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Kiev cake recipe
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Kiev cake

Nutty crispy meringue layers and delicate chocolate-flavored butter cream make the Kiev cake a unique taste experience. It is not without reason that it has been one of the most popular Ukrainian cakes since the Soviet era. Meanwhile, you can easily make it at home with this recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Soviet, Ukrainian
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rest and cooling time 1 day 5 hours
Servings 12

Equipment

  • Ø 20 cm and Ø 24 cm springform tin
  • piping bag with star nozzle and narrow hole nozzle optional (for decorating)

Ingredients

for the nut meringue layers

  • 150 g cashew nuts
  • 6 egg whites
  • 180 + 50 g sugar
  • 50 g flour
  • 1 pinch of vanilla bean
  • 1 pinch of salt

for the cream

  • 250 g butter room warm
  • 170 ml milk
  • 170 g sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 10 g cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp rum optional
  • 1 pinch of vanilla bean

for the edge

  • 30 g cashew nuts roasted
  • meringue crumbs

Instructions

Preparation of the nut meringue layers

  • Line a Ø 20 cm and a Ø 24 cm springform tin with baking paper.
  • Roast cashews in a pan or in the oven, let them cool down and chop them coarsely.
  • Mix flour, the chopped cashews, 180 g sugar and vanilla.
  • Briefly beat egg whites with salt until foamy.
  • Add 50 g sugar in portions and beat until stiff.
  • Fold the flour nut mixture into the egg white mixture so that it remains firm (in no case becomes liquid!).
  • Pour a little more than half of the nut meringue batter into the Ø 24 cm springform tin and smooth it out. Pour the remaining batter into the Ø 20 cm springform tin and smooth it down as well.
  • Bake the two nut meringue layers together in a preheated oven at 266 °F (130 °C) for about 2 - 2.5 hours, until they are dry on the outside and inside. You can check by tapping them with a finger.
  • Then carefully remove the nut meringue layers from the baking tins, remove the baking paper, let them cool and rest at room temperature for about 24 hours.
  • Place the small cake layer on top of the large one, and carefully cut off the edge of the large cake layer with a sharp knife so that the two cake layers are the same size.
  • Put the resulting meringue crumbs and 30 g of roasted cashews in a blender and grind them. Put it aside for now, you will need it later for the sides of the cake.

Preparation of the cream

  • Put egg yolks, sugar and milk in a thick-bottomed saucepan and stir thoroughly.
  • Place the saucepan on the stove and bring the egg yolk milk mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  • Then continue to cook it over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes while it thickens slightly.
  • Let the egg yolk milk mixture cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
  • Beat softened butter and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  • In batches, add the egg yolk milk mixture to the butter, beating briefly each time to form a homogeneous cream.
  • Add rum to the cream and whip again briefly.

Preparation of the cake

  • Optionally, transfer a few tablespoons of the cream into the piping bag if you want to decorate the cake with it later.
  • Spread about half of the remaining cream evenly on one of the two nut meringue layers.
  • Place the second nut meringue layer on top.
  • Add cocoa powder to the second half of the cream and mix it into a homogeneous chocolate butter cream.
  • Spread the chocolate butter cream on the second nut meringue layer, leaving a small amount for the sides of the cake.
  • Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining chocolate butter cream and sprinkle with the nut meringue crumbs you set aside earlier.
  • Decorate the cake with the light cream in the piping bag and chill for 5 - 6 hours.

Notes

  • You should bake the cake layers immediately after the nut meringue mixture is ready. It should not rest, otherwise it may collapse.
  • You can also bake the cake layers directly on an oven tray. Read more about that here above.
  • The drying time of the nut meringue layers may differ in your case. Check after about 1.5 hours if the cake layers are ready.
  • Stir the egg yolk milk mixture on the stove continuously so it doesn't burn. Also, heat it over medium or low heat, not high heat, so the egg yolks don't curdle.
  • Instead of vanilla bean, you can use vanilla sugar or vanilla extract for the cream.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the Kiev cake at the top of the post.