Kyiv Cake (Kyivskyi Cake)

The Kyiv cake is more than just a dessert; it’s an edible souvenir, a national symbol and a testament to Ukraine’s rich culinary history and the country’s love for sweets.  This traditional layered meringue cake, renowned worldwide for its delicate balance between crunchy exterior and tender cream filling, evokes nostalgia with each bite, whisking tasters back through time to experience the flavors of generations past.

Cooking time: 3 hours

Total time: 24 hours

Instructions:

Bake meringue:

1. Dry nuts in a skillet at low heat until they become crusty.
2. Cut in half or less with a knife.
3. Place flour, chopped nuts and 2.5 tbsp of sugar in a bowl. Mix and set aside.
4. Prepare two baking forms (diameter 22 cm or 8 1/2 in). In case if there are no two same forms, cut in half ingredients for meringue before making dough and bake them separately. In this case it takes twice as long to bake. Also it is possible to take forms of different size, and then use a knife to make the baked meringue of the same size. Cut off meringues will be applied for side decoration later. Or if identical forms are available, leave 2 tbsp of nuts for decoration.
5. Preheat oven to 120℃ (250℉).
6. Take eggs from the fridge and separate whites from the yolks. Place egg whites in a spotlessly-clean large bowl. Make sure there is no trace of yolks in the whites. Egg whites will not be beaten properly, if they contain traces of yolks.
7. Whip the egg whites with a mixer at high speed until thick foam.
8. Add 150 g (3/4 cup ) of sugar and 1/6 tsp vanilla to the beaten egg whites and continue mixing for another 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
9. Place nuts mixture to the beaten egg whites and gently mix using spatula.
10. Gently place dough on two baking forms.
11. Bake in the oven at 120℃ (250℉) for 2 hours or until golden. Turn off heat and do not open the oven. Leave the meringue in the oven overnight to cool down completely. The meringue has to be firm and crisp.
12. Take out meringues from forms when they are dry and cool. If meringue layers are different, make them similar sizes cutting bigger one with a knife. Blend leftover meringue to decorate cake side.
13. Put on a plate and set aside.

Making cream:

1. Take out butter from the fridge. Set aside on a table until butter is soft.
2. Pour cold milk into a saucepan. Then add 130 g of sugar and 1/6 tsp vanilla, and mix well.
3. Beat yolks into milk and then mix with a whisk.
4. Place saucepan on a low heat. Bring sauce to boil stirring constantly. Then continue simmering and mixing for 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool down.
5. Whip a softened butter with a mixer for 2 – 5 minutes until fluffy.
6. Gradually add sauce to the whipped butter (sauce must be at room temperature ). Beat using mixer until fluffy.
7. Pour cream liqueur and whisk again for a few minutes.
8. Leave at least 1/2 cream in a separate bowl. It will be used between two layers of meringue.
9. Add cocoa powder to another half of cream and mix well until smooth color. If you want to make more colors, you have to divide cream into parts. But remember main part of cream will be used to decorate top and side of the cake.

Assemble and decorate the cake:

1. Put one layer of meringue on a plate and spread half of white cream.
2. Place another layer of meringue on top and press a little.
3. Put the cake in a fridge for 10 – 15 minutes.
4. Apply a thin layer of cream on the side of the cake. Do not put cream on top yet.
5. Take the cake and turn to the side and then wrap it in blended meringue or nuts. Repeat it until you decorate the entire side.
6. Place the cake back on a plate and spread chocolate cream on top. Level the cream with a knife or a spatula or a bench scraper.
7. Put the leftover cream into a pastry bag.
8. Decorate the cake.
9. Put the cake in a fridge at least for an hour.