Tortul Maiei Stănuța

Difficulty –  Hard

---

Original Recipe

This cake was my great-grandmother’s specialty. She would make it on very special occasions, and it was always loved by everybody. While making the recipe myself, I realized how much work, patience, and practice is needed to correctly make a dessert like this one, if it wasn’t for my grandmother’s help, I doubt I would have done it right.

The cake has 3 layers, soaked in syrup, with chocolate ganache between them, and a chocolate glaze on top. As in other instances, the cake itself is made by beating together butter and sugar, and so my grandmother, her brother, and sometimes her cousin too, would all be tasked with this strenuous job. However, since this cake was often times made for birthdays or Christmas, many more preparations were needed, thus, everyone in the house had to help one way or another, whether it be through beating the butter and sugar, or beating egg whites until they formed stiff peaks, all by hand since there were no electrical mixers. During this period, my great-grandmother would walk around supervising everyone, ensuring that each job was done right. When it came to the butter and sugar, the mixture had to be completely smooth, and as for the egg whites, a wooden spoon had to be kept completely upright to prove they reached the desired consistency.

For the most part, my grandmother didn’t change much of the recipe, except that she added chocolate to the cake’s glaze, giving it a richer flavor. Furthermore, with access to higher quality ingredients, she began to incorporate those too, making the cake an even greater success. The new range of ingredients also prompted my grandmother to be more creative when decorating the cake. Originally, it was decorated with a sugar and butter frosting, which was delicately piped onto the cake, nowadays, my grandmother either uses fruits and nuts, or colored frosting with which she writes out messages or draws pretty designs, like flowers.

The long preparation process might make the recipe seem daunting, but if the instructions are followed, the result will definitely be delicious. The secret is to make sure the ingredients are very well combined. And most importantly, it is crucial to ensure that once the cake is ready, it is kept away from anything that could damage it; something my grandmother learned the hard way, when a whole bottle of wine was spilled over the cake just as it was about to be served.

Unlike many desserts, this cake is not best eaten right away, it should be left in the refrigerator overnight before being served. This will ensure that the syrup infuses the cake and brings out each and every single flavor perfectly.

**NOTE: The healthier variation of this recipe creates 12 cupcakes – meant to help with portion control. In addition, the chocolate ganache I created used greek yogurt, this addition made the ganache very tangy, so I would recommend finding a sweeter yogurt instead.

ORIGINAL RECIPE

For the Batter:

• 4 eggs
• 300 grams powdered sugar
• 10 tbsp water
• 200 grams white flour
• 100 grams walnuts
• 1 packet (10 grams) of baking powder
• A pinch of baking soda with lemon

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• 4 yolks
• 7 tbsp powdered sugar
• 200 grams butter
• 50 grams cocoa powder

For the Syrup:

• 6 tbsp sugar
• 600 ml water
• 1 vile rum extract (2 ml)

For the Glaze:

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp sour cream
• 65 grams dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp butter (this creates a shiny glaze)

HEALTHIER VARIATION *ingredients in bold indicate the changes made to the recipe

For the Batter:

• 2 eggs
• 80 grams powdered sugar + 2 tbsp stevia
• 5 tbsp water
• 75 grams white flour + 25 grams almond flour
• 25 grams almonds + 25 grams walnuts
• ½ packet baking powder (5 grams)
• A pinch of baking soda with lemon

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• ½ banana
• 3 tbsp maple syrup

• 3½ tbsp coconut oil

• 2 tbsp yogurt (preferably with a higher fat percentage)
• 25 grams cocoa powder

For the Syrup:

• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp stevia powder
• 200 ml water

• ¼ tsp vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 3 tbsp warm milk
• 2 ½ tbsp coconut oil

PREPARATION (the same unless otherwise stated):

The batter:

1. Finely crush or grate the nuts
2. Preheat oven to 170ºC
3. Separate the egg whites from the yolk.
4. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
5. Add sweetener.
6. Mix in 1 egg yolk at a time along with the water.
7. Put a few drops of lemon onto the baking soda to activate it.
8. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nuts steadily. Mix until well combined.
9. Pour into a lined baking tray/muffin tin.
10. Cook the cake for 40 minutes and the muffins for 20-25 minutes,  or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

For the ganache (prepare while the batter is cooking):

1. Beat butter and sugar (coconut oil, yogurt, and maple syrup) until they are well combined and form a slightly frothy cream.
2. Add in the egg yolk (mashed banana) and cocoa powder.
3. Mix until well combined.
4. Refrigerator until using.

For the syrup (prepare after the cake has cooled):

1. Heat the water with the sweetener until it melts.
2. Mix in the extract.

Cake preparation:

1. Cut the cake into 3 layers placing each layer on a different plate. Cut the cupcakes in 2 to separate the top and bottom
2. Using a spoon, pour the syrup over the cake until it feel spongy (about 1 tbsp per muffin half), make sure you cover the edges of the cake well.
3. Add the chocolate ganache to two of the cake layers (1 of the muffin layers). Note that the cake will crumble, work delicately.

   

   (add ganache to one more layer)

4. Layer the cake/muffin accordingly and carefully to keep it from breaking.

For the chocolate glaze (once the cake/muffin has been assembled):

1. In a pot on the stove, using the bain marie method, place the ingredients and mix until they are well combined and form a smooth cream. If the cream is too thin, add more cocoa powder or sugar, and if it is too thick, add more sour cream or butter (milk or coconut oil).
2. Leave the glaze to cool of a few minutes before pouring it over the cake/muffins.
3. Decorate as desired.
4. Store in the refrigerator.

Original Recipe

Healthier Variation

FURTHER CHANGES:

** Use lemon/almond extract in the syrup instead

** Use milk chocolate

Sources:

Lagakos, William. “Calories in Nuts Chart: Which Are The Lowest Calorie?” Built Lean, 20 Feb. 2016. Accessed 22 Dec. 2016.

Teodorov, Elisabeta. Interview. 2 Nov. 2016.