Šakotis
Ingredients
- 12 large egg yolks
- 6 large egg whites
- 300 g unsalted butter, very soft
- 300 g caster sugar
- 300 g plain flour, sifted
- 100 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- Icing sugar, for dusting
The real šakotis is poured onto a rotating spit over an open fire so that dripping batter hardens into spikes — the 'branches' that give it its name. This is the home-oven version Lithuanian families bake in a tall tube tin: a very rich batter of twelve yolks, butter, sugar, cream and flour, lightened with whipped whites, is ladled into the tin about 100 ml at a time, each layer baked for a few minutes until just set before the next goes on. Eight to ten layers later, the cake is deep gold outside and, once cooled and sliced, shows the concentric rings of a tree trunk. It is even better after a night's rest.
Method
Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan / 375°F). Butter and flour a tall tube or bundt tin generously.
Cream the soft butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time until the mixture is very pale and thick.
Beat in the cream, vanilla and lemon zest, then gently fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks and fold them into the batter in three additions, keeping as much air as possible.
Ladle a thin layer of batter (about 100 ml) into the tin, spreading it evenly, and bake for 5-7 minutes until just set.
Take the tin out, ladle in the next thin layer, and return it to the oven for 5-7 minutes. Repeat, layer by layer, for 8-10 layers — about an hour of layering.
Bake the final layer for 10-12 minutes until deep golden. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then unmold, cool completely and dust with icing sugar. Slice the next day to see the rings at their best.
