Ukrainian Chocolate Cake With Raspberry Russian Food

KYIV CAKE (UKRAINIAN CLASSIC)

Steps:

• Prepare an 11 inch sponge cake. Refer to our famous Sponge Cake recipe.
• Whip egg whites on high speed until they are doubled in volume.
• Gradually add sugar until well combined.
• Using a spatula, stir in a circular motion while gently mixing in the hazelnuts.
• Spread the mixture onto 11 inch baking pan, lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Bake it at 250°F for 6 hours.
• In a small pot, beat egg yolks. Add water and condensed milk, and stir until smooth.
• Cook all ingredients on very low heat. Continue mixing the cream the entire time to prevent the cream from sticking to corners. Slowly increase the heat, but do not bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the mixture attains the texture of condensed milk, about 5-10 minutes.
• Remove the mixture from the heat and add chocolate chips. Allow a few minutes for the mixture to melt, before mixing it through. Let the mixture cool off to room temperature.
• In a separate bowl, beat butter. Once the butter is fluffy, add the cream mixture to the butter, a few spoonfuls at a time, until fully blended.
• Using a serrated knife, slice the sponge cake horizontally in half. Cover each layer with jam, excluding the top layer.
• Place the first layer of sponge cake and cover it with cream, followed by meringue, then again, a layer of cream.
• Once the cake is put together, frost the sides, then top with the remaining cream and your choice of decoration.

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE ROLL CAKE (CRAZY EASY)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare ingredients for the cake.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture doubles in volume.
• In a separate bowl, sift the flour and cacao together.
• In thirds, fold the flour into the egg mixture with a spatula just until well-combined. Be extra careful not to over mix the dough.
• Spread the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (10" X 15" is a perfect size). Bake for 12 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven and place a kitchen towel over it. Starting with the shorter side, roll up the cake into a spiral.
• Let the roll cool completely at room temperature.
• Unroll the cake and discard the parchment paper. Spread the mashed raspberries over the cake and let them soak into the cake while you work on the cream.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the powdered sugar, cacao, and extra cold heavy whipping cream together until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
• Spread a thick layer of cream over the raspberries and roll the cake back up.
• Using the remaining cake cream, frost the entire outside of the cake. Decorate it as you wish with fresh raspberries, chocolate, and cacao.
• Keep the cake refrigerated until you're ready to serve it. Slice and enjoy!

KIEV CAKE

Steps:

• Trace a 9 inch circle on 2 sheets of parchment paper. Set aside for later use.
• In a bowl combine wheat flour with 1/3 cup sugar. Then add the chopped hazel nuts and mix to combine.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy,
• Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks begin to form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold in the hazel nut and flour mixture into the egg whites.
• Dab 5 dots of the meringue onto each baking sheet. Lay the prepared parchment paper on top (traced side down). This will help hold the parchment in place.
• Split the hazelnut meringue amongst the 2 (9 inch) circles. Try to spread within the lines as bet as possible. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes then drop the temperature to 220 degrees Fahrenheit, bake for another 3 hours and 45 minutes.
• Let the meringue cool completely. Place a 9 inch round pan on top and cut around the edges. Do this to both cakes. Reserve the outside edge that's been cut; you will need it to coat the sides of the finished cake.
• In a bowl lightly beat 2 eggs with 1 1/4 cup sugar.
• In a sauce pan, bring the milk to a simmer (not a boil). Slowly pour it into the eggs and sugar making sure to stir constantly.
• Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan and continue stirring over medium low heat until it becomes yellow and thickened. This may take up to 10-15 minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Let it cool to room temperature.
• Beat the room temperature butter in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment.
• Pour in the cooled egg mixture while continuing to mix. Then add the rum.
• Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the butter cream. Combine it with 1/4 cup cocoa powder.
• Spread the white buttercream on top of the first meringue layer. Don't use up all of the white butter cream; reserve about 1/3 cup for decorating.
• Place the second meringue layer on top of the buttercream. Then spread enough buttercream to thinly coat the sides of the cake.
• Spread the chocolate buttercream on the top portion of the cake.
• Coat the sides of the cake with the left over meringue crumbles. From here, decorate the cake as you wish.

UKRAINIAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH RASPBERRY (RUSSIAN)

Steps:

• Stir sugar with egg yolks. Mix with whipped butter and melted chocolate. Sprinkle with salt. Gradually stir in flour.
• Whip egg whites; mix into chocolate mixture with a light hand.
• Put into a well-greased and floured baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
• Before serving, brush with jam and sprinkle with grated chocolate and walnuts.

UKRAINIAN HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F, and butter and flour a 7" cake pan.
• Beat honey until frothy. Add eggs, flour and baking powder.
• Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 15 minutes and check the cake. When done, it will shrink slightly from the pan. Continue baking for 5 minutes if it isn't ready yet. (continue if it needs more time).
• Turn it out of the pan while still hot, and let cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for a day before serving.

BORSCH (((AUTHENTIC UKRAINIAN CLASSIC BORSCH)))

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the diced bacon or panchetta in a Dutch oven or stockpot and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat, until the fat begins to render, about 3 minutes.
• Add the beef and continue to cook, stirring, until the beef is brown on all sides, about 6 minutes.
• Remove both meats from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Add the onions and carrot to the fat in the Dutch oven or stockpot and stir to coat.
• Cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the garlic, oregano, dill seeds and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the red wine vinegar and stir to deglaze the pot.
• Return both meats to the pot and add the water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beef is tender, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, place the beets on a baking sheet and brush with the oil.
• Roast until tender and can be pierced easily with a fork or knife, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• When the beets are cool enough to handle, trim the stem and root ends and remove the skins.
• Coarsely grate or chop and set aside.
• When the meat is tender and falling apart, add the beets, potatoes, cabbage, parsley, tomato paste and celery salt or seeds and simmer over low heat for another 30 minutes.
• Season with additional red wine vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar to taste.
• Ladle borsch into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh dill.
• Also, serve with Russian black bread.

UKRAINIAN LAVISH CHOCOLATE MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• The day before assembling the cake, make the meringue layers. Cut out TWO-11-inch circles from parchment or freezer paper; grease well with butter and sprinkle lightly with flour.
• Preheat the oven to 250°F Fold the rim of the baking circles slightly upward.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vinegar together until the whites hold a stiff peak. Add the superfine sugar, a few Tablespoons at a time, beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy. To make superfine sugar blend in the blender until it is superfine.
• Gently fill each circle with half the meringue mixture, spreading evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until the meringues are light golden and dry, 1 hour.
• Invert the meringues onto a plate and peel off the parchment paper. Leave in a dry spot overnight.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F Line the bottom a 10-inch sprinform pan with parchment or freezer paper. Lightly butter the paper and sprinkle lightly with flour.
• To make the walnut chocolate layer, in a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted.
• With clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold one-third of the whites into the beaten yolks, then fold in the rest, alternating with the grated chocolate and walnuts.
• Fold in the bread crumbs, coffee, and lemon juice.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and bake until the cake tester comes out clean, another 20 to 25 minutes.
• When the cake cools off a little, remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake and peel off the paper. Using a serrated knife, cut it horizontally into two layers.
• Whip the cream with the sugar, instant coffee, and rum extract until it holds stiff peaks.
• Place one of the walnut-chocolate layers, cut side up, on a cake platter and spread it with 1/2 cup of the red currant preserves and then with one-third of the coffee-flavored cream. Top with one meringue layer. Spread another one-third of the cream on the meringue layer and top with the second meringue layer. Spread the rest of the cream filling on the meringue. Spread the remaining preserves over the remaining walnut-chocolate layer. Place the walnut-chocolate layer, preserves side down, on top of the cream filling.
• You should have the following layers, starting at the bottom: walnut-chocolate, preserves, cream, meringue, cream, meringue, cream, preserves, walnut-chocolate.
• For the icing, melt the chocolate and shortening in the water in the top of a double boiler, over barely simmering water.
• Spread the top and sides of the cake with warm chocolate icing. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving. Serves 12.

BLACK RUSSIAN

Steps:

• Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
• (can be served with ice).