New Year's Liver Cake
Description
Suitable for both holidays and everyday meals. Liver cake can be decorated for any occasion. I’d like to offer you a New Year’s version of this appetizing appetizer. In the run-up to the winter holidays, I decided to experiment with decorating this wonderful dish. It turned out very tasty and looks beautiful on the table. If you want to diversify the flavor palette, you can also layer the appetizer cake with other fillings: sautéed mushrooms with onion, tomatoes with mayonnaise and garlic, salted or fresh cucumbers, sweet pepper and eggplant, hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, braised cabbage, and so on. You can use any filling you like, or alternate fillings in the layers of the appetizer cake. Preparation is easy—be sure to give it a try. It can be served warm or chilled.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients according to the list. You can use any type of liver. I used chicken liver. Use full-fat sour cream. Mine was 20% fat. You can make the mayonnaise yourself.
- 2
Step 2
Peel the onion, rinse it under cool water so it doesn’t sting your eyes when you chop it, and dice it. Wash the carrot as well, peel it, and grate it on the coarse side of a grater. Pour vegetable oil into a heated skillet. Add the onion and carrot and sauté them, stirring, until done over medium heat for about 7–10 minutes.
- 3
Step 3
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then cool to room temperature.
- 4
Step 4
Rinse the liver thoroughly and remove the membrane. Transfer the prepared liver to the blender bowl.
- 5
Step 5
Process the liver until smooth and homogeneous.
- 6
Step 6
Transfer to a deep bowl.
- 7
Step 7
Add flour, milk, eggs, salt, and ground pepper to taste.
- 8
Step 8
Mix well.
- 9
Step 9
Heat the skillet and grease it with oil. The skillet should be 18 cm in diameter. Mix the liver paste and scoop half a ladle of batter. Pour it into the skillet. Spread it carefully over the entire bottom. You can use a spoon to help, as the batter is not very runny. Fry over medium heat for about 2–4 minutes until the top of the pancake has set.
- 10
Step 10
Carefully turn over. Fry for approximately the same amount of time again.
- 11
Step 11
Cool the liver pancakes to room temperature.
- 12
Step 12
Soak the gelatin in cold water. Soaking time varies: for quick-dissolving powdered gelatin, 2–5 minutes is enough; the granulated version needs at least 20 minutes. See the instructions on the package.
- 13
Step 13
To make all the liver pancakes the same size, you can use a flat plate.
- 14
Step 14
Place the plate against the crepe and run a knife along the edge, then remove the trimmings.
- 15
Step 15
To shape the liver cake, I will use a 16 cm molding ring. You can also simply stack the pancakes on a serving plate. Place a liver pancake on the bottom of the ring.
- 16
Step 16
Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise. If desired, add pressed garlic and herbs. Spread the liver pancake with the sauce.
- 17
Step 17
Spread a little filling on top. Visually divide the filling into equal portions so there is enough to spread on each pancake.
- 18
Step 18
Alternate pancakes and filling to the very top, pressing down lightly.
- 19
Step 19
Assemble the entire cake in this way. Do not spread the top pancake.
- 20
Step 20
Now prepare the cream sauce. Heat the pre-soaked gelatin without bringing it to a boil. I do this in the microwave. Combine equal amounts of sour cream and mayonnaise (you can replace some of the mayonnaise with cream cheese or soft cheese). Gradually pour in the warm gelatin. Mix everything well.
- 21
Step 21
Let the sauce thicken slightly, then coat the cake on all sides with it.
- 22
Step 22
As the sauce thickens it will start to clump, so once the cake is coated on all sides, put it in the microwave for literally just a few seconds. The sauce will loosen again and settle into a smooth, even coating on the cake. Use a plate with slightly raised edges so excess sauce has somewhere to run off. Refrigerate the cake for 8–12 hours.
- 23
Step 23
This appetizer can be prepared a day before the festive table. The New Year’s liver cake is ready. Before serving, you can garnish it as you like. I garnished the bottom with dill, and on top I made a wreath of microgreens and cranberries.
- 24
Step 24
The appetizer turns out very impressive! And very tasty — the beloved flavor of liver cake and sour cream–mayonnaise sauce that has turned into a real cream.
- 25
Step 25
Be sure to try making it and surprise everyone at the holiday table!