Serbia: Vasa’s Torte

In terms of national cuisine, we talk a lot about heterogeneous cuisines, or cuisines that have developed from centuries of rule or habitation by peoples who are not part of that country from birth. This is particularly prevalent in Balkan countries, as up until comparatively recently these countries were ruled by others, part of a larger union of countries. Unsurprisingly this impacts on the food – influences can be taken from many countries can be seen even today. This is particularly true of this cake – one that takes much of it’s style from the Austrian gateaux which would have been known to Serbia during it’s time of Austro-Hungarian leadership.

This cake is a very traditional Serbian cake, with the flavours of chocolate, almonds and orange. The cake is a very light cake, held up primarily by egg white rather than raising agents. This is then topped with a chocolate almond topping, and the whole dessert is covered with whipped cream.

I have toned down the amount of cream in this cake; the picture below shows a traditional cake, but I could not face the sheer amount of whipped cream! Feel free to increase the amount if you so wish!

A Traditional Vasa’s Torte

Vasa’s Torte

Ingredients

For the cake

• 5 eggs
• 5 tablespoons caster sugar
• 6 tablespoons walnuts (ground, or almonds)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 juice of oranges

For the filling and topping

• 250 grams walnuts (ground)
• 4 egg yolks
• 5 tablespoons caster sugar
• 150 grams butter (soft)
• 50 grams dark chocolate (grated)
• 0.2 litres milk
• 1 orange
• 300 ml double cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C/350 F/Gas 4.
2. Grease and base line 23 cm/9in round cake tin with greased greaseproof paper.
3. In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add walnuts and flour and combine all. In another clean bowl whisk egg whites to the stiff peak stage and carefully fold them into the egg yolk mixture, bit by bit, using a metal spoon.
5. Now pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake it for about 30 minutes.
6. When it is baked, leave it to cool and than transfer to serving plate. Pour orange juice over cake and prepare the filling. For the filling melt chocolate and cool a little.
7. In a saucepan put milk and 1 tablespoon sugar and heat it to boil and then pour over ground walnuts and mix well.
8. Add melted chocolate, grated zest and juice of orange and combine all.
9. In separate bowl whisk egg yolk and sugar until pale and add to chocolate mixture and finally add butter and mix well.
10. Spread the filling over the cake, it will be thick like one layer of cake.
11. Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours.
12. Then whip the cream and spread over and around the cake.
13. Can be decorated with grated chocolate.