Katerina cake

Well this is a cake which in Macedonia is made mainly for birthdays, and the thing is that we in Macedonia make our cakes big and with many different fillings so that nobody stays hungry:-). I don't have a picture but this is the recipe for Katerina (Katherine) cake.

Recipe:

The cake has many steps but it's not too difficult.

Cake:

10 eggs

10 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons flour

10 tablespoons grounded wallnuts (or finely crushed)

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

Filling:

200 gr finely chopped wallnuts

100 gr chopped raisins soaked in 80-100ml rum

200 gr chopped jelly candy

300gr crushed biscuits mixed with 200gr warm milk

250 gr unsalted butter or margarine

250 gr powdered sugar

On top:

200gr cooking chocolate (or chocolate chips) - any kind bitter, semi sweet...

or whipped cream, or any kind of frosting.

How to make the cake layers:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a mixing bowl break the eggs, add the sugar and mix this with mixer until the eggs are double the size and lighter and the sugar is disolved.

Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder and the wallnuts. Mix well and pour in greased baking sheet. Usually we make cakes with thin cake layer (about 1 cm),

so if you bake this in cake mold, you'll have to cut it in 3 pieces. Bake 30 min, or until toothpick come clear. When it's done cool the cake well.

If you have baked it in baking sheet, cut the cake in 3 equal pieces in lenght so you'll have 3 rectangles, if you baked it in cake mold (round) cut it in widht so you'll have 3 circles.

The cake layers should be around 1-1,5 cm thick.

How to make the filling:

Drain the raisins from the rum, but keep the excess rum. Drain the biscuits and keep the exces milk. Mix the raisins, bicuits, jelly bons and the chopped wallnuts.

Mix with mixer the butter or margarine and the powdered sugar untill foamy and well mixed. Mix this with the raisins, bisuits, jelly and the wallnuts until well combined.

Separate the filling in two equal parts.

Ensamble the cake:

Mix the excess rum and the excess milk.

Place the first cake layer on a cake plate and drizzle a little bit of the rum and milk mixture (If you want the cake non alcoholic skip the rum and soak the raisins in warm water).

Spread the first half of the filling. Place the second layer, drizzle with rum and milk and spread the second half of the filling. Place the third layer and frost the cake, or coat it with the melted chocolate.

I hope that you'll make it and you'll understand why we make our cakes big:-)