Today I want to share a recipe for a classic Polish cake that will be perfect for any festive occasion. We'll prepare a 'one-metre cake', a colourful dessert made out of two sponge cakes interlaced with vanilla and cocoa filling, covered with chocolate glaze. I guarantee your guests will be delighted!
Sponge cakes are moist and remain fresh for long. Cake's flavour is the subtle game between delicate vanilla and distinct, elegant cocoa. You can taste it both in the cakes and in the smooth, stable filling that brings the cake together. All of that under a deep chocolate glaze that makes the dessert beautiful and perfectly balances the sweetness of the filling.
You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.
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List of ingredients
Light sponge cake
- 120 g cake flour
- 25 g cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 80 g sugar
- 20 g vanilla sugar
- 40 g vegetable oil
Dark sponge cake
- 80 g cake flour
- 25 g cornstarch
- 25 g dark cocoa
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 50 g vegetable oil
Filling
- 1 l milk
- 150 g sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 4 egg yolks
- 80 g all-purpose flour
- 80 g cornstarch
- 200 g butter, at room temperature
- 20 g dark cocoa
Chocolate glaze and decoration
- 250 g dark chocolate (72%)
- 250 g whipping cream
- Desiccated coconut
Method
- Prepare the custard that will be the basis for our filling. Pour 600 ml milk into a large pot and add 150 g fine white sugar. Stir through the contents of the pot shortly, only until sugar dissolves, and put it over medium low heat until milk comes to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, work on remaining ingredients. Add 4 large egg yolks, 80 g all purpose flour, 80 g cornstarch and 2 tsp vanilla paste into remaining 400 ml of milk. If you don't have vanilla paste at hand, you can also use vanilla extract or vanilla sugar. In the latter case, add it to boiling milk together with regular sugar. Stir through the contents of the jug shortly, until uniform liquid forms.
- Take your custard base and return to the cooker hob. If the milk has started simmering, turn heat under the pot down to low and, stirring constantly, add custard base into hot milk. Once you've got a uniform mixture turn heat back up to medium low and cook the custard for a few minutes until thick and smooth. Don't stop stirring because custard sticks to the bottom of the pot easily and it's not difficult to burn it. If that happens, it will become bitter and you may need to start afresh.
- Once you've got the right texture take pot off heat and pour its contents into a wide dish. Cover the top with plastic wrap to prevent thick skin from forming and set custard aside to cool completely. If you want, you can prepare it a day ahead - just remember to take it out of a fridge a few hours before resuming work.
- While custard is cooling down, prepare sponge cake. Sift 120 g cake flour, 25 g cornstarch and 1 flat tsp baking powder through a fine sieve to remove any lumps. Stir through them shortly until everything gets evenly distributed, and set aside for a moment.
- Pour 4 large eggs into a separate large bowl, and add 80 g fine white sugar and 20 g vanilla sugar. Beat the contents of the bowl with an electric mixer until sugar dissolves completely, eggs double in volume and become lght-coloured and thick. It's best to beat eggs at room temperature, so remember to take them out of a fridge at least an hour ahead.
- Once you've got the right texture add 40 g vegetable oil to eggs. Do it slowly, in a thin trickle, while mixing at medium speed. This way they will combine to create a uniform, lightly shiny emulsion. Once you've added all of fat continue mixing for another 30 seconds.
- Add dry ingredients to the batter. Do it in two batches, a few tablespoons at a time, and mix them in carefully each time with a silicone spatula. It's important not to overmix the batter and not to remove too much air, so mix it only until you can longer see raw flour. Try to reach the bottom of the bowl as this is where most of flour will gather, and it's easy to miss. Pour ready batter into a greased baking tin dusted with semolina, 30 x 10 cm, and spread it evenly across the surface.
- Bake the cake in an oven preheated to 170 deg C, no fan, for 35-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and set aside in the baking tin for 15 minutes to cool slightly. Take it out onto a wire rack next and cool it completely.
- Prepare the dark sponge cake. Sift 80 g cake flour, 25 g cornstarch, 25 g dark cocoa and 1 flat tsp baking powder through a fine sieve to remove any lumps, stir through them shortly with a whisk, and set aside.
- Pour 4 large eggs into a separate large bowl and add 100 g fine white sugar. Beat the contents of the bowl with an electric mixer until sugar dissolves completely, eggs double in volume and become lght-coloured and thick. Once you've got the right texture add 50 g vegetable oil to eggs. Same as before, do it slowly, in a thin trickle, while mixing at medium speed. Once you've added all of fat continue mixing for another 30 seconds and set the mixer aside.
- Add dry ingredients to the batter. Do it in two batches again, a few tablespoons at a time, and mix them in carefully each time with a silicone spatula. Try not to overmix the batter and not to remove too much air. Pour ready batter into a greased baking tin dusted with semolina, 30 x 10 cm, and spread it evenly across the surface.
- Bake the cake in an oven preheated to 170 deg C, no fan, for 35-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and set aside in the baking tin for 15 minutes to cool slightly. Take it out onto a wire rack next and cool it completely.
- Prepare the filling. Put 200 g suft butter into a large bowl and cream it with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Butter and custard should be at similar temperature, so remember to take butter out of a fridge at least an hour ahead.
- Once you've got the right texture scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and start adding cool custard. Do it slowly, a tablespoon at a time, and mix it thoroughly in before adding the next part. It's worth scraping down the sides again from time to time. At the end of the process the filling may look quite fluid, but it will firm up once it cools down.
- Divide the filling into two roughly equal parts. Add 20 g dark cocoa into one part. Stir cocoa in with an electric mixer, only until evenly distributed, and scrape down the sides of the bowl again, making sure that the cocoa filling is uniformly dark. Put the two parts of the filling into a fridge for around 30 minutes, to firm up.
- Transfer both light and dark sponge cakes onto a chopping board and cut them into 1.5 cm slices. Assemble the cakes next. You can start with a light slice, spread some vanilla filling on it and stick a dark slice to it. Take another light slice, cover it with a generous layer of dark filling and stick it to the dark slice. Repeat the steps, alternating in colours, until you use up all cake slices. Spread remaining filling on top of the cakes - I've managed to cover two large cakes fully. Put the cakes into a fridge for around 15 minutes, to cool slightly.
- Prepare chocolate glaze. Put 250 g dark chocolate (72%) into a small bowl and add 250 g whipping cream. Put the bowl into a microwave for around 20 seconds, take it out, stir through its contents and return it into the microwave for another 20 seconds. Repeat the steps until smooth chocolate glaze forms. It should not take more than about a minute. Once you've got smooth chocolate glaze set it aside for a minute to cool slightly and pour in on top of each cake. I'm not trying to cover them whole, I'm just pouring a few tablespoons and let it run down the sides, creating a nice irregular effect.
- Scatter some desiccated coconut, or alternatively almond flakes, walnuts or candied orange peel, on top of each cake. Put ready cakes into a fridge for a few hours, or best overnight, to set completely. Cut ready cakes at an angle to create beautiful, colourful slices.
- Enjoy!
Approximate nutritional value
100 g
- 319 kcal
- Carbs: 30 g
- Fat: 19 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Fibre: 1 g
1 slice (recipe makes 24 slices)
- 358 kcal
- Carbs: 34 g
- Fat: 21 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Fibre: 1 g
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