Leningrad cake according to GOST

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   First you need to prepare a sugar fudge. This should be done at least a day before making the cake, because she needs a day to mature. There are only three products - sugar, water and lemon juice.

2. Step 2:

   

   Sugar should be dissolved to the last crystal in water. To do this, we put a saucepan with sugar and water on the fire, and with constant stirring we wait for dissolution. As soon as this happens, remove the pan from the heat and thoroughly wash off all the stuck sugar from the walls with a wet cloth. If this is not done, the fudge will not work.

3. Step 3:

   

   Next, put the saucepan back on the fire and wait for the syrup to boil. As soon as it boils violently, cover with a lid and leave it for two minutes. Next, open the lid, add lemon juice and cook for about two more minutes. If you have a thermometer, then cook to a temperature of 115 degrees. If you do not have it, then cook the syrup until it is a soft ball.

4. Step 4:

   

   To check the condition of the syrup, put a cup of cold water next to the stove. Take a teaspoon of a little syrup, put it in a cup. After a few seconds, try rolling a ball out of the cooled syrup. If it turns out to be done, the syrup is ready. If not, we cook further. While you are doing this, it is better to remove the syrup from the fire.

5. Step 5:

   

   As soon as the syrup reaches the desired temperature, it must be cooled quickly. To do this, pour cold water into a bowl and pour ice into it. Put the saucepan with syrup in a bowl.

6. Step 6:

   

   When the syrup cools down to a temperature of about 45 degrees (it can already be gently touched), we begin to beat it. I did it with a mixer with dough nozzles. The syrup is very viscous, the whipping process is long, at least 20 minutes. The syrup should turn white and become very thick, but at the same time it will practically stop sticking to your hands. We got sugar fudge.

7. Step 7:

   

   Now we need to cover the pan with fudge with a wet cloth, close the lid and leave it on the table for at least a day.

8. Step 8:

   

   Let's start baking the cake. We will prepare products for cakes. The oil must be taken out of the refrigerator in advance so that it softens well.

9. Step 9:

   

   Rub the butter with sugar, add the egg and beat until smooth.

10. Step 10:

    

    Add flour mixed with baking powder to the oil mixture and quickly knead the dough. Shortbread dough cannot be kneaded for a long time, baking can turn out to be tough.

12. Step 11:

    

    Divide the dough into four parts and roll out each on parchment to a thickness of 3-4 mm. We cut out a square according to a pre-made template measuring 18 by 18 cm. We carefully remove the trimmings, they will be useful to us. The cakes are thickly pricked with a fork and put away for at least 15 minutes in the freezer. Of all the scraps, we roll out another cake, it is not necessary to cut it, it will go to the crumb for the sides.

13. Step 12:

    

    Bake cakes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. They should turn golden. I overexposed a little) We leave the finished cake to cool directly on paper. Then carefully remove it, it is very fragile!

14. Step 13:

    

    Now we need to prepare the cream. The butter for the cream should also be removed in advance so that it is soft.

15. Step 14:

    

    Mix the yolk, milk and sugar and cook over low heat with constant stirring. It is not necessary to boil the mixture, just wait for it to thicken to the state of condensed milk. If you draw a strip on a spoon, it will not spread. Pour it into another bowl and let it cool completely, while stirring constantly so that a crust does not form.

16. Step 15:

    

    Beat the butter and start adding the custard base by spoonful.

17. Step 16:

    

    When we add the whole base, we need to put cocoa and cognac. I didn't add alcohol, but according to the recipe it is needed. Beat until smooth. The cream is ready.

18. Step 17:

    

    Let's do the top layer. It will require pre-cooked sugar fudge and cocoa powder. The fudge should be put in a ladle and melted over low heat. It is heated quickly and easily. Add cocoa to it, mix well. You can pour in a little boiled water if it seems thick to you.

19. Step 18:

    

    You need to cover one of the cakes with the finished fondant, it will be the top one. This should be done quickly, the fudge hardens very quickly.

20. Step 19:

    

    We divide the cream into 4 parts. We put one of them aside for decoration. We begin to assemble the cake, smearing each cake with cream. We put the cake with frozen fudge on top.

21. Step 20:

    

    The sides are also coated with cream. We break the uncut cake into crumbs, sprinkle the sides with it. We put the left cream in a cooking bag and decorate the top. We put the finished cake in the refrigerator for impregnation.