Kyiv Cake
Ingredients
- 6 egg whites, aged at room temperature
- 225 g granulated sugar, plus 50 g for the whites
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 175 g toasted hazelnuts
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar, for the meringue
- 275 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 egg yolks, cold
- 150 g granulated sugar, for the custard
- 175 g whole milk
- 10 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar, for the cream
- 1 tbsp cognac
Created at Kyiv's Karl Marx confectionery factory in 1956, the Kyiv cake became the Soviet Union's most famous souvenir. Its layers are meringue rather than sponge: aged egg whites whipped with sugar, folded with toasted hazelnuts, sugar and a little flour, and baked very low for two hours until crisp, then left to dry overnight. The filling is a Charlotte cream — a cooked egg-yolk custard beaten into softened butter — split in two, one half flavoured with cognac for the middle, the other sifted with cocoa for the outside. The sides are coated in meringue crumbs and the top piped with both creams.
Method
Separate the eggs, refrigerate the yolks and leave the whites at room temperature for 2 hours. Heat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Pulse the hazelnuts into coarse crumbs and mix with the 225 g sugar and the flour.
Whip the whites, increasing the speed gradually, adding the 50 g sugar in two additions, until glossy with stiff peaks, 4-5 minutes. Fold in the hazelnut mixture in three additions without deflating it.
Set two ungreased cake rings (18 cm and 20 cm) on a parchment-lined sheet, divide the batter between them and smooth the tops. Bake for 2 hours without opening the door for the first 90 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool in the rings uncovered at room temperature for 12-24 hours so the meringue dries out. Remove the rings, trim both discs to 18 cm and crush the trimmings into crumbs.
For the cream, heat the milk with the 150 g sugar to just below boiling. Whisk the cold yolks, pour the hot milk slowly over them, return to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until it thickens like thin condensed milk. Cool covered with plastic wrap on the surface.
Beat the softened butter with the vanilla sugar until pale, then beat in the cooled custard a tablespoon at a time. Divide the cream in two: whisk the cognac into one half (reserve 3 tablespoons of it), sift the cocoa into the other.
Spread white cream on a cake board, set the first meringue disc smooth-side down and cover it with the white cream. Top with the second disc smooth-side up and chill for 30 minutes.
Cover the top and sides with the chocolate cream, press the meringue crumbs onto the sides, pipe a chocolate border and white swirls on top and sprinkle half the top with crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, ideally overnight.
