Famous Serbian cake: Vasa’s cake

I first tried this cake on my sister’s birthday and I was thrilled. If you also like walnuts, this cake will delight you as well.

The cake was first made by a lady from Paraćin, at the beginning of the 20th century, as a sign of gratitude to her son-in-law Vasa for saving the life of her daughter Jelena and their still unborn child. Jelena was very tender and fragile and had a hard time withstanding the pregnancy. The doctor warned the family and Vaso that there is a possibility that neither Jelena nor the child will survive the birth. Mr. Vasa did not want to come to terms with that uncertainty, he collected all the money he had and took his young wife to Vienna. There he found the most famous gynecologist, who helped his wife give birth and saved the lives of her and their child. When the happy family returned to Paracin, the grateful mother-in-law prepared a new treat for her son-in-law, which was named after him – Vasa’s cake.

INGREDIENTS:

For the biscuit:

• 5 eggs
• 70 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon of the flour
• 50 g ground walnuts
• bar of dark chocolate

For walnut cream:

• 4 egg yolks
• 150 g of sugar
• 100 ml of milk
• 200g coarsely ground walnuts
• 50g dark chocolate
• 100 ml of orange juice
• grated orange peel
• 150 g butter

For sham:

• 4 egg whites
• 250g kristal šećera
• 150 ml vode

PREPARATION:

1. Whisk the egg whites, then add the sugar to get a firm sham. Whisk the egg yolks separately, add the flour, nuts and melted chocolate. Combine the sham with the egg yolks, then pour into a baking tray.
2. Bake for about half an hour at 180 degrees (maybe less, check).
3. Allow the biscuit to cool while you prepare the cream. Whisk the egg yolks with 50g of sugar with a mixer, and cook on steam for a few minutes. Heat the milk with the rest of the sugar separately, then pour over the walnuts. Add melted chocolate, orange juice and grated peel and whisk everything. Combine these two creams, mix and allow to cool.
4. Whisk the butter until foamy, then combine with the cooled cream. Pour all this over the baked biscuit and place in the fridge to cool.
5. Ставите шећер да се раствори са мало воде и кувајте док се не згусне до густине меда.Then whisk the sham, then put it to steam, while at the same time still stirring it with a blender. Slowly add the previously prepared sugar to it, and stir until everything is combined. This way you will get a very firm sham, which you will put as a third layer, and cover the whole cake with it.
6. You can sprinkle with a little walnut for decoration.

Enjoy!