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Crispy tender puff pastry, fluffy choux pastry and an aromatic, creamy pudding filling are combined in the Leningradsky pastry. It is very versatile and unique, both in terms of taste and appearance. You can make this now forgotten Soviet dessert yourself at home. You can find a detailed recipe with the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions below.
Forgotten Soviet pastry
The Leningrad pastry used to be part of the assortment of some Soviet confectioneries and bakeries. It was completely different from the Leningradsky cake. In the meantime, the sweet dessert has been completely forgotten, just like the mini cake “Konstantinovskoe”, the cake “Slavyanka”, the Wenceslas cake, the cake “Abrikotin”, the cake “Slavyanochka”, the cake “Slavutych” or the “Detskie” pryaniki.
What makes Leningradsky pastry special?
The Leningradsky pastry is unusual in terms of taste and appearance, just like the mini chocolate mousse cake “Eva” or the Belyov pastila.
The dessert is made from two types of dough: puff pastry, which is also used to bake the sugar tongues, and choux pastry, which you may know from the Karpatka cake. This makes it taste fluffy, flaky and crispy tender at the same time.
The Leningradsky pastry is filled with a vanilla cream, similar to the crumble buns or my crepe cake. It complements the two doughs with a delicate creaminess and fine aroma.
Visually, the Leningradsky pastry looks like a large cream puff, which is wrapped in puff pastry like a cloth.
How to enjoy and store
The Leningradsky pastry tastes best fresh, just like the Sverdlovsk buns. You can enjoy it immediately after preparation or chill it briefly so that the filling firms up.
Keep the leftover pastries in the fridge and eat them the next day if possible. This is because the choux pastry softens over time and no longer tastes as fluffy.
As the Leningradsky pastries are unique, they are perfect for a party, alongside the mini cakes “Bouchee”, the chocolate kartoshka and the mini cakes “Russian hats”. You can surprise your guests with these. But you can also serve the pastries for an ordinary afternoon coffee with the family at the weekend.
This dessert is
- creamy,
- flaky,
- fluffy,
- light and airy,
- crispy and tender,
- moderately sweet,
- heavenly delicious,
- aromatic,
- unusual,
- with puff pastry, choux pastry and vanilla cream,
- easy to make at home,
- a pretty eye-catcher on the coffee table,
- ideal for an ordinary tea round and for a celebration,
- a forgotten dessert from the Soviet era.
How to make Leningradsky pastry: tips and tricks
- Instead of 10 large pastries, you can make more smaller ones. To do this, cut the puff pastry sheets into smaller squares and put less choux pastry in the middle of each square.
- Never take the puff pastry choux pastry out of the oven too early, otherwise it could collapse. With choux pastry, it is better to bake for one minute too long than too short. If possible, do not open the oven door during baking, especially for the first 30 minutes or so.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar for the filling to taste.
- You can also prepare the filling the day before, leave to cool and store in the fridge overnight. Leave it to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour before using it again and then stir vigorously with a whisk to form a homogeneous cream.
Did you make the Leningradsky pastry using this recipe? I look forward to your results, your star rating and your comment below on how you liked it.
Try out these other sweet recipes from Soviet cuisine:
- “Lakomka” or Nevsky cake – Soviet yeast cake recipe
- Zebra cake – Soviet recipe with sour cream
- Tarts “Penyochki” – popular Soviet mini tree stump cakes
Leningradsky pastry
Equipment
- piping bag with long, narrow nozzle
Ingredients
- 430 g puff pastry
for the choux pastry
- 60 ml milk
- 65 ml water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 50 g butter
- 75 g flour
- approx. 2 eggs
for the filling
- 1 egg
- 60 g sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 300 ml milk
- 25 g cornstarch
- 1/5 tsp ground vanilla bean
- 60 g butter
for dusting
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Cut puff pastry into 10 approx. 12 cm x 12 cm squares and divide them between two baking trays lined with baking paper.
Preparation of the choux pastry
- Put milk, water, sugar, salt and chopped butter in a small saucepan with a thick base, heat while stirring until the butter and sugar dissolve and then bring to the boil briefly.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, immediately add flour in one go and mix quickly and vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a homogeneous dough.
- Place the saucepan back on the stove and heat the dough over a high heat for approx. 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly and turning with a wooden spoon, until the dough has separated from the bottom of the pan and has left a white layer of starch.
- Transfer the hot dough to a clean mixing bowl and leave to cool to lukewarm.
- First add one egg to the dough and work it into the dough using a hand mixer. Whisk the second egg and gradually stir it into the dough in batches until it is shiny and sticks to a spoon in peaks (use another egg if necessary).
- Place approx. 1 heaped tablespoon of choux pastry in the center of each puff pastry square.
- Fold all four corners of each puff pastry square towards the center and press them only lightly against the puff pastry.
- Bake the dough pieces in a preheated oven at 356 °F (180 °C), first on the first baking tray and then on the second baking tray, for approx. 40 minutes until golden brown.
- Using a wooden skewer, make a small hole in the choux pastry of each pastry to let the steam out and leave to cool completely.
Preparation of the filling
- Whisk egg with sugar and salt.
- Dissolve cornstarch in 50 ml cold milk.
- Pour the remaining 250 ml of milk into a thick-bottomed saucepan, add the sugar egg mixture and the starch mixture and stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring constantly until it thickens into a pudding, and continue to boil for approx. 1 - 2 minutes while stirring.
- Remove the pudding mixture from the heat and immediately stir in vanilla and chopped butter.
- Leave the vanilla cream to cool, stirring occasionally.
Filling the Leningradsky pastry
- Transfer the vanilla cream to a piping bag with a long, narrow nozzle, insert the piping nozzle into the choux pastry of each pastry and pipe some of the filling into the cavity of the pastry.
- Dust the Leningradsky pastries with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
- Instead of 10 large pastries, you can make more smaller ones. To do this, cut the puff pastry sheets into smaller squares and put less choux pastry in the middle of each square.
- Never take the puff pastry choux pastry out of the oven too early, otherwise it could collapse. With choux pastry, it is better to bake for one minute too long than too short. If possible, do not open the oven door during baking, especially for the first 30 minutes or so.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar for the filling to taste.
- You can also prepare the filling the day before, leave to cool and store in the fridge overnight. Leave it to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour before using it again and then stir vigorously with a whisk to form a homogeneous cream.
- See the detailed tips and tricks for making the Leningradsky pastry at the top of the article.
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