Hungarian Gala Palacsinta Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar, added to flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups soda water (about)
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sifted vanilla confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• 1 -2 tablespoon brandy or 1 -2 tablespoon water
• 1 cup pot cheese or 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 1 egg, separated
• 4 tablespoons sifted vanilla confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
• 2 tablespoons golden seedless raisins
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup vanilla sugar

Recipe

• 1 for the batter: mix the flour and salt and one tablespoon sugar together in a big bowl.
• 2 work in the eggs, one at a time, then very gradually add the milk, beating well as you go along.
• 3 beat in the melted butter and strain the batter to remove any large lumps.
• 4 cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• 5 just before using, shake or stir the batter and pour in as much soda water as needed to make a thin batter, the consistency of light cream.
• 6 make each palacsinta separately: heat a 6 1/2 inch crepe pan or a small frying pan with sloping sides until very hot, then brush with cooking oil.
• 7 when it starts to smoke, remove from the heat and pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan (work with a ladle the right size, if possible).
• 8 quickly turn the pan around so the batter flows to the sides, thinly coating the entire bottom.
• 9 a palacsinta is supposed to be very thin, as thin as it can be without getting lacy.
• 10 pour any excess batter back into the bowl.
• 11 put the pan back on the heat for about a minute, then give it a couple of good jerks to loosen the palacsinta, then flip it if you can or turn it over by hand, using a spatula to lift it up out of the pan first.
• 12 cook briefly on the second side and slide it into a warm dish or pie plate.
• 13 continue making palacsinta until you have at least three per person.
• 14 keep the palacsinta warm on the back of the stove or in the warming oven, or make them several hours in advance and warm them up later.
• 15 the palacsinta batter may also be made in a blender: put the milk, eggs, salt, flour and melted butter in the jar, in that order.
• 16 blend at top speed for about 1 minute, then scrape down the sides of the jar and blend another few seconds.
• 17 cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight; just before making the palacsinta, shake or stir the batter and add the soda water.
• 18 make the palacsinta and set them aside while preparing the fillings in separate dishes.
• 19 filling 1: mix the grated chocolate with the chopped walnuts and confectioners’ sugar.
• 20 set it aside.
• 21 filling 2: thin the jam with brandy or water, and mash up any large pieces of fruit.
• 22 put that to one side.
• 23 filling 3: strain the pot cheese and force it through a potato ricer.
• 24 mix it well with the egg yolk, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon rind, and stir in the raisins.
• 25 beat the egg until stiff, then fold it into the pot cheese mixture.
• 26 to form the rakott palacsinta, lightly butter an 8-inch springform pan and place a palacsinta on the bottom.
• 27 spread it with some nut and chocolate filling (number 1), and cover with a second palacsinta.
• 28 spread that with a thin layer of apricot jam (number 2), and cover it with another palacsinta.
• 29 spread it with the pot cheese filling (number 3), and cover with a fourth palacsinta.
• 30 repeat and continue the layering process until you reach the top of the pan; end with a palacsinta.
• 31 three quarters of an hour before serving, preheat the oven to 300 f.
• 32 and beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff and shiny.
• 33 pile the meringue on the top palacsinta and place the pan in the oven to bake for 30 minutes or more, or until the meringue is lightly browned (“pink”).
• 34 remove the sides of the pan and transfer the rakott palacsinta to a platter.
• 35 serve hot, cut in wedges like a cake.
• 36 the hungarian cookbook.
• 37 susan derecskey.