Prague Cake #CakeSliceBakers

A couple of weeks ago, I met a delightful older couple at church. I saw my husband talking with them in the lobby and didn't recognize them, so went over to meet them as well.

They were from the Czech Republic--Prague, to be specific (which they pronounced "PRAWO-g").  They were driving across the US on holiday, and stopped in sleepy Southern New Mexico.  They said they always like to visit Baptist churches when they are in the US, so here they were. They were so warm and friendly, and I felt honored to meet such kind folks who had lived through tremendous political and religious strife in their lifetimes.  And I've heard that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the whole world.

So when I saw Prague Cake as a choice for this month's Cake Slice Bake, I was intrigued.

 Layers of chocolate cake, brandy-spiked apricot cream, coffee, and French buttercream? Um, yes please. Those are my kinds of flavors, 'fo sho. Reminiscent of tiramisu, but with rich, buttery frosting and fruitiness. Heading to Prague, y'all!

Except, the cake actually has very little to do with Prague or even the Czech Republic. Prague Cake is 100% Russian.

Like Mongolian Barbecue (Taiwanese), Jerusalem Artichokes (from the Italian word for artichoke), or pretty much any recipe with an exotic title in a spiral-bound 1960s cookbook, the name belies its origins. If you go to Prague asking for a slice of the cake and you will get a weird look and something else.


It was invented by Vladimir Guralnik Mikhailovich (the genius behind Bird's Milk Cake and purportedly around 30 other Russian classics), who was a chef at the Prague Hotel in Moscow.

Wherever it's from, it tastes yummy.


I'm making my friend's wedding cake this week. I have a couple of half-eaten cakes in the fridge from cake tastings, so when the time came to bake for this post...*gasp* I didn't really want any more cake. Especially one that was described by the author as "rich and sweet."

Doesn't happen often, but my cup(cake liner) overfloweth.

I decided to half the recipe, and make a more fun-sized version (which was still more than enough).

I used 6" tins instead of the 8" ones the recipe called for, and opted for baking it in two instead of 3 pans, since, apparently, European cake bakers really, REALLY love to torte cakes. So my cake had 4 layers instead of 6.

The cakes in this cookbook are delicious, but I have found that many recipes have needed "tweaking." I have revisited the Lemon Lavender Cake and the Peach Zefir Torte and made a few changes that (imho) took them from good to awesome.  Whenever I buy a used cookbook, I always take handwritten changes into account.

To whoever gets my massive cookbook collection after I'm gone: follow the written notes, lol!

This cake has an apricot cream filling consisting of apricot preserves, brandy, and cream.  The directions said to just mix them together, but that made essentially another cake soak. I decided to whip it and make it thicker.  My cake was a smidge dry, so if I were to make it again, I'd either not whip the filling or double the coffee/brandy cake soak. The dryness also might have been due to the fact that my layers were thicker.

I need to make it again when I want to eat cake.

The cake in the picture was decorated with a chocolate ganache and red roses for a dramatic look. The recipe, however, did not include a ganache. Luckily, I know how to make ganache--and I think the cake needed it. The frosting is light brown and tasty, but not particularly chocolaty.  The cake layers weren't super chocolaty either. I've mentioned before that maybe it's because my American palate doesn't appreciate subtlety, but I want my flavors very distinguishable. All that to say--put a ganache on it.

I made some strawberry garnish roses for the top, because I don't really like putting things on cakes that you can't eat, and the buttercream recipe *barely* made enough to naked-ice the cake (and I didn't feel like making any more buttercream). Strawberries might have been false advertising, though--since the fruit inside is apricot.  But Albertsons didn't have apricots, so strawberries it was.

So give this Prague Cake a try! It'll solidify your love of Russian desserts :)

Prague Cake

(from the European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk)

Cake Layers:

9 eggs

1 1/2 c sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 c flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 c cocoa

1 T instant coffee powder

1 T water, boiling hot

1/2 c melted butter

Buttercream:

1/3 c water

1 c sugar

5 egg yolks

2 c softened butter

1/2 c melted semi-sweet chocolate chips

Apricot Filling:

1/4 c apricot jam

2 teaspoons cognac or brandy

1/4 c cream

Cake Soak:

1/2 c cream

2 T cognac

1 T instant coffee powder

Ganache**(not included in the original recipe, but trust me)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 c heavy cream

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line three 8" pans with parchment.

2. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla on high for 7 or 8 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy and pale. In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together and sift into the fluffy eggs--folding gently and incorporating fully.

3. Dissolve the coffee powder in the boiling water, add the melted butter, and fold the liquid into the batter (make sure you incorporate this completely or you will get weird, chewy spots in the cake).  Divide evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack, and cut each layer in half with a serrated knife to make six layers.

Buttercream:

4. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar.  Boil until the syrup reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer. While the syrup is getting to temperature, whisk the egg yolks on high in a stand mixer until thick and pale in color.  When the syrup is 238 degrees, turn the mixer down to medium low and carefully pour in the syrup (avoiding the sides of the bowl and whisk). Crank the mixer back up to high and beat for about 6 minutes--until the meringue is thick and cool.

5. Add butter a tablespoon at a time and mix 15 seconds between each addition. Add the melted chocolate last, and whisk for a minute or two until incorporated.

Filling/Soak

6. Combine the apricot preserves, cream and cognac in a small bowl.  In another bowl, mix the coffee powder, cream and cognac.

Ganache

7. Heat cream in the microwave until steamy-hot. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and pour the cream over--allowing to sit for about 3 minutes.  Stir it up until it is homogeneous, and allow to cool until it is drippy but not runny.

Assembly:

8. Lightly soak each layer of cake with the coffee soak. Add a layer of apricot filling, then a layer of buttercream--then top with another cake layer.  Repeat until all the layers have been stacked. Frost the top and sides with remaining buttercream and decorate as desired.

Enjoy! 

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

Our choices for October 2019 were ~

1. Prague Cake
2. Chocolate Mint Mousse Cake
3. Almond Pound Cake
4. Coffee Chocolate Cake

Prague Cake

• Amandie Bakes
• Sweet Sensations

Chocolate Mint Mousse Cake

• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• A Little Bit of All Right

Almond Pound Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Camille Cooks

Coffee Chocolate Cake

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• My Recipe Reviews