Bulgaria - Garash Cake
This delightful Bulgarian cake is made up of 5 layers of walnut meringue sponge and chocolate cream filling. Once it’s firmed up in the fridge for a few hours, its then finished with a simple chocolate shell made with chocolate and oil. Little does anyone know what beautiful layers lay beneath.
Ingredients - Makes an 8inch cake
Walnut Sponge Layers:
8 egg whites
130g icing sugar, sieved
350g walnuts, finely chopped
20g plain flour
Filling:
400ml double cream
100g sugar
400g 55% dark chocolate
Glaze:
250g 55% Dark Chocolate
30 oil
Chopped Pistachios, for garnish
Method
Preheat your oven to 170°C. Brush two 8inch loose-bottom cake tins with vegetable oil along the bottom and sides. Line the base with baking parchment before brushing this with vegetable oil as well.
Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on medium speed until you have stiff peaks. Gradually add in the icing sugar. Once all the icing has been added, increase the speed to medium-high until you have a thick glossy meringue. In a separate bowl, mix the chopped walnuts and flour. Fold in the dry ingredients by hand in three additions.
Weigh the mixture and divide by 5 to see how many grams you’ll need in each sponge (roughly 150g.) Spread 150g into each of the prepared baking tins and bake for 10-12 minutes until just turning golden on the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing the sponge and repeating the process with the remaining mixture.
Once all of the walnut sponges are made and you’re ready to build, you can make the filling. Place the cream and sugar into a bowl and whip until you have soft peaks. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. Gradually, but working quickly, drizzle in the chocolate while whisking. You’ll need to be quite quick here or your filling will split. Once half of the chocolate has been added, switch to a spatula to reduce the risk of overwhipping. Add the remaining chocolate and fold into the cream.
Prepare a baking tray that will fit into your fridge with baking paper. You’ll layer your cake on here and transfer it to a wire rack for glazing later. Layer each walnut sponge with the filling in between, leaving enough chocolate cream to also cover the top and sides of the cake. Again; work quickly here as the longer the cream sits, the firmer it will become.
Once the cake is stacked, filled and the outside has been smoothly covered in filling, place into the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours to firm up. I like to make mine the day before and just finish it on the day I need it. If you make this a day in advance, after 2 hours in the fridge, cover the cake with clingfilm.
To glaze: Melt the oil and chocolate together until fluid. Take your cake from the fridge and lift it off of the paper/tray and onto a cooling rack set over another baking tray to catch any excess glaze.
Place the glaze into a jug so it’s easy to pour and pour all over the cake. I like to start with the sides and then flood the top. Using a palette knife, swipe over the top a few times to remove excess glaze. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top while the glaze is still liquid. Run a knife around the base edge and, with your hand or a large palette knife under the cake, lift it onto your serving plate. Serve.
