Kyiv Cake (Traditional Recipe)

Kyiv cake made by the book is two crisp hazelnut meringue layers with charlotte buttercream - that exact childhood flavor. The secret is egg whites aged for a full day and long, slow drying of the layers: 2 hours at 150°C plus a night out in the open air. I recommend finishing it with the classic border and little flower piping - buon appetito!

Kyiv Cake (Traditional Recipe)

Crisp hazelnut meringue layers with charlotte buttercream - the classic Kyiv cake, just like the old-school bakery version.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Aging the egg whites 1 day d

Total Time 1 day d 3 hours hrs

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: Home cooking

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the layers

• 200 g aged egg whites
• 150 g hazelnuts
• 185 g sugar + 50 g for the egg whites
• 45 g flour

For the cream

• 250 g butter softened
• 150 g milk
• 1 egg
• 225 g sugar
• 1 tbsp cognac
• 10 g cocoa powder

Method

 

Layers

1. A day before baking, age the egg whites: leave them at room temperature for 24 hours, until small bubbles appear.
2. Draw two circles, 23 and 20 cm in diameter, on parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
3. Toast the hazelnuts, peel them, and chop coarsely with a knife. Combine the nuts with the sugar (185 g) and flour.
4. Whip the egg whites, gradually adding the remaining 50 g of sugar, until stiff, firm peaks form.
5. Fold in the dry mixture quickly and gently, then spread the batter over the two prepared circles.
6. Bake for exactly 2 hours at 150°C. The finished layers should be cream-colored, dry and crisp. Leave them out overnight in a dry room.
7. In the morning, remove the parchment, place the smaller layer on the larger one, and trim it to size. Save the trimmings for crumbs.

Charlotte buttercream

1. Warm the milk. In a bowl, mix the sugar with the egg, pour in the warm milk, mix, and return to the saucepan.
2. Stirring constantly, bring the syrup to a light simmer and a boil, remove from heat, strain, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface, and cool.
3. Whip the soft butter, gradually add the cooled syrup, and whip into a fluffy cream, flavoring with cognac at the end.
4. Set aside most of the cream and mix cocoa into it - you'll end up with two creams, chocolate and plain.

Assembly

1. Spread the plain cream over the first layer, saving a little for decoration. Top with the second layer and spread with chocolate cream, including the sides.
2. Coat the sides with the crumbs from the trimmings, pipe a border and little flowers with the remaining cream, and decorate with nuts and jelly candy if you like.
3. Chill the cake for 3-5 hours.
   

Tips

• Be sure to age the egg whites: 24 hours at room temperature, until small bubbles appear.
• Leave the layers out overnight only in a dry room - in a humid one they'll lose their crunch.
• Don't throw away the trimmings from the larger layer: they make great crumbs for coating the sides.
• Chop the hazelnuts coarsely with a knife, not into flour - that's what gives the cake its noticeable crunch.
• Recipe adapted from the Chadeyka website.