Prague Cake: Homemade Recipes (classic According To GOST, In A Multicooker, Etc. With Photo And Video)

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Taste "Prague": making a legendary cake with your own hands

It seems that this delicacy, which once conquered the hearts of millions of sweet tooth in the USSR, has absorbed everything that should be in an ideal dessert. Airy cakes, cream melting in your mouth, unique aroma and bright chocolate flavor, exquisite sourness of apricot confiture and dense glaze - all this is in the famous Prague cake. But be careful! They say that everyone who has tasted at least a piece of the famous dessert will be conquered by it forever. Do you want to be convinced of this?

Content

• 1 Neprazh Prague
• 2 How to bake the right cake base
• 3 Secrets of a gentle cream

• 4 How to cook "Prague" yourself at home

  • 4.1 According to GOST - a classic recipe
  • 4.2 Video: a variation of the famous dessert from Emma's grandmother
  • 4.3 In a multicooker
  • 4.4 Video: cake from Olga Matvey
  • 4.5 According to the old recipe
  • 4.6 Video: unusual "Chiffon Prague"

Neprazh Prague

The story of the birth of the legendary cake is covered, if not by darkness, then by a veil of secrecy for sure. Officially, its creator is Vladimir Guralnik, the head of the confectionery department at the Praga restaurant, which now exists on the Arbat. During his long career, this master has invented many successful desserts that have won all-Union fame, but what inspired him, sculpting his chocolate masterpiece, remains a secret.

Some say that the no less legendary Viennese "Sacher" was taken as a basis, although experts will confirm that there is little in common between these two delicacies. Just chocolate and fruity notes of impregnation.

Vienna Sacher is also chocolatey and also delicious

Others claim that a mysterious Czech dessert became the prototype of "Prague", which had several types of cream of different tastes, expensive alcohol and the most complicated preparation technology, which Vladimir Guralnik creatively reworked and simplified.

And still others … Still others do not imply anything, but simply devour a magic delicacy by both cheeks. So let's thank the unknown Czech masters and Vladimir Mikhailovich for the wonderful recipe, and let's go to the kitchen - bake, whip and soak, in order to finally put our fantastic treat on the table in front of the amazed household. Just like in a famous restaurant. Well, at least not worse.

How to bake the right cake base

Every culinary masterpiece has its own subtleties of preparation, without knowing which it is impossible to reproduce neither the taste, nor the texture, nor the type of a familiar dish. Of course, Prague has such secrets. And first of all, this applies to cakes.

A properly prepared biscuit is half the battle

One of the main requirements for a biscuit for a famous dessert is that it should be tender, airy and juicy. So much so that, if desired, the cakes could be left without impregnation, and still the taste of the cake did not suffer. How can this be achieved?

1. Always sift the flour: this way you saturate it with oxygen and make the finished cakes thicker.
2. For the same purpose, you can add baking powder, soda slaked with vinegar to the dough, or replace part of the flour with starch, although the classic recipe does not provide for this.
3. When whipping the whites, make sure that they are well cooled, and the container in which you are doing this does not contain traces of oil: fat will interfere with achieving a high-quality result.
4. Correctly kneading the dough for the Prague cake is a whole science. Handle it as carefully as possible, even anxiously, otherwise the foam from the whipped proteins will lose elasticity and the whole mass will settle. For the same reason, it is not recommended to shake the mold when placing it in the oven.
5. A real, high-quality sponge cake for a legendary cake cannot be baked without good butter. Attention! Replacing it with a budget margarine is strictly prohibited, spoil both the taste and consistency of the cakes. As a last resort, you can use vegetable oil - for one of the varieties of the classic cake, called "Chiffon Prague".

And yet, the classic "Prague" is primarily chocolate

What else is important to know for baking a Prague biscuit?

1. Do not forget to grease the walls of the mold with oil and lay them with baking paper, otherwise the cake will stick and you will not be able to remove it without damage.
2. Do not fill the form to the top - the dough will rise and fall out onto the wire rack.
3. Bake the sponge cake on the middle shelf in the center of the oven and do not set the temperature to high. 180-200 ° is just enough for the cakes to bake evenly and not burn at the edges, while remaining moist inside.
4. Do not open the oven door until you see that the top of the future cake is well browned. Cold air will "knock" the dough in no time.
5. Cool the finished biscuit exclusively on the wire rack, where its bottom will be cooled simultaneously with the top, and will not fog up and damp, as would happen if you left your creation on the table. In addition, experts advise to cook the cakes on the eve of assembly: after standing for 8–12 hours, they will become tastier.

Secrets of a gentle cream

Making the classic butter cream for the Prague cake took a lot of energy from the housewives. First, it was necessary to thoroughly beat the yolks with condensed milk. Then, holding the bowl over the steam, boil them well. Then add softened butter to the semi-finished cream, add finely grated and melted chocolate, sprinkle everything with expensive alcohol …

Once again, chocolate reigns supreme in the traditional recipe

Modern craftswomen do it easier. For example, they simply whip butter with a few tablespoons of cocoa and condensed milk, dispensing with any steam and other culinary tricks. Or they send sugar with sour cream and chocolate chips to the mixer bowl - it turns out very well. Or a mixture of condensed and ordinary milk, eggs and flour is boiled over low heat until thickened. You can add vanilla, and rum essence, and nuts crushed into small crumbs into the cream - any option will be good and acceptable if it turns out to be to your taste and future eaters. After all, the main thing in the cake is taste, and not adherence to GOST.

How to cook "Prague" yourself at home

It doesn't take much to reproduce Vladimir Guralnik's masterpiece in your own kitchen. A mixer or a whisk, a strainer, a cake pan, a few bowls, a saucepan, a thick thread (we'll tell you why later), a couple of hours of free time and the best quality products. The last ingredient is the main one, without it, your enterprise should not start.

And you will also need a recipe, classic or modernized by modern housewives.

According to GOST - a classic recipe

If you want to get a delicacy that is as close as possible in taste and appearance to that very legendary "Prague", you will need …

For cakes:

• flour - 120 g;
• butter - 40 g;
• eggs - 6 pcs.;
• sugar - 150 g;
• cocoa powder - 30 g.

For the cream:

• water - 75 ml;
• yolks - 2 pcs.;
• condensed milk - 150 ml;
• butter - 150 g;
• cocoa powder - 20 g;
• vanilla sugar - 5 g.

For glaze:

• butter 50 g;
• chocolate - 100 g;
• apricot jam - 20-50 g.

Cooking.

1. 1. Carefully separate the whites from the yolks so that not a drop of the yolk gets into the bowl of whites - this is important.

      

      If even a little yolk gets into the whites, they won't beat

   2. Combine the egg whites with half the sugar and beat until firm.

      

      Foam must be durable

   3. Add the remaining sugar to a bowl with yolks and grind everything until smooth.

      

      Remember the sweet eggnog from your childhood?

   4. Sift the flour along with the cocoa powder.

      

      Sift all bulk products

   5. Combine both egg mixtures and add flour to them. It is important to do this carefully, stirring the mass in smooth movements from bottom to top, strictly in one direction, so that the proteins do not fall off.

      

      Act very carefully

   6. It's time for butter. It should be as soft as possible, so either remove the briquette from the refrigerator an hour or two before cooking, or melt it in a ladle, cool to room temperature, and then pour into the dough and stir well again.

      

      The oil should be almost liquid, but not hot.

   7. Oil the sides of the cake pan and line the bottom with baking paper.

      

      The dough for "Prague" tends to stick to the walls of the mold

   8. Fill in the batter you received and remove the oven. Baking time is about 45 minutes, temperature is 200 °.

      

      Fill out the form 2/3

   9. Divide the biscuit into three layers. True craftswomen do this with a harsh thread, but you can just as well use a sharp knife. At this stage, you can soak them with cognac or, if you are cooking for children, with sugar syrup boiled with water, but this is not necessary. The biscuit will turn out tender without that.

      

      With a string, the biscuit crumbles less

   10. Combine the ingredients for the cream in a bowl, excluding oil: water, yolk, condensed milk, vanilla sugar. Whisk and steam until thick.

       

       By tradition, cocoa should also be added to the cream, but if you want to get a contrast with chocolate cakes, you can skip this.

   11. But now add the butter set aside into the thickened cream, having previously melted and cooled it or whipped it white.

       

       Beat the sweet mass well again.

   12. Spread half of the sweet butter mixture over the first crust, place the second on top of it and apply the rest of the cream on top.

       

       Don't spare the cream

   13. It remains to cover the almost finished cake with the third cake layer and process the top and sides with jam. And then put the cakes folded in a pile in the refrigerator to freeze the jam.

       

       The very famous fruity sourness

   14. Break the chocolate into pieces, melt it with butter, and then whisk well. Pour the icing on the cake over the frozen jam.

       

       If the icing is too thick, add a little milk to it

   15. Decorate the cake with grated chocolate and refrigerate again, this time overnight.

       

       Pets will be delighted

Video: a variant of the famous dessert from Emma's grandmother

In a multicooker

Multicooker, microwave oven and other useful units have long been a part of our life. Of course, this could not but affect the recipe of traditional delicacies! Modern housewives boldly bake "Prague" with the help of the latest achievements of technical thought and their cakes are no worse than those who prefer to work the old fashioned way. You will need…

For the cake:

• flour - 10 g;
• sugar - 150 g;
• eggs - 3 pcs.;
• condensed milk - 200 g;
• sour cream - 200 g;
• cocoa powder - 50g;
• baking powder - 1 tbsp.

For the cream:

• condensed milk - 200 g;
• butter - 200 g;
• bitter chocolate - 50 g;
• cocoa powder - 20-30 g.

For glaze:

• butter - 40 g;
• heavy cream - 60 g;
• chocolate - 100 g;
• apricot jam - 20-50 g.

Cooking.

1. Sift the flour with cocoa and baking powder. Please note that in this recipe, the biscuit is prepared without butter, but thanks to the condensed milk and baking powder, it turns out to be both juicy and lush - everything is as expected.

   

   The color will be the same, but the content will be different

2. Beat eggs with sugar.

   

   This time let's try not to separate the whites from the yolks.

3. Continuing to work with a whisk or mixer, pour condensed milk and sour cream into the egg mixture.

   

   Sour cream will give the cakes the necessary juiciness

4. Gradually, in portions, add flour mixed with cocoa and baking powder.

   

   You can help yourself with a mixer

5. Line the bottom of the multicooker bowl with baking paper and fill it with dough.

   

   The level of the dough must not rise above 2/3 of the bowl

6. Set the Baking mode. The sponge cake will be ready, on average, in 1 hour, although the exact time depends on the power of your multicooker.

   

   Use the baking program

7. Let the base of the future cake stand for 15–20 minutes, carefully remove it from the bowl and leave it alone until it cools completely. Ideally - at night, but 2-3 hours will be enough for a rush.

   

   Let the biscuit stand

8. Melt the chocolate in a water bath or, more conveniently, in a microwave oven and cool slightly.

   

   The cream will have a rich taste of natural chocolate

9. Beat the butter white.

   

   It is necessary for the layer to melt in the mouth

10. Add condensed milk, cocoa powder and melted chocolate to the butter. Whisk again.

    

    You can't do without a whisk

11. Cut the biscuit into three cakes.

    

    Whether to soak the cakes with syrup, decide for yourself

12. Spread the first two thickly with cream, stack on top of each other and cover with the third cake.

    

    The algorithm of actions when assembling a cake practically does not change

13. Grease the cake generously with jam and store in the refrigerator.

    

    And again it's the turn of the jam

14. Break the chocolate prepared for the icing into pieces, melt, add butter and cream to it and beat well. It is very important that the glaze is uniform, without lumps and crumbs.

    

    The final touch is chocolate icing

15. Pour the icing on the chilled cake and put it back in the cold. Minimum for 3 hours, maximum for the whole night.

    

    Real bliss for those with a sweet tooth

Video: cake from Olga Matvey

According to an old recipe

The craving for experiments was characteristic not only of our contemporaries, but also of the craftswomen of the past. It is thanks to them that a kind of hybrid of the classic cake and … semolina was born. It turns out very tasty! For an original variation on the theme of "Prague" you will need …

For the cake:

• flour - 300 g;
• sugar - 200 g;
• sour cream - 120 g;
• condensed milk - 120 g;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• cocoa powder - 80 g;
• soda - 10 g;
• some vinegar.

For the cream:

• semolina - 80 g;
• milk - 500 ml;
• butter - 200 g;
• sugar - 100 g;
• cognac - 10-15 ml;
• walnuts - 25 pcs.;
• vanillin.

For glaze:

• butter - 100 g;
• sugar - 150 g;
• milk - 50 ml;
• cocoa powder - 70 g.

Cooking.

1. Add some vinegar to the baking soda to extinguish it.

   

   Another way to make the dough fluffy

2. Whisk eggs with sugar, sour cream, condensed milk, cocoa and baking soda.

   

   Condensed milk biscuit will be even sweeter

3. Add sifted flour in portions and knead the dough.

   

   You should get a moderately thick mass, slightly resembling sour cream in consistency

4. Place a third of the dough in a greased dish lined with baking paper, place it in an oven preheated to 180-200 ° and bake until tender (about 30 minutes). Allow the biscuit to cool slightly, remove it from the mold and repeat the whole operation two more times. Alternatively, simply bake one large crust and cut it into thirds lengthwise.

   

   Bake the cakes in turn or cut the finished biscuit into pieces, decide for yourself

5. Cook thick semolina from semolina, milk and sugar.

   

   Let the porridge stand for a while, it will become thicker

6. Whisk the porridge with softened butter, vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons of brandy.

   

   Already looks like a cream

7. Place the skins on top of each other, after smearing the two bottom with semolina and spreading walnuts on it.

   

   Instead of jam, brush the entire surface of the cake with semolina cream

8. Prepare the frosting by melting the butter, milk, sugar and cocoa and pour over the cake.

   

   Invite guests to the table

Video: unusual "Chiffon Prague"

Do you still think that it is difficult to make a cake that billions of sweets of the former USSR dreamed about? Then choose the recipe you like, stock up on the necessary products and spend the evening in the company of a pleasantly buzzing mixer, a blistering oven and wonderful aromas of cocoa, chocolate and warm milk … And in the morning, when the cake is properly infused, try what you got. We are sure you will like it.