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These Russian sponge nut slices with butter cream taste incredibly delicious – nutty, moist, creamy, fluffy. They date back to the Soviet era and were one of the most popular pastries back then. Here I’ll show you how to make the nut slices yourself. It’s pretty easy, and you only need a few common ingredients to make them. You can find a detailed sponge nut slices recipe with exact quantities and step-by-step instructions right below.

Sponge nut slices – the sweet taste hit from the Soviet era

The sweet hit from the former Soviet Union

The delicious sponge nut slices were very popular during the Soviet era. You could buy them in many Soviet pastry shops, bakeries and canteens.

The sweet nut mini cakes were loved by children and adults at that time. Thanks to this recipe you can enjoy the delicious taste of nut mini cakes from the former Soviet Union at home.

What are the Russian nut mini cakes made of?

The pastry consists of nut sponge cake and nut butter cream.

The sponge cake is made in the classic way, but additionally refined with nuts. After baking, it tastes nutty, moist, fluffy and soft.

The butter cream is made with home-made milk syrup and – just like the sponge cake – supplemented with nuts. It tastes creamy, tender and also nutty.

Since the nuts are roasted, the slices end up being not only delicious, but additionally very aromatic.

Which nuts can I use?

You can use any nuts you have at home or like for the sponge cake as well as for the cream and for sprinkling the nut mini cakes. I used hazelnuts. Walnuts or peanuts are also very good for this.

It is important that the nuts are roasted so that the nut mini cakes will be really aromatic later. You can either buy already roasted nuts or roast them yourself in the oven or in a pan.

For those who love nutty creamy dessert

These sponge nut slices are an ideal dessert for those who love creamy nut-flavored cakes. Because that’s exactly how they taste.

Thanks to butter cream, the nut slices are very creamy. Due to the nuts, which are contained in both the dough and the cream, and with which the mini cakes are sprinkled on top of that, they have a pronounced nutty flavor. The moist fluffy sponge cake additionally makes the nut slices a heavenly delicious treat.

Russian sponge nut slices are

nutty,
moist,
fluffy,
creamy,
tender,
soft,
aromatic,
incredibly delicious,
easy and quick to make with common ingredients,
perfect for dessert during the week or for a party,
classic of the Soviet cuisine.

How to make Russian nut slices: tips and tricks

You can take any nuts for the sponge, the cream and for sprinkling on the mini cakes. They must be roasted.
You can use vanilla sugar, vanilla powder, vanilla extract or vanilla bean scraped out as vanilla for the nut sponge cake and the cream.
To bake the nut sponge cake, you’ll need an approx. 24 cm x 24 cm square springform pan.
To check whether the nut sponge cake is baked, use a toothpick. Insert it into the center of the sponge briefly and see if it comes out clean. Alternatively, you can use a finger to gently press on the surface of the sponge about halfway down. If it springs back after you press it and no marks remain, it’s done.
Be sure to cook the milk syrup in a thick-bottomed saucepan so it doesn’t burn.
Both butter and the milk syrup and alcohol need to be room-warm and all about the same temperature when whipped together to make the cream, so they can combine well.
You can just leave out alcohol for the cream and sugar syrup, or use something else for flavoring instead. I had flavored the sugar syrup with a lemon zest this time. To do this, I added the lemon zest to the hot sugar syrup right after cooking and, after the syrup had cooled, poured it through a strainer.
Be sure to chill the cake for at least 3 hours after making it, so it can set and the cream can firm up, and only then cut it into slices.
Store the sponge nut slices in the refrigerator. You can store them for about 3 days.

Did you make the Russian sponge nut slices yourself using this recipe? I’m looking forward to your results, your star rating and your comment below on how you liked the nut mini cakes.

Got an appetite for more delicious mini cakes and slices? Try them:

Russian sponge nut slices

These Russian sponge nut slices with butter cream taste incredibly delicious – nutty, moist, creamy, fluffy. They date back to the Soviet era and were one of the most popular pastries back then. According to this recipe, you can make the nut slices yourself. It's pretty easy, and you only need a few common ingredients.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 20

Cooling time 3

Course Dessert

Cuisine Russian

Servings 8 slices

Equipment

24 cm x 24 cm square springform pan

Ingredients

for the dough

5 eggs
150 g sugar
125 g flour
30 g any nuts (roasted and finely chopped)
vanilla
1 pinch of salt
butter to grease the baking pan

for the cream

200 g butter (room temperature)
100 ml milk
135 g sugar
1 egg
35 g any nuts (roasted and finely chopped)
vanilla
1 tbsp rum or cognac (room temperature)

for the sugar syrup

90 ml water
70 g sugar
1 tbsp rum or cognac

for sprinkling

70 g any nuts (roasted and finely chopped)

Instructions

Making the dough

Line the bottom of the square springform pan with baking paper and grease the sides with butter.
Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until you have a fluffy white mixture.
Mix flour with nuts and fold into the egg-sugar mixture to make a fluffy, thick batter.
Pour the nut sponge mixture into the baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C top and bottom heat for about 20 minutes. Allow the nut sponge cake to cool and then store in an airtight container overnight.

Making the sugar syrup

Put sugar and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil while stirring constantly, and take it off the heat. Let the sugar syrup cool down.
Add rum or cognac and stir it.

Making the cream

Mix egg and milk in a thick-bottomed saucepan.
Add sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Then continue to cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes until it has thickened a bit. Then let the milk syrup cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Beat softened butter for about 4 - 5 minutes until fluffy and creamy.
Add the vanilla and the milk syrup in portions and whip each time to a homogeneous cream.
Add rum or cognac and whip again briefly to a homogeneous cream.
Stir the nuts into the cream.

Making the nut slices

Cut the sponge lengthwise into two cake layers, soak them each from one side with the sugar syrup and let them dry for about 10 minutes.
Spread the two cake layers evenly with the cream and stack them on top of each other.
Sprinkle the top of the cake with nuts and chill for at least 3 hours to allow the cream to set and the cake to set through.
Cut off about 0.5 cm thick border from all sides of the cake (it doesn't look that pretty, but it tastes delicious, so you shouldn't throw it away) and cut the cake into 8 slices (each 10 cm x 5 cm in size in my case).

Notes

To check if the nut sponge cake is done baking, use a toothpick. Alternatively, use a finger to gently press on the surface of the sponge about halfway down. If it springs back after pressing, and no marks remain, it is done.
Both butter and the milk syrup and alcohol need to be room-warm and all about the same temperature when whipped together to make the cream, so they can combine well.
You can simply omit alcohol for the cream and sugar syrup, or use something else for flavoring instead.
Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the Russian sponge nut slices at the top of the post.