I’ve added some new photos to my old post on a wonderful walnut cake that my mum makes for every family celebration. She normally makes two walnut and two plain sponges; the above is a smaller version. Only ever so slightly though. It still serves a crowd.
Posted by Maninas on 7 May, 2014
https://maninas.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/photo-update-the-cake/
For many years now, this cake has accompanied every celebration in my family home. A sponge cake, one half made with ground walnuts, the other left plain, with a filling of rum, vanilla and lemon. It is only fit that it follows my third blogiversary. 🙂 I’m sure my mum would approve.
Sorry about the atrocious photos. They were taken with very little light coming from a very weak tungsten bulb, handheld.
Mum’s Walnut
Cake
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SOURCE: Mum, recipe adapted from the one she got off a family friend
PREPARATION TIME: about 1 h
COOKING TIME: about 30 min for the filling, and 1 h for baking
CUISINE: Croatian
SERVES: A crowd!
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INGREDIENTS:
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PLAIN SPONGE
6 medium eggs
6 tbsp of sugar, heaped
10 g vanilla sugar, or 1 tsp of good quality vanilla extract
6 tbsp plain flour, heaped
6.5 g baking powder
a pinch of bicarbonate soda
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WALNUT SPONGE:
6 medium eggs
6 tbsp of sugar, heaped
10 g vanilla sugar, or 1 tsp of good quality vanilla extract
7 tbsp finely ground walnuts, heaped
2 tbsp plain flour, heaped
6.5 g baking powder
a pinch of bicarbonate soda
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FILLING:
7 dl milk (full fat, or semi-skimmed)
3 tbsp corn flour, heaped
3 tbsp flour, heaped
250 g butter, at room temperature
300 g icing sugar
20 g vanilla sugar, or 2 tsp of good quality vanilla extract
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp rum, or to taste
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TO DECORATE:
About 20 – 30 whole walnut halves
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METHOD:
Note: It’s a good idea to start with the filling, so it has time to cool while you prepare the sponge cake.
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I. FILLING
1. Stir in the corn flour and plain flour into the milk, until smooth, and with no lumps.
2. Put the milk to boil, stirring constantly, avoiding lumps to form. When it thickens, leave to cool. (It’s supposed to be fairly thick, barely leaving the spoon when you tap it.)
3. Meanwhile, beat the icing sugar, butter, vanilla and lemon with an electric whisk until smooth. Add rum to taste, and possibly more lemon if you like it more lemony.
4. Combine the butter and milk mixtures, and mix well together.
5. Leave to cool again. (Mum says this makes it easier to spread later on.)
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II. SPONGE
Note: both the walnut and the plain sponge are made in the same way. Ground walnuts are added at the same time as the flour.
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1. Preheat the oven to 180 C, and grease and flour a 25 cm tin, or two. Sift the flour and baking powder and bicarbonate soda together.
2. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla into a mixing bowl, and beat with an electric whisk until the volume doubles in size, and when you lift the mixer out of the bowl, the egg mixture that drops from it traces a ribbon on its surface.
3. Add the flour to make the plain sponge, or flour and walnuts for the walnut sponge. Fold in with the mixer turned off, and then switch the mixer back on and mix briefly, until combined.
4. Pour the mixture in to the prepared baking tin, and bake until the cake is risen, and a toothpick or skewer inserted inside it come out clean. This should take about 20 – 30 min.
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Repeat the process to make the walnut sponge, using flour and walnuts in place of flour only.
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III. ASSEMBLING THE TORTE
1. When the sponge cakes have cooled, cut them both in half, and then spread the filling on top, alternating the the brown and yellow cakes. Decorate with the remaining walnut halves, and chill.
This cake gets better with keeping, and can ‘survive’ in the fridge for about 4 – 5 days, provided it’s not eaten before that!
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Notes:
Instead of walnuts, you could use almonds or hazelnuts, but we usually use walnuts. I think the original cake might have had 1 chocolate layer, 1 walnut, one hazelnut and one plain.
Photos updated 7 May 2014.
Posted by Maninas on 24 May, 2010
https://maninas.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/the-cake/
Orahnjaca or orehnjaca (pronounced ‘orahnyacha’ and ‘orehnyacha’ respectively, and with an audible ‘h’ sound, like the ‘h’ in ‘hotel’) is roll with a yeasted dough and walnut filling. I used to think it was Croatian, but it looks like I was wrong, and the similar cake is popular all over Eastern Europe.
This is my mum’s recipe. Like a lot of good things, it takes a bit of time and attention, but it’s well worth it.
One word of warning though. We don’t really cook on a small scale here, and in this case, without thinking about dividing it into portions. The recipe below yields 2 large rolls (about 36 cm long, 7 cm tall, and 10 cm wide). When the cake is baked, it is cooled (barely!) and then eaten by the whole family throughout the day, or for a few days if you’re lucky and if everyone is not at home, until it runs out. It’s not really a dessert as such, though I wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to serve it as such. I’d just say it’s better after lunch, than dinner, if the dinner is your main, big, meal. You could think of it more as a piece of cake to eat with your morning coffee, or during the day. But whatever you do, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
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Orahnjaca (Walnut roll)
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SOURCE: Mum’s recipe
PREPARATION TIME: 2 h (includes 1.30 h resting time)
COOKING TIME: about 1 h
CUISINE: Croatian
SERVES: Loads!
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DOUGH:
400 g plain flour
7 g powdered yeast
80 g butter, melted
2 large eggs
80 g sugar
2 dl warm milk
1 lemon – zest only
a little salt
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GLAZING – optional
1 egg yolk, beaten
10 g vanilla sugar
some lemon juice
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FILLING:
300 g ground walnuts
70 g sugar
1 dl boiling hot milk
2 tbsp dark rum
20 g vanilla sugar
a little lemon juice
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METHOD:
I. DOUGH
II. FILLING
III. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
I’m submitting this to Ajme koliko nas je blogging event, hosted by Jasenka. The theme for the event is nuts.
Posted by Maninas on 26 April, 2010
https://maninas.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/orahnjaca-walnut-roll/
Until life moves into a slower gear and I have a chance to sit down and write some posts about my recent trip home, to Croatia, here are a few food photos.
Sweet taste of home:
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Freshly made Turkish coffee every day, even half-way up the mountain! (while visiting the national park Paklenica, on the Velebit mountain)
Mum’s Kiflichi (biscuits stuffed with jam) for breakfast, or with coffee during the day
Mum’s walnut cake with lemon and rum filling that graces every family celebration (photographed in extremely bad light, at night! sorry!)
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Savoury taste of home:
Cuttlefish risotto. The first time my brother M cooked for me. 🙂
Freshly picked wild asparagus (for making aspragus and prosciutto frittata and asparagus salad with eggs)
Asparagus growing wild. You can see the brown edible shoots, and the prickly plant
Sarma (sauerkraut leaves stuffed with beef and pork mince)
Brudet od sipa s palentom – Cuttlefish stew with polenta
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More photos and recipes coming soon!
What would you like to see first?
Posted by Maninas on 18 April, 2010
https://maninas.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/taste-of-home-some-photos-from-croatia/
Blackberries and I 