Dieser Beitrag ist auch verfügbar auf:
Deutsch
In the domino cakes, the fluffy and moist sponge cake meets a delicate buttercream filling and sweet fondant. The result is a heavenly delicious and aromatic combination that melts in your mouth. What’s more, the cakes with their pattern are a real eye-catcher on the coffee table. You can find a detailed recipe with the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions below.
Forgotten dessert from the Soviet era
These domino cakes originate from the Soviet Union and were produced according to the GOST recipe (state standard recipe), just like the kartoshka cake, the mini cakes “Bouchee”, and the cakes “Penyochki”. Some Soviet pastry shops and canteens had them in their assortment.
In the meantime, the sweet dessert has fallen into oblivion, just like the mini chocolate mousse cake “Eva” or the mini cake “Konstantinovskoe”. But with my recipe, you can make it yourself at home.
What are domino cakes made of?
The domino cakes consist of two layers of sponge cake. They are filled, just like the Kiev cake, the cake “Abrikotin” and the Khreshchatyk cake, with the buttercream “Charlotte”, which was so popular in the Soviet Union. The cakes are also covered and decorated with white fondant or chocolate fondant.
Alternatives to fondant
Traditionally, the domino cakes were made with fondant, as was the shortcrust cake “Landish”. They were available with either white or chocolate coating. If you are looking for a quicker alternative to fondant, you can coat and decorate the domino cakes with regular sugar icing or chocolate glaze.
These domino cakes are
- fluffy,
- moist,
- creamy,
- sweet,
- soft,
- tender,
- heavenly delicious,
- aromatic,
- a cute eye-catcher on the coffee table, similar to the peanut roll cake or the zebra cake,
- to make with ordinary ingredients,
- ideal for a coffee round at the weekend or for a special occasion,
- a forgotten classic of Soviet cuisine.
How to make Soviet domino cakes: tips and tricks
- I baked the sponge cake in a rectangular baking tin measuring approx. 33 cm x 23 cm.
- I refined the filling with homemade blackcurrant liqueur. You can omit the alcohol if you prefer.
- I used homemade orange marmalade to coat the cake.
- Butter, the milk syrup, and rum must be room warm and all three should be at approximately the same temperature so that they can combine well when whipped without the filling curdling.
- Instead of fondant, you can cover and decorate the cakes with regular sugar icing and chocolate glaze.
- You can use the leftover egg white to make Sicilian almond cookies, for example.
Did you make the domino cakes using this recipe? I look forward to seeing your results, your star rating, and your comments below on how they turned out and how they tasted.
Try these Soviet cake recipes too:
- Sponge slices with butter cream: so tasted small Soviet happiness
- Sponge nut slices – the sweet taste hit from the Soviet erat
- Mini chocolate sponge cakes – easy recipe for chocolate eye-catchers
Domino cakes
Equipment
- approx. 33 cm x 23 cm baking tin
Ingredients
for the fondant
- 225 g sugar
- 125 ml water
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- approx. 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 tsp baking cocoa
for the batter
- 4 eggs
- 120 g sugar
- 1 pinch of ground vanilla bean
- 1 pinch of salt
- 120 g flour
for the filling
- 70 ml milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 70 g sugar
- 120 g butter room warm
- 1 pinch of ground vanilla bean
- 1 tsp rum or liqueur room warm
for soaking
- 80 ml milk
for coating
- approx. 60 g jam of your choice
Instructions
Preparation of the fondant
- Put water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat slowly, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Bring the sugar syrup to the boil, add lemon juice and stir briefly.
- Place the lid on the saucepan and boil the sugar syrup, without stirring, over a medium heat until 237 °F - 239 °F (114 °C - 115 °C). Remove the lid at the end of the cooking time.
- As soon as the sugar syrup has reached the required temperature, immediately cool it down to approx. 104 °F (40 °C) in ice water.
- Beat the sugar syrup with the dough hook of a hand mixer until it becomes snow-white and firm.
- Now scrape the fondant out of the saucepan using a tablespoon and knead it briefly with your hands (if it is sticky, you can roll your hands lightly in powdered sugar).
- Wrap the fondant in cling film and leave it to mature in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Preparation of the batter
- Line the rectangular baking tin with baking paper.
- Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt into an airy, thick, light mixture.
- Fold flour into the egg sugar mixture to create an airy, thick sponge batter.
- Spread the batter evenly in the baking tin, bake the sponge cake in a preheated oven at 356 °F (180 °C) for approx. 15 minutes and leave to cool.
Preparation of the filling
- Mix milk, egg yolk and sugar well in a thick-bottomed saucepan.
- Bring the egg yolk milk mixture to the boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly, and then continue to simmer over a low heat for approx. 1 - 2 minutes while it thickens slightly.
- Pour the milk syrup through a fine sieve and leave to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Beat softened butter with vanilla for approx. 5 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add the milk syrup in portions and whisk briefly each time to form a homogeneous cream.
- Add rum and beat again briefly.
Preparation of the domino cakes
- Cut the sponge cake into two equal parts, soak them with milk and leave to dry briefly.
- Spread all the buttercream filling on one half of the sponge cake and place the second half on top.
- Spread a very thin layer of jam on top of the sponge cake and chill for approx. 2 hours.
- Then cut the cake into two equal parts.
- Divide the fondant into two equal portions.
- Place the first portion of fondant in a small heatproof bowl and heat slowly (do not overheat!) in a hot water bath while stirring until it becomes viscous.
- Gradually add warm water to the fondant in very small portions until it has been diluted to a thick consistency.
- Transfer approx. 1 tsp of the fondant icing to a piping bag with a small hole and quickly spread the remaining icing evenly over the first sponge cake.
- Place the second portion of fondant in a small heatproof bowl and heat slowly (do not overheat!) in a hot water bath while stirring until it becomes viscous.
- Add cocoa powder to the fondant.
- Gradually add warm water in very small portions until the chocolate fondant has thinned to a thick mass.
- Transfer approx. 1 tsp of the chocolate fondant icing to a piping bag with a small hole and quickly spread the remaining chocolate icing evenly over the second sponge cake.
- Chill the two cakes for approx. 8 hours or overnight.
- Seal the ends of each piping bag with the fondant well so that the fondant does not dry out, and chill them too.
- Cut each sponge cake into four equal slices (the uneven edges can be cut off thinly).
- Place the piping bag with the chocolate fondant briefly in a bowl of hot water (without letting the water get inside the piping bag) for a short time to thicken the fondant, then use it to draw a domino pattern on the white cakes.
- Place the piping bag with the white fondant in a bowl of hot water (without letting the water get inside the piping bag) for a short time to thicken the fondant, then use it to draw a domino pattern on the chocolate cakes.
Notes
- I baked the sponge cake in a rectangular baking tin measuring approx. 33 cm x 23 cm.
- I refined the filling with homemade blackcurrant liqueur. You can omit the alcohol if you prefer.
- I used homemade orange marmalade to coat the cake.
- Butter, the milk syrup, and rum must be room warm and all three should be at approximately the same temperature so that they can combine well when whipped without the filling curdling.
- Instead of fondant, you can cover and decorate the cakes with regular sugar icing and chocolate glaze.
- You can use the leftover egg white to make Sicilian almond cookies, for example.
- Take note of the detailed tips and tricks for making the domino cakes at the top of the article.
If you are using Pinterest, you can pin the following picture:
