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Fluffy, moist sponge cake, light and airy soufflé and delicate buttercream merge together to create a unique taste experience. The cake “Gomel Woman” was a rarity in the Soviet Union and therefore much sought-after. Nowadays, not everyone remembers it. You can find a detailed recipe for the cake “Gomel Woman” with the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions below.
What is cake “Gomel Woman”?
“Gomel Woman” is a soufflé layer cake from Belarus that was created during the Soviet era. In addition to the soufflé, it consists of a sponge cake and is decorated with buttercream.
“Gomel Woman” appeared in Belarusian pastry shops a few years after the famous Bird’s milk cake. It was also rarely found in stores, similar to the Wenceslas cake, the cake “Slavyanka”, or the cake “Tavrichesky”.
A Gomel woman is a resident of the city of Gomel. It is the second largest city in Belarus.
Soufflé with agar
The soufflé for the cake “Gomel Woman”, just like for the cake “Slavutych” or the Bird’s milk sweets, is prepared with agar. It ensures its firm consistency.
Use pure, good-quality agar powder without additives, just like for the apple pastila or the zefir. I use agar with a gel strength of 900 in the recipe. If your vegetable gelling agent is weaker, you will need to add more of it.
How to decorate cake “Gomel Woman”
Traditionally, the cake “Gomel Woman” was decorated with chocolate glaze and buttercream frosting.
The glaze and frosting were piped onto the cake in a chaotic pattern. A pretty border was also added using the buttercream. I used a basket weave nozzle for this.
This soufflé dessert is
- light and airy,
- moist,
- fluffy,
- creamy,
- delicate,
- heavenly delicious,
- aromatic,
- easy to make with common ingredients,
- a sweet classic of Soviet cuisine, alongside the Khreshchatyk cake, the cake “Abrikotin”, and the hazelnut cake “Zhuravushka”.
How to make cake “Gomel Woman”: tips and tricks
- The specified baking time for the sponge cake may vary. Use a skewer to check whether it is done. Do not open the oven door during the first 20 – 25 minutes of baking.
- You can make the sponge cake the day before, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container at room temperature overnight. This will make it easier to cut.
- Use agar powder without additives for the soufflé. Depending on the gelling strength of your gelling agent, the specified amount may vary.
- Butter and sweetened condensed milk for the frosting and for the soufflé must be room warm and both at approximately the same temperature so that they can combine well when whipped without the mixture curdling.
- Work with the finished soufflé mixture as quickly as possible, as it sets quite quickly.
- I piped the border of frosting onto the cake using a basket weave nozzle. You can also use a different piping nozzle for this.
Did you make the cake “Gomel Woman” using this recipe? I look forward to seeing your results, your star rating, and your comments below on how it turned out and how it tasted.
Try these Soviet layer cake recipes too:
- Minsky cake – Soviet recipe with Italian meringue
- Cake “Zolotoy Klyuchik” – just like in Soviet pastry shop
- Prague cake – classic recipe from Soviet era
Cake "Gomel Woman"
Equipment
- Ø 24 cm baking springform tin
- piping bag with basket weave nozzle and small hole nozzle
Ingredients
for the sponge cake
- 120 g flour
- 3 g baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp water
- 120 g sugar
- 1 pinch of ground vanilla bean
- 1 pinch of salt
for soaking
- 150 ml milk
for the soufflé
- 160 g butter room warm
- 100 g sweetened condensed milk room warm
- 1 pinch of ground vanilla bean
- 130 ml water
- 12 g agar powder gel starch 900
- 200 g sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 1 tsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
for the frosting
- 120 g butter room warm
- 120 g sweetened condensed milk room warm
- 1 pinch of ground vanilla bean
Instructions
Preparation of the sponge cake
- Line the base of the springform tin with baking paper.
- Mix flour with baking powder.
- Beat eggs, egg yolks, water, sugar, vanilla and salt into a light, thick, fluffy mixture.
- Fold the flour mixture into the egg sugar mixture to create an airy, thick sponge batter.
- Pour the batter into the baking tin, bake the sponge cake in a preheated oven at 338 °F (170 °C) for approx. 30 minutes and leave to cool completely.
- Cut off the dome of the sponge cake and crumble it finely. Set the sponge crumbs aside for now, you will need them later for the sides of the cake.
- Cut the sponge cake lengthwise into two cake bases of equal thickness and soak them with milk.
Preparation of the soufflé
- Line the Ø 24 cm springform tin completely with cling film.
- Beat softened butter, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla for approx. 5 minutes until light and creamy.
- Pour water into a small saucepan with a thick base and dissolve agar powder in it. Add sugar and stir.
- Heat the agar sugar mixture over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Beat egg whites in parallel with lemon juice until stiff.
- Turn the heat to medium, bring the sugar syrup with agar to the boil, stirring constantly, and continue to boil for 3 minutes over a medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream into the beaten egg whites while continuing to beat them continuously at a slightly reduced speed of the mixer.
- Then switch the mixer back to the highest speed and beat the egg white mixture for approx. 2 - 3 minutes until stiff.
- Add the buttercream to the egg whites in batches and beat briefly each time to form a homogeneous mixture, which will become slightly runny.
- Pour half of the soufflé mixture into the prepared springform tin, smooth it out, place the first sponge base on top, pour the second half of the soufflé over it, smooth it out too and place the second sponge base on top.
- Chill the cake in the springform tin for at least 4 hours so that the soufflé sets.
Preparation of the frosting
- Beat softened butter, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla for approx. 5 minutes until light and creamy.
Finishing the cake
- Remove the sides of the springform tin from the cake, place a plate on top of the cake and turn it over so that the bottom layer of the soufflé is now on top. Remove the springform base and cling film from the cake.
- Melt chocolate and butter together slowly in a hot water bath to create a homogeneous chocolate glaze.
- Spread the sides of the cake with the frosting.
- Transfer a small amount of frosting to the piping bag with a very small nozzle and pipe it onto the cake, alternating with the chocolate glaze.
- Sprinkle the sides of the cake with the sponge crumbs.
- Transfer the remaining frosting to the piping bag with a basket weave nozzle and pipe a pretty border onto the cake.
- Chill the cake "Gomel Woman" for approx. 1 hour.
Notes
- The specified baking time for the sponge cake may vary. Use a skewer to check whether it is done. Do not open the oven door during the first 20 - 25 minutes of baking.
- You can make the sponge cake the day before, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container at room temperature overnight. This will make it easier to cut.
- Use agar powder without additives for the soufflé. Depending on the gelling strength of your gelling agent, the specified amount may vary.
- Butter and sweetened condensed milk for the frosting and for the soufflé must be room warm and both at approximately the same temperature so that they can combine well when whipped without the mixture curdling.
- Work with the finished soufflé mixture as quickly as possible, as it sets quite quickly.
- I piped the border of frosting onto the cake using a basket weave nozzle. You can also use a different piping nozzle for this.
- Take note of the detailed tips and tricks for making the cake "Gomel Woman" at the top of the article.
If you are using Pinterest, you can pin the following picture:
