The Potato cake was born thanks to the thrifty owners of pastry shops. In order not to throw away the dried biscuits, cakes were prepared from them.
When I found out that the Potato cake is a dessert that used to be made from biscuit scraps and spoiled biscuits, I was surprised. It turned out that the resourceful owners of pastry shops in pre-revolutionary Russia found a way to get rid of scraps and dried biscuits for the benefit of the business.
In the book "On the Gone Century" Olga Grigorievna Shatunovskaya writes: “In Baku, before the revolution, today's pastry cake was worth a penny. The next day, this cake was worth half a penny. And on the third day, if it was not sold, all these cakes of the third day were collected, and a cake-potato was made from them. "
In Soviet times, this dessert became very popular. The scraps were no longer enough, and biscuits were baked separately for the cake and then left to dry for a day.
I didn't bake biscuits specifically for cakes. After a recent experiment with biscuits, I still have a lot of them. Therefore, I decided to use the pre-revolutionary method and cooked "Potato" from them.
A step-by-step recipe on how to cook the "Potato" cake
Biscuit
- Eggs 4 pcs
- Sugar 122 g
- Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Butter 40 g
- A pinch of salt
I have already described a detailed recipe for making a biscuit (can be read at the link), I'll tell you briefly here.
Beat the whites with half the sugar and a pinch of salt until a meringue. Beat the yolks with half the sugar until light colored. Combine the masses with a silicone spatula.
Sift dry ingredients, mix. Add melted butter, stir and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 ° C.
After baking, leave the biscuits in the open air for at least a day, I had it for about a week. Now I will prepare the cream for the Potatoes.
Cream for cake "Potato"
- Butter 250 g
- Powdered sugar 130 g
- Condensed milk 100 g
- Cognac 20 g (I used Christmas liquor)
Beat butter at room temperature with powdered sugar until fluffy. Continuing to beat, pour in the condensed milk and beat until smooth. It's time to collect "Potatoes".
Assembly
For sprinkling
- Cocoa 20 g
- Powdered sugar 20 g
Break the biscuit into pieces and grind in a blender until crumbs.
I add cream, alcohol and mix until smooth.
I pinch off a little from the mass and give the shape of a potato with my hands.
First, I shape all the cakes and only then roll them in cocoa. Otherwise, you will need to wash your hands every time so as not to stain the dough.
Sift cocoa with powdered sugar into a container and mix.
Sifting cocoa with powdered sugar is extremely important. During storage, powdered sugar and cocoa can cake into dense balls.
I roll the cakes in cocoa, put them on a dish and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then I roll it again in cocoa.
Now the last but important step remains. I leave the cakes at room temperature for 2-3 hours (for impregnation). Then I put it in the refrigerator and leave it for 2-3 hours to stabilize. It's time to show what I have done.
The cakes came out very nice and delicious. With a pleasant aroma and taste from alcohol. The texture is very delicate and literally melts in your mouth.
Did you know that the "Potato" cake was previously made from dried biscuits?