Belevskaya pastila – a random mistake or a miraculous find?
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The whole delicious undertaking began with a small mishap: the technology for making cookies using Antonovka apples (the apple variety is extremely important) was violated. Ultimately, they decided to save the resulting steamed porridge by combining it with egg whites and drying it hot. According to the merchant's chefs, this would not only save the recipe but also significantly increase the shelf life of the resulting product. Thus was born Belevskaya pastila, bringing a new type of sweet to the world of confectionery, capable of preserving its original appearance and taste for a long time.
How to make real Belevskaya pastila?
The Belevskaya pastila recipe isn't so much complicated as it is time-consuming to prepare. But if you truly want your pastila to replicate the excellent desserts of yesteryear, this is the only way to achieve it.
To prepare you will need:
- Apples must be “Antonovka” variety – 2 kg
- Chicken egg whites - 2 pcs.
- Granulated sugar – 1 cup (250 ml)
It's recommended to prepare the apples for cooking. To do this, wash each one thoroughly, peel and core it, and cut it into several wedges. Some peelers don't peel young apples, believing that pressing them through a sieve will do the job much better and reduce cooking time.
We'll follow the original recipes, otherwise the Belevskaya pastila won't turn out right. After peeling, place the apples in the oven to bake. Heat treatment at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) will cause the pieces to melt before your eyes after a third of an hour. Once you notice the apples have softened enough, like steamed pumpkin, you can remove them and strain them through a sieve.
Add half of the granulated sugar to the resulting puree. This will yield half a cup of the resulting mixture. Now you have the difficult task of whisking the puree until it's fluffy and white. This is how the Belevskaya pastila, the coveted dessert of all noblemen, begins to emerge from under your whisk. It will take a long time to whisk, but if you have a mixer with the appropriate functions, it will significantly simplify your task of making Belevskaya pastila at home.
Few products – a lot of effort
In principle, the recipe is not only simple but also requires minimal ingredients, although mixing them takes about 30-60 minutes. The egg whites, which are essential for Belevskaya dessert, are whipped separately until white. Sugar is gradually added, a tablespoon at a time, to maintain the consistency of the stiffly whipped mixture.
Now that we have both mixtures prepared according to the recipe, we need to carefully combine them, creating a masterpiece of taste delight. According to the author's note, 4 tablespoons of the egg whites should be set aside for the subsequent steps of the recipe.
Spread the prepared mixture of puree, sugar, and egg whites evenly onto baking paper. The layer should be thin and smooth, like a sheet of paper. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) and leave the lid slightly ajar. The pastila will be ready in 5-7 hours. It will be the color of golden-yellow paper and feel firm and dense to the touch.
Once our Belevskaya pastila is free, it's separated from the paper, cut into equal pieces, and held together with whipped egg whites, which, according to the recipe, should remain until the egg whites and applesauce are mixed. The result is a multi-layered pastila, shaped like a square log.
But that's not all. The resulting sweet baked goods are returned to the oven to reach full readiness in a couple of hours. The oven temperature remains at 100 degrees Celsius, and the door is slightly ajar.
This is a simple yet complex recipe for a Russian dessert that dates back to the 1980s. Once prepared, Belevskaya pastila can be stored for a long time in papyrus paper at room temperature.
