Appetizer cake
Description
The baking is simple and quick. You can prepare not only the classic "Lady Fingers" cake, but also its interpretation as an appetizer! Believe me, this cake will become a centerpiece of your table—it's beautiful both on the outside and when sliced. Be sure to bake the cake layers in a grid pattern; this will make it easier to fill them with cream and olives with herring. For the cream, you can use not only cream cheese, but also strained sour cream mixed with bloomed gelatin—this way the cream will hold its shape while still allowing the cake layers to soak up flavor. In this recipe, you will learn how. Serve warm or chilled. Perfect with tea.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
1. On parchment paper, mark strips 7 cm wide (with 3 cm spacing between the strips). Mark the layers: draw a circle with a diameter of 20 cm, then divide it into squares with sides of 2.5 cm. Place the parchment on a baking sheet with the marked side facing down.
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Step 2
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine butter, water, sugar, and salt. Place over heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, add the sifted flour, and stir continuously, cooking the dough on the stove until smooth and gathered into a ball. Transfer the dough to a bowl.
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Step 3
3. Mix the room-temperature eggs and add them to the hot dough in 4 portions, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Transfer the dough into a piping bag, fit with a 1 cm diameter nozzle, and pipe stick-shaped portions onto a lined baking sheet, spaced 2–3 cm apart.
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Step 4
4. Smooth the edges with a finger dipped in water and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Also, draw a lattice pattern on the prepared template using dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
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Step 5
5. Level the layers and let them cool completely on a rack. Stack the layers so that the middle layer's grid pattern aligns diagonally with the first and last layers. Make a mark on the side of the layers.
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Step 6
6. Cut the boiled beet into cubes and blend with a small amount of cream cheese. Add the mixture to the cream cheese through a sieve, season with salt, and beat until smooth and stable.
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Step 7
7. Finely chop the herbs in a blender together with a small amount of cream cheese. Add to the cream cheese through a sieve, season with salt, and beat until a stable mixture forms. Set aside a couple of spoons of the colored cream for decoration.
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Step 8
8. Mix the cream cheese with salt and beat. Place the first cake layer on a plate, spread with the green cream, making sure it fills the cells. Put a pitted olive in each cell, and between them place finely chopped fillet of lightly salted herring.
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Step 9
9. Spread the remaining cream. Place the second cake layer on top, aligning the marks, and spread beet cream on it. Fill with olives and herring, then distribute the remaining cream. Place the third cake layer on top, aligning the marks.
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Step 10
10. Level the sides and top with white cream. Trim the stick-shaped pieces on one side and attach them to the side of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 10–12 hours, then level the top of the cake again with white cream.
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Step 11
11. Form little roses from thinly sliced herring fillet and place them on top. Decorate the cake with beet cream, olives, and green cream.