It’s All In The Recipe
I finally have a recipe post for you today. And it’s a cake recipe. It’s been a long time it seems since I’ve had some strength and motivation to do a dessert post. I’ve been prepping to do this special recipe as a surprise for my mom. Yesterday was her birthday, the first one since my grandma passed away a few weeks ago, and next Sunday would have been grandma’s birthday too. We miss grandma so this recipe is a nice way to still bring her spirit to the party and make memories for my mom.
When I was little, my mom and grandma would cook and bake for every family gathering. During the Soviet Era, store shelves were mostly empty and often lacking even bare necessities, so such delicacies as cakes and pastries had to be made at home, and every family had a collection of their loved recipes.
My grandma’s Prague cake was everyone’s favorite so she made it often and did it very well. We had a big journal where we wrote down all our family recipes, and I brought it with me when we left to come to the US. It’s now my most favorite family possession, and I hope to share many other recipes from our old collection.
I have no idea why this cake is called Prague cake. That’s what grandma called it so the name stays. We didn’t have any fancy ingredients back then, therefore all our recipes were simple yet still delicious. This recipe is a dense vanilla cake made with sour cream and sweetened condensed milk and topped with condensed milk buttercream, strawberry jam and almonds. It’s a rich but nicely balanced cake that makes a great birthday dessert.
I’ll entertain you with more family stories but today I wanted to concentrate on this cake. We had a great birthday celebration for my mom yesterday, and grandma’s cake (and many memories) made a special appearance.
That was also the first time we were introduced to my son’s girlfriend (you know when you’re 22 and 21, dating for almost 6 months is basically like eternity; nevertheless I was dropping “subtle” remarks that they were awfully young so they better not get any ideas that I’d like grandchildren any time soon). Seriously, do we look like grandma and great-grandma? Yeah, maybe in another 10 years.
#thisis74and50 but we feel young
Anyway, this lovely Asian girl survived baptism by fire: she spent 5 hours with a crazy Russian family and friends dancing away at a loud Russian restaurant. I think we’ll keep her for now.
Everyone had a great time, and I’m sure grandma was smiling looking down from the Skies as we tasted her old cake recipe.
What’s Cooking This Week
We’re making grandma’s Prague cake as I mentioned. This recipe was slightly adapted from the original to satisfy gluten free proportions. I suggest using a higher end gluten free flour mix to make the texture less gritty. I’m using Cup4Cup here, but King Arthur Measure per Measure or Better Batter would be my other choices. You can substitute raspberry jam instead of strawberry one if you like and use other fruit decorations or skip it and just put buttercream on top. This recipe may not seem like anything special yet the cake comes out quite delicious. Give it a try!
Grandma’s Prague Cake
All the ingredients are simple and the whole cake is finished in under 2 hours.
Combine flour with a pinch of salt and baking powder.
Start mixing sugar with eggs till it’s pale, add condensed milk, vanilla and sour cream, continue beating till all is incorporated.
Gradually add flour and mix well to combine.
Divide into two 9 inch cake pans and bake for about 40 minutes.
Cool before removing and cutting. Cut each cake layer into two to make four layers.
While the cake is baking, prepare buttercream. Whip butter until soft, add chilled condensed milk and vanilla and finish whipping.
Start frosting the layers alternating between buttercream with almonds and strawberry jam.
Assemble the cake, then frost the sides and add sliced almonds.
You can decorate as desired. I used strawberries dipped in buttercream and sprinkles, plus some cocoa dusting and sugar pearls.
I’m sure you’ll love my grandma’s cake recipe, and it’ll become your family favorite too.
Here is a slice of that heaven on a plate.
Grandma's Prague Cake
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups flour I used Cup4Cup gf
- 250 g sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 7 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- Buttercream:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter soft
- 10 oz sweetened condensed milk chilled
- 1 tsp vanilla
- strawberry jam
- optional: strawberries sprinkles, sugar pearls and cocoa dusting
Instructions
- Combine flour with a pinch of salt and baking powder.
- Start mixing sugar with eggs till it’s pale, add condensed milk, vanilla and sour cream, continue beating till all is incorporated.
- Gradually add flour and mix well to combine.
- Divide into two 9 inch cake pans and bake for about 40 minutes.
- Cool before removing and cutting. Cut each cake layer into two to make four layers.
- While the cake is baking, prepare buttercream. Whip butter until soft, add chilled condensed milk and vanilla and finish whipping.
- Start frosting the layers alternating between buttercream with almonds and strawberry jam.
- Assemble the cake, then frost the sides and add sliced almonds.
- You can decorate as desired. I used strawberries dipped in buttercream and sprinkles, plus some cocoa dusting and sugar pearls.
Notes