"Bear in the North" – Grandma's Cake Recipe
Content
The recipe for the "Bear in the North" cake is very old. Our mothers and grandmothers used to make this cake. A good friend of mine has had this recipe for over 30 years in her family. My friend's grandmother baked the "Bear in the North" cake first, then her mother, and then the recipe found its way into her cookbook. It's no surprise, as this sour cream cake is very easy to make, and it will undoubtedly turn out as neat and beautiful as the photo. You don't need many ingredients, and they're all readily available at any grocery store and are reasonably priced.
Grandma's recipe for Mishka
We're happy to share with you every step of the process for making this delicacy, sharing my friend's grandmother's recipe: a rare, time-tested classic that has been enjoyed by generations of home-made sweet treat lovers. We'll also share not one, but two frosting variations for this wonderful cake!
So, for "Bear" we will need:
- Flour – about three cups (depending on how thick your sour cream is);
- Sugar – 2 cups;
- Soda - half a teaspoon;
- Sour cream – 3 cups;
- Cocoa – 3 teaspoons;
- Butter – 2 tablespoons;
- Walnuts – 100 grams.
First, melt the butter over a medium heat. Next, pour it into a small bowl, add one cup of sugar, and mix thoroughly, or even just puree the two ingredients. Then add one cup of sour cream and baking soda. Note: don't extinguish the baking soda with vinegar! Pour the flour into the same bowl. This recipe, of course, requires sifting it: whether you do it first or immediately afterward doesn't matter. First, add about one and a half cups of sugar and knead the dough. Mix everything thoroughly until it's smooth.
Next, divide the dough into two parts. Transfer one to another bowl. Pour cocoa powder into either part and mix well. Next, add flour to both parts, adding it little by little, stirring constantly. The dough should be elastic, soft, and pleasant to work with. When you feel like your dough has reached this point, you've got enough flour.
So, we divide each dough into three parts. Consequently, we'll end up with three light balls and three dark ones. These will be our cake layers. It's worth noting right away that this cake recipe has one peculiarity worth keeping in mind: the dough has a very interesting texture and is practically impossible to roll out. This is because we're not adding eggs. But don't worry. We'll explain how to handle the dough so you end up with a cake as beautiful as the one in the photo. The lack of eggs isn't a drawback at all, as it's precisely because of this that the finished cake layers turn out incredibly tender and crispy.
So, we grease the pan with butter. Take a piece of dough and flatten it to form a flatbread. Then quickly transfer it to the pan and begin kneading it with your hands, stretching it, shaping it into a cake. Keep your hands, or rather, your fingers, floured. Don't worry about fiddling around—it's quite quick and easy. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork. Then place the cake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit). Bake for about 8 minutes. Repeat this process with all the dough pieces.
In the end, we ended up with six cake layers. The edges are uneven, so they need to be carefully trimmed using a plate placed against the layer. We do this immediately, while the layers are still hot and soft. Once they've cooled, it's best not to try to trim them—you might break them. Don't throw away the cake trimmings; instead, dry them out a bit in the oven—we'll need them later.
Cream and decoration
Next, we make the sour cream. The recipe is incredibly simple: beat the remaining sour cream thoroughly with a mixer, gradually adding sugar until fluffy. That's it! We'll coat the cake layers with this.
Finely chop the nuts and sprinkle them over each layer after frosting it. Alternate between light and dark layers when forming the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with frosting and sprinkle with a mixture of nuts and crumbled cake scraps. The end result is a cake as beautiful as the one in the photo, and now you know its perfect recipe. Refrigerate our "Bear" overnight to soak.
And now, a quick recipe for another delicious cream: beat 5 egg whites with a mixer, gradually adding sugar, or better yet, powdered sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Then mix in a cup of crushed walnuts. The cream is ready!
Well, now you know the tried-and-true recipe for the "Bear in the North" cake, just like the one in the photo, and you can make not only tender and crispy cakes, but also two types of magnificent, airy cream.
