Prăjitura Căsuța, Romanian cocoa-stick cake

Name: Prăjitura Căsuța, Romanian cocoa-stick cake
Ingredients: 200 g sugar; 2 eggs; 3 tablespoons honey; 45 g lard; 1 tablespoon baking soda; 4 tablespoons milk; 600 g flour; 3 tablespoons cocoa; 1000 ml milk; 18 tablespoons sugar; 3 egg yolks; 70 g flour; 200 g butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 200 g Finetti; 100 g ground walnuts

Dessert - Prăjitura Căsuța, Romanian cocoa-stick cake by Natalia I. - Recipia

Prăjitura Căsuța, a Romanian cake with cocoa sticks, takes shape as the sticks are arranged three, then two, then one beneath its sheet-pastry roof. A cooked custard made with milk and egg yolks holds together the honey-and-lard pastry sheets, while Finetti and ground walnuts go on the outside. I cut the slice diagonally, so each piece gets some of the roof. Preparation: 35 minutes. Cooking: 53 minutes. Resting: 60 minutes. Total time: 148 minutes. Servings: 16. Approximately 535 kcal and 9 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

For the pastry sheets

200 g sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons honey
45 g lard
1 tablespoon baking soda
4 tablespoons milk
600 g flour
3 tablespoons cocoa

For the custard

1000 ml milk
18 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
70 g flour
200 g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping

200 g Finetti
100 g ground walnuts

Preparation

1. Put the sugar, eggs, honey, lard, baking soda and milk in a double boiler. Stir for 10 minutes, until the mixture is smooth. 2. Take the bowl off the heat, stir in 600 g of flour and divide the dough in two. Roll out two thin sheets from the first half and bake them one at a time at 180°C for 9 minutes each, until the edges are lightly colored. While each sheet is hot, cut it lengthwise into three equal strips. 3. Mix the second half of the dough with the cocoa and shape it into 12 sticks. Bake them at 180°C for 12 minutes, until firm on the surface. 4. Mix one cup of cold milk with the sugar for the custard, the egg yolks and the flour. Heat the remaining 750 ml of milk for 5 minutes, until it starts to steam, then gradually pour it over the mixture, stirring. Return everything to the heat with the vanilla and butter and cook the custard for 8 minutes, stirring, until thickened. 5. Let the sheets, sticks and custard cool completely, about 60 minutes. 6. Put a white strip on a serving plate and spread it with custard. Arrange 3 sticks on top, cover them with custard, add 2 sticks, more custard and then the last stick, with a thin layer of custard on top. 7. Lay two more white strips diagonally along the sides. Spread Finetti over the outside sheets and sprinkle with ground walnuts.

Notes

Lard can be replaced with 45 g of butter, though the sheets will be less flaky; the cake contains gluten, eggs, dairy and nuts. Covered, it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the baked sheets can be made a day ahead and kept in a closed container. For the custard, choose a mild-flavored honey, so it doesn’t cover up the vanilla when you cut a slice. Finetti is easier to spread if you leave it on the kitchen counter for 15 minutes, especially if the jar has been kept cold. If the ground walnuts smell stale or bitter, use another batch, since their flavor stays noticeable on the surface. The sticks can be about the same thickness; much thicker ones take longer to bake through in the middle than at the edges. The layers look a little like layered gingerbread, but the middle has sticks instead of an even layer of custard. Serve it with unsweetened black tea.