Natasha classic Soviet-era cake

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   How to make a classic Soviet-era Natasha cake? Prepare the products. In the cake "Natasha" there are three cakes with different fillers: with nuts, with poppy seeds and with raisins. Any nuts will do, I took walnuts. Choose raisins without seeds. Sour cream is better to take a fat content of 20%.

2. Step 2:

   

   Dough for cakes can be kneaded from all products at once, and then divided into three equal parts and add your own filler to each. I like the second option: knead the dough for each cake separately, and while one cake is baking, knead the dough for the next one. For one cake, pour 100 grams of sugar and one egg into a bowl. Be sure to wash the eggs before use, as even the seemingly clean shell may contain harmful bacteria.

3. Step 3:

   

   Beat the egg with sugar to a fluffy light mass. Add 100 grams of sour cream, a pinch of salt and 0.5 teaspoons of soda. Mix the mass well.

4. Step 4:

   

   Then add 100 grams of sifted flour, gently mix the dough with a silicone spatula. It is important to sift the flour to saturate it with oxygen. Then the baking will turn out to be airy and will rise well when baking.

5. Step 5:

   

   In the first portion of the dough, add 0.5 cups of confectionery poppy seeds. Pour the dough into a baking dish lined with parchment paper and put the cake to bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees. Keep in mind that everyone's ovens are different. The temperature and cooking time may differ from those specified in the recipe.

6. Step 6:

   

   While the first cake is being baked, knead the dough for the second cake, repeating steps 2-4. Chop the nuts, but not to crumbs, let them remain medium pieces. Lightly fry them in a dry frying pan. Add nuts to the dough. Also, put the cake in the oven next to the cake with poppy seeds.

7. Step 7:

   

   Prepare the dough for the last cake in the same way, just add 0.5 cups of raisins to it, which must first be steamed in boiling water. How to steam raisins correctly? Pour well-washed raisins with hot water and leave for 10-15 minutes. During this time, it will become soft. Drain the water and dry it with paper towels.

8. Step 8:

   

   Bake all three cakes and let them cool completely.

9. Step 9:

   

   Prepare the cream. In the classic version of the cake "Natasha" sour cream is used. How to make a cream? For sour cream, take the fattest sour cream, the fatter it is, the thicker and more airy the cream will turn out.

11. Step 10:

    

    Beat the sour cream and sugar well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add vanilla (to taste). A very small amount of it will be enough, at the tip of the knife, otherwise it will be bitter.

12. Step 11:

    

    Assemble the cake. To make the cake smooth and neat, it is better to assemble it in a detachable form. Cover the sides of the mold with a special acetate film. If there is no such film, it does not matter! I use instead a cut plastic folder-corner for documents. If you don't have a detachable mold, collect the cake just on a plate, it will still turn out delicious. Alternately put the cakes and cream into the mold.

13. Step 12:

    

    Leave the cake to infuse directly in the mold for 8 hours, and preferably overnight. In the morning, remove the detachable mold and remove the film. Decorate the finished cake at your discretion. You can completely coat the sides and top with sour cream and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. This is the simplest design option. My design option is described below. Steps 13 to 18 are optional.

14. Step 13:

    

    I used butter cream to decorate the top of the cake. To prepare the butter cream, take softened butter. To make it soft, take it out of the refrigerator in advance.

15. Step 14:

    

    Beat the butter for 5 minutes with a mixer at high speed. Gradually pour in the condensed milk, continuing to beat the cream. Choose high-quality, proven condensed milk. Without vegetable fats and food additives. The composition should contain only two ingredients: milk and sugar. As a result, the taste and quality of the finished cream will depend on the quality of condensed milk.

16. Step 15:

    

    The cream should turn out smooth and shiny. If you immediately add condensed milk, the oil may be stratified and the cream will be with grains.

17. Step 16:

    

    Sprinkle the sides of the cake with chopped walnuts. Transfer the butter cream to a pastry bag and use different nozzles (I have a small open star and a large closed star) to decorate the top of the cake. It's already beautiful, you can leave it like that.

18. Step 17:

    

    If you have strawberries, arrange them on a grid of cream. Instead of strawberries, you can take any berries or walnut halves. It will turn out very beautifully.

19. Step 18:

    

    In the section, the cake "Natasha" looks very impressive! Enjoy your meal!