (120g) sweetened condensed milk
• 16 Tbsp. (220g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder 

For the chocolate glaze:

• 4 Tbsp. (55g) apricot jam or other jam ( I used apple sauce)
• 3.5 oz. (100g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Line the 9-inch round baking cake pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with non stick spray.



To make a cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and half of the sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar, and whip until stiff peaks. Using a rubber spatula carefully fold the egg yolks into the egg whites mixture, mix until just combined.



In a small bowl mix together the flour and cocoa powder. Sift the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Carefully but thoroughly fold them together (use a rubber spatula). Add the melted butter and again carefully fold until thoroughly mixed. Pour the cake batter in prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven at 350F, for about 30 minutes.



Remove from the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes and turn over onto a cooling rack. Leave on to cool uncover for about one hour. Then cut the cake in 3 layers.



To make the frosting: In a saucepan, mix the egg yolk with water, and condensed milk and mix. Cook on low heat until little thick, but don't bring to boil. Let mixture cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, whip the butter with the mixer and whip attachment until white in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the milk-egg mixture, a tablespoon at the time, and mix until incorporated. Add the cocoa powder and whip again.



To make the chocolate glaze: Bring whipping cream to a boil, add chocolate and butter to it. Stir until the chocolate is all melted and smooth, let it cool.

Now you are ready to put your cake together. Put one layer of cake at a time and top it off with the frosting. Brush the top of the cake with the apricot  jam. Then cover the cake with chocolate ganache and sprinkle some grated chocolates on top.