Monastery Hut Cake

Monastery Hut cake is a classic with sour cream frosting and cherries: 15 shortbread "logs" filled with cherry, stacked into a pile and soaked in strained sour cream with powdered sugar. The dough bakes for 15-20 minutes at 180°C, and the cake rests overnight in the fridge. Recommended - buon appetito!

Monastery Hut Cake

A classic cake made of shortbread "logs" filled with cherry and thick sour cream frosting, stacked into a pile.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Chilling 12 hours hrs

Total Time 14 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: Home cooking

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the dough

• 200 g butter melted and cooled
• 200 g sour cream 15%
• 400 g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 10 g vanilla sugar

For the filling

• 800 g pitted cherries
• 150 g sugar

For the frosting

• 800 g strained sour cream 20% strained from about 1 kg sour cream
• 200 g powdered sugar

Method

 

1. Thaw the pitted cherries, add the sugar, and let sit for an hour so they release their juice.
2. Mix the melted, cooled butter with the sour cream, baking powder and vanilla sugar. Fold in the sifted flour in two additions, knead a non-sticky dough, shape into a ball, and chill for 1 hour.
3. Divide the dough into 15 portions. Roll each into a thin rectangle 22-25 cm long and no wider than 6 cm.
4. Spread the cherries along the strip, pinch the edges together well, going over the seam a couple of times, flip seam-side down, and place on a parchment-lined tray. Prick each log lengthwise with a skewer.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C until golden, and let cool.
6. For the frosting, strain the sour cream through cheesecloth or a sieve, add the powdered sugar, and beat well with a mixer.
7. Assemble the hut: arrange 5 logs, drizzle with cherry juice and spread with frosting, then 4, 3, 2 and 1 log, soaking and frosting each layer.
8. Coat the hut with the remaining frosting on top, sprinkle with chopped walnuts if you like, and chill for at least overnight.
   

Tips

• Be sure to strain the sour cream for the frosting through cheesecloth or a sieve: 1 kg will yield about 800 g of thick cream.
• Pinch the seam on each "log" carefully and place it seam-side down, or the juice will leak out.
• Don't throw away the trimmings from the largest log: they make great crumbs for coating the sides.
• Prick the logs with a skewer so they don't puff up while baking.
• Use the leftover cherry juice to soak between the layers.
• Top the cake with chopped walnuts if you like.