Garash Cake*

I use a 23 cm/diam cake mold

My suggestion today is a recipe for a classic Bulgarian cake (one of the most popular) with a rich chocolate flavor and a magic scent of walnuts. It is loved by several generations of Bulgarians. The legend tells that the idea of this dessert belongs to a Hungarian confectioner who worked many years ago at a Sofia confectionery (so the cake is named after his name). I would not say it’s complicated to be prepared, but you have to be armed with time and patience. The result is rewarding, you will see it yourself! I use a recipe of Petya Argirova, which I like very much and almost did not change.

What I’ve adapted is that I use a diary couverture in my cream instead of dark/natural, and I changed sugar for powdered sugar. Also, I prefer sour cream instead of a liquid one – this makes my work easier.

Products

for 5 pcs. of flan base:

8 egg whites (medium-sized eggs)

1 cup powdered sugar

350 g walnuts (finely grinded)

2 heaped tbsps. flour

for the cream:

400 g sour cream (unsweetened)

2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted (if you do not like too sweet, reduce the amount to your taste);

450 g of couverture chocolate (the original recipe is with dark/natural; sometimes I use milk cooking chocolate);

for the glazing:

200 g of couverture chocolate (dark/natural couverture is a must)

2 tbsps. sunflower oil

for the decoration:

1 handful of pistachios (peeled, chopped into small pieces)

Preparation:

Cover the bottom of a cake mold with baking paper. Clutch the ring. I grease well the entire surface, including the walls.

Beat the egg whites with a mixer until they get whiter and thicker (but stop before they get snowy). Add the powdered sugar and beat them again with the mixer to make sure it is well dissolved and there are no dabs.

Add the flour and mix for some seconds to get a completely homogeneous mixture. Finally, I add the walnuts and finish the process by beating again with the mixer.

Distribute the ready mixture equally, in 5 equal cups (to have equally thick flan bases).

Pour the first cup at the bottom of the cake baking mold, spread it everywhere. Bake in a preheated oven at 170ᴼC until the flan base slightly browns (it does not take long, keep an eye and do not go away from the oven for a long time).

The ready flan base I carefully take out of the mold (first I wait to cool slightly, and then tap the walls with the knife handle to make sure there are no glued parts).

It is now turn to bake the next flan base. I repeat the process. And so on … The flan bases are very thin. I take care that they do not crack or crush while taking them out.

In a large bowl, I pour the sour cream, add the sifted sugar powder and stir gently.

Melt the chocolate (450 g) over a bowl with a simmering water (the bottom of the dish it is in should not touch the water). I wait a little to let it cool and add it to the cream mixture. It should not be cold and also not hot because it will make the cream curdle. The cream is now ready.

On a suitable cake tray, I place the first flan base onto which I evenly spread cream using a spatula (the layer of cream is as thick as the flan base). I put the next flan base on top … spread again some cream … and so on, until I run out of flan bases. On the latter, I spread the rest of the cream and also cover the walls of the cake. I leave it in the fridge to tighten for about 1-2 hours.

Just before taking the cake out of the refrigerator, melt the chocolate for the glazing over a simmering water. Add the sunflower oil and stir well. I use a very large semi-flat spoon with which I pour the glaze over the surface of the cooled cake and immediately smooth out (as much as possible). I pour the mixture over the edge of the cake to leak over the walls. Smooth out again. I do everything in stages, not all at once. I leave the well glazed cake in the refrigerator again. I understand that the glaze is tight enough when it gets a matte shade everywhere.

Decorate with pistachios.