Armenian real cake
Description
Delicious baked treat for the whole family. A genuine Armenian cake should first and foremost be sweet. Moreover, it's usually rich and buttery. These two characteristics determine how authentic the cake is. Traditional "Mikado" never includes margarine—only natural butter. And of course, condensed milk, which must be caramelized! The cake layers should be sour cream-butter based, and the filling should be butter-chocolate. The top is usually decorated with chocolate as well. Serve with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
I'll be using a food processor, which is very convenient for mixing various ingredients. You can use a mixer or blender instead. Crack the eggs, separating the yolks from the whites. We need the yolks for the cream—three will be enough. If you want more cream, use 4–5 yolks and proportionally increase the amount of the other ingredients. Beat the yolks with a cup of sugar.
- 2
Step 2
Pour 400 ml of milk into egg yolks beaten with sugar and whisk again. Then add 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Whisk once more until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a saucepan, heat while stirring to 90 degrees Celsius, then cool.
- 3
Step 3
Open a couple of cans of condensed milk. If you couldn't find it in the store, make it yourself. To do this, place the cans in a pot of water and simmer over low heat for 4 hours. Beat 500 grams of butter with the condensed milk.
- 4
Step 4
We pour the cooled chocolate cream made with milk into the whipped mixture of boiled condensed milk and butter. Mix thoroughly, then place in the refrigerator. Let the cream chill and slightly set.
- 5
Step 5
As you understood, we've made the cream and set it aside. Now it's time to work on the dough. We'll need butter again. Yes, Armenian cake is dangerous for your figure, but that's also the secret of its amazing taste! Beat the softened butter with the eggs.
- 6
Step 6
Next, place the sour cream into a mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs with butter. Mix well. Add the sifted flour, continuously beating at a low speed. When the mixture begins to thicken, transfer the dough onto the counter.
- 7
Step 7
Knead a smooth dough that does not stick to hands. Divide the dough into several small portions. You should get about 10 pieces. Roll them into balls of equal size.
- 8
Step 8
Sprinkle the table with flour, take a rolling pin, and roll out each ball of dough as thin as possible. Be careful not to let the dough spread too much. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough on it. Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 7–10 minutes, until golden brown.
- 9
Step 9
We let the baked layers cool. If you want them to be even, it's better to trim the layers into perfect circles while they're still soft. We spread the cooled layers with cream taken from the refrigerator. I also decided to spread the cream on the sides of the cake.
- 10
Step 10
The final finishing touches. We still have a piece of dark chocolate left unused. It can be melted and used to glaze the cake with chocolate icing, or simply grated on a fine grater and sprinkled over the entire cake. Here's how beautifully it looks when sliced.