Prague cake is a classic Soviet culinary recipe, which was prepared both in stores and at home. Chocolate sponge cakes with sweet chocolate cream, what could be tastier? I decided to spoil my nephew with such a delicious treat for his birthday - and I did! I invite you to evaluate my version of dessert - Prague without embellishment.

Prague (or Prague) is distinguished from similar cakes by the obligatory presence of condensed milk in the dough, cream, or everywhere at once. Let us determine that traditionally there are two common options for preparing dessert: according to GOST and with sour cream cakes. I chose the second option, as it is a little dry in itself.

Prague cake - recipe with photos step by step

Let's prepare and measure all the components.

  • Flour - 2 cups.
  • Egg - 3 pcs.
  • Sugar - 1 glass.
  • Sour cream - 1 glass.
  • Condensed milk - 150 gr.
  • Cocoa - 2 tbsp. spoons.
  • Baking powder - 1.5 teaspoons.

Impregnation:

  • Sugar - 1 glass.
  • Cognac - 1 glass.
  • Oil - 250 gr.
  • Condensed milk - 150 gr.
  • Cocoa - 1.5 tbsp. spoons.
  • Vanilla - 1 teaspoon.
  • Milk - 300 ml.
  • Cocoa - 2 tbsp. spoons.
  • Sugar - 100 gr.
  • Oil - 1 tbsp. spoon.

Is the number of components impressive? Don't be afraid, in reality everything is not so scary. Let's start baking and look in detail at how to prepare each step of our recipe.

Baking cakes

We soften our chocolate sponge cake with sour cream. This component gives the dough additional looseness and airiness. Otherwise, it is baked using the usual method.


Leave the biscuit to cool completely. It is best if the cake lies for 8-12 hours. Homemade sponge cake is often baked with a top. To reduce its height, leave the sponge cake to cool with the “cap” down on a wire rack, as in my photo.

Cooking the impregnation

This component of the cake is optional, especially if you are preparing a sour cream version. In the case of a classic sponge cake, it is better to use impregnation. We prepare alcohol impregnation using cognac. Don’t be alarmed, during the cooking process all the alcohol will come out, only the aroma will remain. But if the cake is intended only for children, then the impregnation can be made as usual - sugar.

  1. Pour cognac into a saucepan and add sugar.
  2. Boil the mixture until thickened. The correct thickness of syrup should flow from the spoon rather than drip, so cooking will only take a few minutes.

Preparing the cream

Cream is a particularly important part of Prague. Of course, you can make it, but traditionally it’s butter cream with condensed milk.

  1. The butter for the cream is well heated, not heated over a fire, but thawed at room temperature for 3-5 hours. Beat it with a mixer.
  2. Add vanilla aroma to the cream. I use vanilla syrup for this. Since it conveys the taste much better than regular vanilla sugar.
  3. According to the classics of the genre, we sweeten the cream with condensed milk. Gently mix everything at low or medium speed of the mixer.
  4. Add cocoa powder to the cream. Rub it through a sieve so that there are no lumps.

Mixed thoroughly, the Prague cake cream has a smooth structure, pleasant color and magical aroma.

Making the glaze

The final product was always filled with chocolate. In GOST it was icing, but at home it was often replaced with melted chocolate. Let's make a delicate glaze with milk.

  1. In a bowl, mix sugar with cocoa powder. Allow the ingredients to warm up slightly over the heat. Don't forget to stir, otherwise the sugar will burn.
  2. Pour milk into the heated dry ingredients, stirring the mixture thoroughly. Let the glaze simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.
  3. The finishing touch is a piece of butter. Simply melt it into the hot glaze with gentle stirring.

Forming a cake

When the cakes have rested for the required time, and the cream and glaze are ready, you can begin to form the cake.


Let the cake sit until the frosting stops dripping. Now it’s clear why we needed a tray under the grate? Yes, this type of decoration requires a lot of icing, but you can always scoop it off the tray with a spoon and eat it. Yummy!

We are preparing a biscuit. Beat the yolks with half the sugar until a fluffy light mass is obtained.


Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form.


Carefully combine the whites with the yolks using a spatula.


Gradually add sifted flour with cocoa and knead the dough.


Pour the melted butter, cooled to lukewarm, down the side of the bowl. Mix carefully.

Transfer the dough into a greased form, level it and place it in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. Bake until done, about 30 minutes.

Remove the finished biscuit from the mold and cool completely. Cut into 3 layers.

Preparing the cream. Combine the yolk with water and stir until smooth. Add condensed milk and vanilla essence.


Mix with a whisk and place on low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened - if you lower a wooden spoon into the mixture, remove it and run your finger along the convex side of the spoon, the path from your finger should remain clear for some time. At the same time, make sure that the cream does not overheat, otherwise the yolk will curl and flake.

Cool completely.

Beat butter at room temperature until creamy with cocoa.


Without stopping whisking, gradually add condensed milk custard. Beat until smooth.

Assembling the cake. Coat the cakes with cream.


Grease the top layer and sides of the cake with apricot jam and let the cake stand for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the ganache. To do this, finely chop the chocolate. Bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Mix with a whisk until smooth.


2 tbsp. Place the ganache in a pastry bag or parchment cornet. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the rest of the ganache. Use cornet ganache to draw stripes on the surface of the cake.

Let the cake sit in the refrigerator overnight. Slice and serve.


Enjoy your tea!

Prague cake at home

Prague cake is one of my favorites because it is chocolate!

Dark sponge cake with luxurious buttercream in chocolate glaze, decorated with chocolate patterns! Mmm... this is some kind of biscuit-chocolate madness, as Pinkie Pie, the heroine of our favorite cartoon “Friendship is Magic,” says about the cake. 😀


And so I set out to learn how to bake Prague cake at home. And to make it as similar as possible to the factory one, I began to look for a real, classic recipe.


There are a lot of “Prague” recipes on the Internet; some are tasty, but far from the original technology (with condensed milk in the dough, which is actually only needed for the cream); There was one exactly according to GOST, and the most common version was a sponge cake made from 6 eggs. Which one to choose? And then I remembered that I have a book from Soviet times, not even a book, but a small brochure from 1980 “Confectionery”, from which I baked the “Capital” cupcake. Well, let's take a look... Exactly! Here it is, the Prague cake.

Using this recipe, I decided to make a homemade “Prague” cake. The ingredients are listed here in a very interesting way - even eggs in grams. Therefore, it is better to use electronic scales. And if you don’t have scales, then to make it more convenient for you, I converted the amount of bulk products in grams into glasses.

Making Prague cake at home is quite a long process, but it’s worth a try. Because the result is a real cake, like one from a store – big, beautiful and delicious. The cream is especially good - it tastes exactly like the factory one!

Ingredients:


For a 23 cm mold:

For the biscuit:

  • 430 g eggs. A standard Soviet egg, as I found out, weighs 43g. That is, a sponge cake made from 10 eggs. But when weighing, it turned out that there were large eggs, one piece weighed 62 g with the shell, and without the shell - 56. Calculations showed that you need to take 7-8 pieces. I took 7 pcs. and the white from the egg whose yolk is used for the cream.
  • 200 g flour = 1 ¾ cups (cup = 200g);
  • 250 g sugar = 1 ¼ cups;
  • 40 g cocoa powder;
  • 67 g butter.

For the chocolate buttercream:

  • 36 g egg yolks (I took 1 large);
  • 200 g of condensed milk (that is, a little more than half a tin jar containing 380 g);
  • 83 ml water;
  • 393 g butter (I think 400g is possible:);
  • 16 g cocoa powder.

For glazing:

  • Dark chocolate bar;
  • 50 g butter;
  • 91 g jam.

There is a nuance here. Jam, jam, confiture – it doesn’t matter what you take, the main thing is that it is:

  • homogeneous, without berries;
  • thick enough so as not to spread, and at the same time smeared well;
  • froze after a while.

Finding such jam is not easy. I took store-bought jam, thick and easy to cut, heated it a little in the microwave and mixed it with homemade apricot jam. It turned out almost exactly what we needed.

How to make Prague cake

Cakes for Prague cake:

Separate the yolks from the whites.


Beat the yolks and sugar with a mixer until a light, fluffy mass is obtained - ideally until the sugar has dissolved. I beat for about 5 minutes, gradually increasing the speed.


After beating the yolks, thoroughly wash and wipe the mixer beaters - if a drop of yolk gets into the whites, they will not beat properly.


Beat the egg whites at low speed for 3-4 minutes until they look like this:


Egg whites whip better at room temperature.

Place the whipped whites into the yolks and carefully, from bottom to top, mix with a spoon.


I beat the yolks a little more before combining with the whites, since after standing, the heavy sugar-egg mass settles a little.


Now sift the flour into the dough in 2-3 additions.



Mix also carefully.


Add cocoa powder, I also sifted it for more airiness.


Pour warm, melted butter into the bowl from the edge and finally knead the dough.



Place the chocolate dough in a mold, the bottom of which is covered with oiled parchment and the sides are lightly greased with vegetable oil.



Bake for about 40-50 minutes, the book says to bake at 160C, I needed to set it to about 170-180C. Be guided by your oven, each of them has its own character and baking mode.


Let the biscuit cool in the mold, then carefully trim the edge and open the mold. We put the biscuit on the wire rack, and now you can take a break for 8 hours. This is how long the baked biscuit must stand so that it does not crumble when cut into cakes.


Creamy frosted cream for Prague cake

In the meantime, we will prepare a delicious, luxurious cream!

Dilute the egg yolk with water, add condensed milk and heat over low heat, stirring all the time, until thickened.


To prevent the cream from burning, it is better to heat it in a water bath; I used a cast iron cauldron with thick walls.


Leave the cream until it cools. Then add softened butter in portions and beat with a mixer.



At the end, add cocoa powder and beat again.



The cream turned out thick and surprisingly tasty! Just like in factory-made cakes! It holds its shape perfectly, does not spread, and lays on the cake in a thick layer - a fairy tale, not a cream.

It's time to assemble our cake! Using a wide sharp knife, cut the biscuit into three layers.


Here's what they look like in cross section. The sponge cake turned out to be dense, compared to a regular sponge cake, but not dry and quite porous.

Layer the cakes with cream.


And it’s better to spread the cream not with a spoon, but with a knife - like butter on a sandwich. I found this advice from Irina Chadeeva, and it’s really more convenient, the cream goes on smoother!


Place the middle one on the bottom cake, then the cream and top cake again.


After assembling the cake, coat it with jam on all sides. For what? And then, on the smooth layer of confiture, which seems to envelop the cake, the chocolate icing will lie much smoother than just on the cakes.
For glazing it is convenient to use a silicone brush or spatula, and in some places you can help with your hands... 😀 The main thing is not to lick your fingers. :)))


Cover the cake with jam, put it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes, and in the meantime make the chocolate glaze.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a water bath.



When the glaze has melted, pour it over the cake, quickly spreading it in a thin layer over the top and sides of the cake with a brush.


Having “painted” the cake with glaze, put it in the refrigerator again until the glaze hardens.


Once the icing has hardened, the cake can be decorated. Or you don’t have to decorate it. He's gorgeous in his own right.


Here is my homemade Prague cake.


And here is a cross-section of the Prague cake.


The homemade cake turns out very similar to the factory one, and it weighs, if I remember exactly, 1.7 kg.


Light stripes of cream look especially impressive on a chocolate background!


What kind of “Prague” will you create at home? 🙂


There are desserts that are invariably popular, regardless of the changing eras outside the window. Such desserts can easily include Prague cake. Its lovers traveled a long way to purchase the treasured delicacy in the confectionery shop. Housewives conjured hours in the kitchen near the oven to repeat the original recipe. Now all the secrets from the history of creation to the methods of decoration have been revealed, and every housewife will be able to please her family with mega chocolate Prague.

Of the many desserts loved by those with a sweet tooth, this is one of those whose creator’s name is reliably known. Its recipe belongs to Vladimir Mikhailovich Guralnik, who worked in the confectionery shop of the Moscow restaurant “Prague”. Since the pastry chef studied confectionery from the masters of the Czechoslovak Republic, this cake became a kind of modification of the Viennese dessert “Sacher”, so to speak, “in a new interpretation” by V.M. Guralnik.

It is noteworthy that during the Soviet era there was no practice of patenting culinary recipes, so the preparation of the cake was formalized according to GOST, which made it possible to prepare Prague in every confectionery shop. Although, according to admirers of this pastry, its taste differed in different pastry shops.

Classic Prague cake recipe according to GOST

To bake a dessert as close as possible to GOST standards in your home kitchen, for the sponge cake you should take:

  • 6 eggs;
  • 150 g sugar;
  • 115 g flour;
  • 25 g cocoa powder;
  • 40 g plums. oils

The filling is prepared from:

  • 1 yolk;
  • 20 ml cold water;
  • 120 g condensed milk;
  • 200 g plums. oils;
  • 10 g cocoa powder;
  • vanilla to taste.

The presence of butter in the dough makes the cakes quite moist, but lovers of richer baked goods can make an impregnation, for which you will need:

  • 100 ml regular tea;
  • 70 g sugar.

Since the original cake fondant is difficult to replicate without the appropriate equipment and skills, you can make it using a simplified version from:

  • 70 g dark chocolate;
  • 50 g butter.

Additionally, you will need jam or jam of a very thick consistency for coating.

Recipe according to GOST step by step:

  1. Add ½ part of sugar to six yolks and foam with a mixer until light cream. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites, adding the other half of the sugar a little at a time, into stiff peaks. Carefully fold the foam from the whites into the cream of the yolks.
  2. Sift the flour mixed with cocoa two or three times, then add it into the foamy egg-sugar mixture in three or four portions. Pour melted butter and cooled to 30 degrees around the edge of the container and mix.
  3. Place a circle of parchment of the appropriate size on the bottom of the mold, transfer the dough into it, and bake the chocolate cake. In an oven at 200 degrees, this will take about half an hour. After the oven, keep the biscuit in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack, cover with a towel and leave until it cools completely. Ideally, it should rest for 8 hours before assembling the cake.
  4. In a saucepan with a thick bottom and walls, shake the yolk with water, add condensed milk and boil this syrup until slightly thickened. Beat creamy butter with vanilla sugar until light and fluffy, then add custard base and cocoa powder in three or four portions.
  5. Dissolve the sponge cake into three layers, soak them all with sweet tea. Place half of the cream in an even layer on the first layer, cover with the second cake layer, and top with the remaining cream and the last cake layer. Coat the baked goods with thick jam and cool for half an hour in the refrigerator. Coating the cake with marmalade or jam helps the icing spread more evenly. Apricot jam is traditionally used for Prague cake.
  6. Fill with melted chocolate and butter glaze. Decorate to your liking.

How to cook dessert in a slow cooker?

The classic sponge cake seems complicated to many. It often falls off in the oven or while cooling, but delicious sponge cakes can be made in a slow cooker. For a novice housewife, this will be the key to a successful tall sponge cake.

To bake Prague cake with sour cream for sponge cake, use:

  • 3 chicken eggs;
  • 160 g sugar;
  • 200 g sour cream;
  • 200 g condensed milk;
  • 5 g baking powder;
  • 2 g soda;
  • 40 g cocoa powder;
  • 190 g flour.

List of ingredients for chocolate filling:

  • 200 g plums. oils;
  • 200 g condensed milk;
  • 50 g dark chocolate;
  • 5 g cocoa powder;
  • 40 g thick jam.

The classic decor of this chocolate dessert consists of:

  • 100 g dark chocolate;
  • 40 g plums. oils;
  • 60 g heavy cream.

How to bake a cake in a slow cooker:

  1. Pour flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder into one container. Sift this mixture a couple of times through a fine-mesh sieve.
  2. In another bowl, transform the eggs into a light fluffy mass, which is then mixed with sour cream and condensed milk. Next, add the flour mixture in several stages.
  3. Place a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of the multi-pan, then carefully transfer the dough and cook using the “Baking” function. Depending on the power of the gadget, baking can take from 60 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove the finished cake from the bowl and cool completely. If time permits, let it rest overnight. Then dissolve into three layers.
  5. To prepare chocolate cream, melt the chocolate in a steam bath or in short bursts in the microwave. Set it aside for a while to cool slightly, but it should still remain liquid.
  6. Beat the soft butter into a whitened, fluffy mass, adding condensed milk mixed with cocoa powder in small portions. Add liquid chocolate to this mixture and beat until smooth.
  7. Assemble the dessert by placing an equal amount of filling between the cake layers. After that, put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Melt the ingredients needed for the glaze in one bowl in the microwave and stir until smooth.
  8. Place the cooled cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet and pour glaze over it so that it covers both the top and sides in an equal layer. Next, transfer to a serving platter and decorate to taste.

Prague cake from Grandma Emma

The cake recipe differs in that she does not cover it with glaze, but evens it with cream, but this does not make the result worse.

The proportions of products for the cakes will be as follows:

  • 4 eggs;
  • 500 g sugar;
  • 500 ml sour cream of any fat content;
  • 400 g condensed milk;
  • 10 g vanilla sugar;
  • 100 g cocoa powder;
  • 320 g baking flour;
  • 5 g baking powder.

For the cream you should take:

  • 300 g plums. oils;
  • 400 g condensed milk;
  • 100 g cocoa powder;
  • 10 g vanilla sugar.

Baking sequence;

  1. Pour condensed milk into a vessel of the appropriate volume, sift the cocoa powder and stir until smooth with a hand whisk. Next, stir in 4 eggs one at a time.
  2. Add the remaining dough components. Mix thoroughly so that there are no grains or lumps.
  3. From this amount of dough, prepare two cakes with a diameter of 28 cm. Each should spend 35-40 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees, and then lie for five hours on a clean wooden cutting board under a napkin.
  4. With a mixer running at maximum speed, beat the butter with cocoa powder, vanilla sugar and condensed milk. The cream is ready when it is thick enough and does not slide down its walls when tilted.
  5. Assemble the cake in a dessert assembly ring or the sides of a springform pan. Then transfer it to a large flat plate and coat the sides and top with cream. Grandma Emma suggests decorating the cake with nut or chocolate chips, small meringues and more.

Original dessert with three types of cream

According to one confectionery legend, this cake was prepared in the capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague, with three types of filling, to which cognac and liqueurs (Benedictine and Chartreuse) were added, and the cakes were necessarily soaked in rum. True, this is only a legend, since such a dessert cannot be found in pastry shops in the Czech Republic, but the taste of the dessert is simply divine and worth trying.

List of products for cakes:

  • 6 eggs;
  • 150 g granulated sugar;
  • 2 g vanillin;
  • 25 g cocoa powder;
  • 115 g premium flour;
  • 40 g melted plums. oils

For impregnation, you should take equal volumes (one glass each) of rum and sugar, or use just sugar syrup in the case where children will eat.

For cream No. 1 you will need:

  • 120 g plums. oils;
  • 150 g powdered sugar;
  • 1 yolk;
  • 10 g cocoa powder;
  • 15 ml cold milk.

Cream No. 2 is prepared from:

  • 150 g plums. oils;
  • 100 g condensed milk.

The composition of cream No. 3 includes:

  • 150 g plums. oils;
  • 130 g powdered sugar;
  • 30 g boiled condensed milk.

To make chocolate fondant for decorating a cake, you need to prepare:

  • 150 g cocoa powder;
  • 50 g powdered sugar;
  • 30 g plums. oils;
  • 400-500 ml of milk.

How to make Prague cake with several types of cream:

  1. We prepare the biscuit dough exactly as in the Prague cake recipe according to GOST. Bake a tall chocolate cake in the oven or slow cooker, which, after cooling and standing for several hours, is dissolved into four thinner layers.
  2. For the first chocolate cream, beat very soft butter at high speed for two to three minutes. Add to it the beaten yolk, sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder. When the mixture becomes homogeneous, pour in very cold milk and beat everything together.
  3. The second layer of the cake is easy to make. You need to beat soft butter and condensed milk. If desired, you can add vanilla or a little cocoa to it so that it is lighter than the first.
  4. For the third type of cream, beat well-melted butter with powdered sugar and boiled condensed milk. This cream should be the lightest.
  5. For impregnation, boil the rum and sugar over medium heat for approximately 20 minutes until the alcohol has completely evaporated.
  6. To make the fudge, melt the butter and sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Pour milk into it little by little until the cocoa is completely absorbed. Cook the glaze for 10 minutes.
  7. Assemble the cake, soaking each layer with rum syrup and layering with cream from darker to lighter. After keeping the dessert in the refrigerator for an hour, generously cover it with fondant.

Prague from chiffon sponge cake

The required ingredients for chiffon cakes are baking powder and vegetable oil. This makes the cakes quite fluffy and moist. In this case, cake impregnation is not needed at all. A large amount of cocoa makes the taste of the biscuit more rich and chocolatey.

List of ingredients for chocolate chiffon sponge cake for a mold with a diameter of 26 cm:

  • 225 g sugar;
  • 6 yolks;
  • 8 proteins;
  • 125 ml grows. oils;
  • 175 ml water;
  • 24 g instant coffee;
  • 60 g cocoa powder;
  • 10 g baking powder;
  • 4 g soda;
  • 4 g salt;
  • 200 g flour.

For a layer based on condensed milk you should take:

  • 200-250 g plums. oils;
  • 75 g condensed milk;
  • 3 yolks;
  • 50 ml water;
  • 50 g chocolate;
  • 15 ml cognac.

Chocolate glaze is made from:

  • 50 g cocoa powder;
  • 100 g sugar;
  • 90 ml water;
  • 10 g plums. oils

Progress:

  1. Pour hot water over the mixture of instant coffee and cocoa. Stir until smooth and cool.
  2. Beat the yolks with 180 g of granulated sugar, pour in vegetable oil and liquid coffee with cocoa in small portions. Add a mixture of flour, baking powder and soda.
  3. Turn the whites with a pinch of salt and the remaining sugar into a strong foam, which is carefully mixed into the dough. Next, the biscuit is baked at 160 degrees for about 50 minutes. It is very important not to open the oven door for the first half hour.
  4. The finished sponge cake should cool in the mold upside down, then remove it and let it rest for 5-6 hours so that it does not sag after assembling the cake; If you don’t have a wire rack at hand, you can place the cake pan on four cups of equal height, which will serve as a support.
  5. Whisk the yolks with water until smooth. Pour the resulting mixture into condensed milk and boil in a steam bath until homemade sour cream thickens. Remove from heat, add chocolate broken into small pieces and stir until completely dissolved.
  6. When the custard base of the cream reaches room temperature, beat it with soft butter and add a little cognac for flavor.
  7. Dissolve the chiffon chocolate cake into three layers, generously coat them with cream and stack them on top of each other.
  8. Combine sugar, cocoa and water. Keep the mixture on the fire for 1-2 minutes after boiling, then melt the butter in it and pour the resulting fondant over the assembled cake.

With added cherries

Many housewives really liked the recipe for Prague cake with condensed milk. Its popularity is not inferior to the classic version, but there is a way to make this dessert in a new way, giving it cherry sourness and juiciness.

For a product with the addition of cherries you should take:

  • 2 eggs;
  • 90 g cocoa powder (of which 30 g for cream, the rest for dough);
  • 150 g sugar;
  • 400 g condensed milk;
  • 250 ml sour cream;
  • salt;
  • 300 g flour;
  • 150 g pitted cherries (fresh or canned);
  • 200 g dark chocolate;
  • 150 g plums. oils

Sequence of confectionery processes:

  1. Prepare the dough by first beating the eggs with sugar and adding half the recipe amount of condensed milk, sour cream, cocoa powder, salt and flour.
  2. Next, he should spend 40-60 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. Dissolve the baked and completely cooled sponge cake into 3 layers.
  3. Beat the remaining condensed milk with 100 grams of butter and cocoa powder. Layer the cakes with this filling and cherries. Drizzle melted chocolate and remaining butter on top.

The glossy surface of the chocolate glaze is already self-sufficient, but if you still want to add your own twist to the dessert, you can make one of the following simple decorations:

  1. Fruits. Fresh strawberries arranged in a circle will look beautiful on the cake. Large berries can be pre-dipped in melted white or dark chocolate. For this decoration, you can also use other berries and fruits, and for a cake with cherries, you can use cocktail cherries.
  2. Chocolate decor. You can make simple and beautiful decorations from melted chocolate, such as chocolate leaves. To do this, apply melted chocolate in an even layer on a washed thick sheet (you can use bay leaf), and when it hardens, carefully remove and transfer the decor to the cake.
  3. Chocolate drawings. The simplest, but also effective way to decorate the surface of the glaze is to apply a pattern with melted chocolate. It can also be dark or contrasting white. You can melt the chocolate in a thick plastic bag in the microwave, then cut off a little corner and apply a pattern or random stripes.

Cake “Prague” is a sweet memory from childhood. During Soviet times, it was the most popular of all chocolate desserts. The cake recipe does not come from the Czech Republic, as any ignorant person would think, drawing a parallel between the name of the flour product and the capital of the same name. The ancestor of the chocolate delicacy is the Russian confectioner Vladimir Guralnik. For the first time, the cake according to the classic recipe was baked in the Moscow restaurant “Prague” on Arbat.

A classic of the genre, chocolate cake “Prague” is the favorite delicacy of every Soviet person. The cost of the dessert was high, and it was often possible to buy it only through an acquaintance, however, on the holiday, the Prague cake was the decoration of the table. The recipes were kept secret. Each housewife prepared it to her own taste, wondering about the mystery of the classic recipe, which is why Prague cakes are now so varied. But the classic will always be in fashion, and we will tell you the secret of its preparation.

Classic Prague cake at home

The recipe for Prague cake is unique, like any original work of art. The fact that it was invented by a Moscow confectioner does not mean that it cannot be reproduced at home. Having basic knowledge of baking biscuits and understanding the composition, you can bake the Prague cake according to an old recipe without any extra effort.

The unique taste of chocolate dessert is familiar to almost everyone since childhood. But in every Soviet kitchen, the most delicious Prague cake was prepared differently. Due to the shortage of certain products or the desire of the culinary specialist himself. This is how the recipe for “Prague” cake with sour cream appeared, to which vanilla or almonds were added. The composition of the cream also underwent significant changes - it could be whipped from condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter instead of natural chocolate and sugar.

But no matter what happens, no matter how the ingredients of homemade chocolate desserts and pastries change, classic Prague will always remain a unique and exquisite dessert. It’s great that now the secrecy of the recipe and the inaccessibility of the cake itself are far behind us, and every housewife can please herself and her family with this delicious delicacy.

The classic version of the Prague cake consists of three chocolate sponge cakes, which are soaked in cognac and coated with butter cream. Apricot jam is placed on top of the baked goods. The finished product is decorated with natural chocolate icing.

We will need

Although the name of the cake is similar to the European capital of the same name, the classic Prague cake has Russian roots. The preparation of the Prague dessert differs from the Soviet recipe. They say that only in Europe can you enjoy the taste of the original Prague cake recipe. It is not as simple as its GOST “comrade”. Its highlight is the various compositions of creams and impregnations for cakes. To prepare a homemade Prague cake you don’t need a lot of knowledge, the main thing is to follow four unspoken rules:

  1. Chocolate cakes are not baked separately. The bulk of the biscuit is divided horizontally into 3 equal parts.
  2. The impregnation in the recipe for the real Prague cake is cognac.
  3. The cream is whipped, the main ingredients of which are: condensed milk, butter and cocoa.
  4. Apricot jam is a must. It acts as an additional impregnation of the top layer of the Prague sponge cake.

To bake a delicious Prague cake with condensed milk, you will need:

Ingredients for Prague cake

For the biscuit:

  • egg – 6 pcs;
  • sugar – 150 g;
  • butter – 30 g;
  • flour – 120 g;
  • cocoa powder – 30 g.

For cream:

  • water – 1 tbsp;
  • egg yolk – 1 pc;
  • condensed milk – 120 g;
  • butter – 200 g;
  • cocoa powder – 20 g;
  • vanillin – 1 pinch.

For the glaze:

  • chocolate – 70 g;
  • butter – 50 g;
  • apricot jam or jam – 50 g.

How to make sponge cake for Prague cake

The greatness and popularity of this delicacy is high in comparison with the simplicity of preparing sponge cake for the Prague cake and its severity. Previously, such an interesting dessert was simply in great demand. The classic Prague recipe is the pinnacle of taste among chocolate pastries. Chocolate, as the main ingredient, is present everywhere - in cakes, cream or glaze, which is the highlight of the dessert and a weakness for those with a sweet tooth.

If it is now difficult to find baked goods in the store that match the quality of Soviet desserts, then you can bake the “Prague” cake at home. The main thing in the right confectionery product is not its economic availability, but its taste. Therefore, let’s look at the recipe for an amazing Prague cake step by step:

  1. Carefully separate the whites and yolks. Leave one yolk for the cream. Beat the whites and yolks separately until a thick foam forms, finally add 75 g of granulated sugar.
  2. Stirring carefully, combine the two resulting masses.
  3. Sift the flour mixed with cocoa powder through a sieve.
  4. Stirring from top to bottom, combine the flour and egg mixture.
  5. “Prague” cake is often baked in springform pans of different diameters, but for our cake a width of 22 cm would be more acceptable. The pan is greased with butter (butter or vegetable), and oiled parchment paper is placed on the bottom.
  6. The sponge cake for the Prague cake with condensed milk is baked for 30 minutes, the oven is heated to 200 degrees. After cooking, cool the product and open the mold. Let the biscuit stand for 12-15 hours.
  7. Divide the finished biscuit mass into 3 equal parts. If the time was maintained correctly, the cakes will not crumble or break.

There is a lower-calorie recipe for a classic Prague cake with condensed milk. To prepare it, butter is replaced with vegetable oil. The base for the cakes is light and porous. And the structure of the sponge cake is similar to a cupcake - crumbly and moist. So it’s never too late to treat yourself to a chocolate piece of weightless Prague cake, made with your own hands.

To create such an easy culinary masterpiece, combine 60 g of cocoa and 0.5 tbsp. instant coffee. Pour all 170 ml of boiled water. Next, you should grind 5 yolks with 180 g of sugar, pour 130 ml of vegetable oil into the resulting mass. Add water with coffee and cocoa. Using a whisk or mixer, beat the resulting mixture with 200 g of flour, a packet of baking powder and soda on the tip of a knife until smooth, without a single lump.

Make a stiff meringue from 8 egg whites and 50 g sugar. Then carefully combine with the yolks. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake until fully cooked, 40 minutes. While the base for the cakes is settling, start preparing the cream.

For creamy impregnation, beat 3 yolks, 1 tsp. boiled water and 5-6 tbsp. condensed milk (to diversify the taste, you can boil it). Boil the resulting mass in a water bath until it reaches a certain thickness. Melt 60 g of natural chocolate in hot cream and remove the container from the stove. Add 200 g of softened butter and 1 tsp to the warm creamy mass. aromatic cognac, and cool it.

Using a thread or knife, divide the settled biscuit into 3 or more parts. Grease the first two layers and sides with Prague cake cream. Soak the top with apricot jam or jam. Decorating with chocolate fudge would be a good idea. Place the Prague cake with boiled condensed milk in a cool place and let it wait in the wings.

Preparing cream and impregnation for the cake

The cream for the Prague cake is made primarily of creamy chocolate, with a subtle cognac note. In this case, there is no need for additional impregnation of the cakes. To make the dessert less caloric, it is smeared with cream based on sour cream, but invariably with melted dark chocolate. After all, all confectioners in the world advise sticking to the classic Prague cake recipe.

Preparing the impregnation is a mandatory step in the step-by-step Prague cake recipe. This can fundamentally correct the dryness of baked goods that have been left in the oven for too long. We will present to your attention two impregnations based on cognac and wine, different in composition and properties. The main function of this ingredient is to moisturize the cakes and make them soft. A description of the process itself, how to make aromatic impregnation for the Prague cake, can be found below.

The recipe for the classic cognac impregnation for Prague cake contains sugar, hot water, and Armenian cognac. To avoid getting drunk at breakfast, the resulting mixture should be boiled for two minutes over low heat. Then cool.

An already made Prague cake can also be coated with wine impregnation. This will be especially true when preparing a cake with cherries or fruits. To do this, combine half a glass of sugar and half a glass of sweet red wine. In the best case, it will be Cahors. Place the container with the wine over low heat and simmer until thick, about 30 minutes.

Required Products

To create the original Prague cake, only cognac impregnation was always used, and butter and condensed milk were used for the cream. This is the original filling of the cake, and any pastry chef will tell you about it. Any other Prague recipes are possible variations of the popular dessert to suit your taste and color.

The ingredients that make up the egg cream and the impregnation of the classic Prague cake are known. Among them are aromatic cognac, egg whites and yolks, butter and Soviet condensed milk. Decoration and impregnation of the top cake was always done with apricot jam and chocolate glaze.

For the cream you need:

  • egg yolk - 1 pc.;
  • boiled water – 20 g;
  • condensed milk – 120 g;
  • butter – 200 g;
  • cocoa or chocolate – 10 g;
  • vanillin – 8 g.

Cognac impregnation:

  • sugar – 1 tbsp;
  • hot water – 3 tbsp;
  • cognac – 1 tbsp;
  • apricot jam or marmalade (for the top layer).

Wine impregnation:

  • sweet red wine – 0.5 cups;
  • sugar – 0.5 cups.

Preparation of cognac impregnation

A Prague cake recipe cannot be perfect without aromatic cognac impregnation. It is cooked over low heat for a short period of time - about 3 minutes. The original impregnation of the Prague cake is prepared from sugar, hot water or boiling water and cognac. All ingredients are mixed in the above proportions.

But more suitable for a Prague cherry cake would be a sugar-based wine impregnation and, for example, Cahors. However, wine or cognac is also not the limit. Some confectioners are happy to use alcoholic drinks such as rum or liqueur. So if you are interested in what you can soak the layers of the Prague cake with, everything will depend on the taste preferences of the cook or the rigor of the original recipe.

The cream for the Prague cake is similar in preparation to custard yolk cream. To prevent the yolks from curdling, they are mixed with water, then combined with condensed milk and beaten until smooth. Then comes the turn of the water bath. Heat the mixture in this way for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The finished mass should gradually thicken, and eventually become like rich sour cream.

To continue reproducing the Prague cake recipe at home, remove the container with the future cream from the water bath. Add chocolate to the hot mixture and melt it. Cool the mixture and beat in the softened butter.

To add flavor to the finished product, you can pour a couple of tablespoons of cognac into the cream. Many housewives add alcohol only to the impregnation for cakes. The effect of any of the two actions is the same. But with the classic description of the Prague cake, cognac is used specifically for soaking the sponge cake.

To the delight of our family and loved ones, we prepare “Prague” cake at home with sour cream. In a duet with cocoa, such impregnation for sponge cakes will be no less relevant. And what’s important is that sour cream will significantly reduce the calorie content of the finished dessert. It’s up to you to decide which cream is good and what is best for the Prague cake, which you can bake at home.

By changing the ingredients of the Prague cake and experimenting with cream or sponge cake, each housewife brings something of her own to the step-by-step recipe for Prague cake. This is how new baked culinary masterpieces with peanuts or almonds appear, which are added directly to the finished cream or to the dough at the kneading stage.

After cooking, cool the cream to room temperature. Soak all the chilled cakes with it, except the very first one. Upon completion of assembling the cake, apply any fruit or berry jam or, following the classic Prague cake recipe, apricot jam.

Chocolate cake "Prague" requires only one perfect decoration - chocolate icing. This is spelled out in the classic recipe. If desired, it can be replaced with chocolate fudge. Let's take a closer look at how to decorate the Prague cake.

To prepare icing or fudge, you will need no more than a glass of sugar and cocoa powder. To give the finished product a creamy taste, you can replace the water with milk with a high fat content. In this case, the glaze will turn out like milk chocolate.

After mixing all the ingredients for the glaze, simmer the total mass over low heat, stirring constantly so as not to burn. After 5-7 minutes it should thicken. After which the cup with the glaze is removed from the heat and mixed with a piece of butter. If the mixture turns out to be too thick, dilute it a little with boiling water to the desired consistency.

Assembling the cake

Making the classic Prague cake couldn’t be easier. Be patient and follow all the recommendations in the pie recipe. First of all, release the finished biscuit from the mold. It is impossible to divide a hot whole cake into parts: it can wrinkle and fall off. Wait for the biscuit to cool completely and cut it using a thick thread.

For convenience, make a shallow cut around the entire circumference of the large cake layer so that you can visually see how to divide the total mass of the sponge cake. Then thread the thread into it and pull it inside the pie. This way, you will never make a mistake and divide the total cake into three equal parts.

The recipe for preparing the Prague cake involves four main steps:

  • dividing the finished chocolate biscuit into equal parts;
  • impregnation of cakes;
  • lubrication with cream;
  • decoration with glaze.

You already know how to carefully divide the biscuit into pieces. Let's look at how to assemble the Prague cake step by step. Even if the sponge cake itself turned out to be loose and moist, the chocolate cake recipe requires additional soaking. Most often it is prepared on the basis of aromatic alcohol - cognac, sweet red wine, rum or liqueur. Laying the first two cake layers on top of each other, soak them with the resulting mixture and coat with cream. Pour the last top part of a simple Prague cake with alcohol impregnation and coat it with apricot jam or jam.

To finish decorating the Prague cake, spread icing or fondant over the top and sides of the assembled cake. But do not forget that chocolate fudge does not harden immediately, but remains soft for a very long time. Therefore, when transporting the finished product, stock up on spacious packaging.

It’s easy to prepare the “Prague” cake at home; the main thing is that after assembling and decorating it, let it sit in a cool place for 5-6 hours. During this time, the biscuit cakes will be completely soaked, and the top coating will harden.

It is not difficult to prepare the Prague cake in the oven according to the GOST recipe, since, according to many modern confectioners, its composition and production methods were simplified in the Union. The first cake came out of the hands of Russian culinary specialist Vladimir Guralnik, who was working at that time in a Moscow restaurant on Arbat. After which a simple recipe for a cake with condensed milk spread throughout the country and became the property of the state. The possibility of its preparation has been expanded to a production scale.

Many Soviet ladies thought about how to make Prague cake at home, therefore, due to the shortage of products and the low availability of ready-made dessert, they deviated from the classic recipe for Prague cake. Condensed milk, butter, cocoa, eggs, and any other dairy products were used.

But do not forget that the Prague cake is prepared both according to GOST and according to the original recipe from cocoa or natural chocolate. Its aroma and nutritional value will depend on this. After all, only one taste of childhood is remembered and loved, and everything else is just its analogue substitutes.

Grocery list

The ingredients for the dough in the Prague cake recipe are mostly the same. These are eggs, flour, sugar, cocoa, vanilla sugar and butter. But there is also chocolate Prague made with vegetable oil. There are also minor differences in the recipe for Prague cake with sour cream. We present to your attention a recipe for Prague cake with chocolate, prepared in accordance with Soviet GOST.

For the biscuit:

  • eggs – 6 pcs.;
  • granulated sugar – 150 g;
  • flour – 115 g;
  • cocoa – 25 g;
  • butter – 40 g.

For cream:

  • egg yolk – 1;
  • water – 20 ml;
  • condensed milk – 120 g;
  • butter – 200 g;
  • cocoa powder – 10 g;
  • vanilla sugar – 1 sachet.

For impregnation:

  • sugar – 70 g;
  • water – 100 ml.

For the glaze:

  • chocolate – 70 g;
  • butter – 50 g.

Preparation

Stages of preparing the Prague cake

Soviet GOST rules ideally meant Prague cake with condensed milk. This was a strict recipe for preparing the delicacy on a production scale. The main idea was the availability of dessert and products for making it to every person. Therefore, today, making a cake at home is not difficult; even a novice cook can handle it.

  1. You need to carefully separate the whites from the yolks. While whipping the delicious cream for the Prague cake, add 75 g of granulated sugar or powder to the yolks. With it, the process will go faster, and the mass will be more magnificent. Next, while beating the whites, measure out the same amount of sugar for them. The meringue should be firm and thick. Finally, combine both masses together.
  2. Mix flour and cocoa. Pass through a sieve. Begin gradually mixing the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. In this case, you should knead not in a circle, but from top to bottom, breaking up all the lumps.
  3. Pour melted butter, cooled to room temperature, along the side of the dish. Bring the dough until smooth.
  4. Prepare the sponge cake for the Prague cake according to a simple and tasty recipe in an oven with an internal temperature of no more than 200 degrees. Cooking time is about 30-40 minutes. Place the dough in the mold and bake. Check how well it is baked using a wooden match or skewer. If the stick is dry, then the biscuit is ready. Let it cool for a couple of minutes, then release it from the mold. For subsequent successful separation, the total mass of the finished product must not only cool down, but also settle well. This will take about 8 hours.
  5. The cream according to the Prague cake recipe with condensed milk is prepared in a container with a thick bottom. This prevents it from burning. Mix 1 egg yolk with the required amount of water. Then add condensed milk. Over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mass becomes thick. If you are not a sweet tooth, then add half of the condensed milk.
  6. Softened butter is mixed with vanillin. In small portions, continuing to beat with a whisk or mixer, add the boiled condensed milk and cocoa. The cream should be homogeneous, without grains.
  7. The impregnation in the GOST Prague cake recipe is unique. Its ingredients: 100 g of brewed black tea with 70 g of sugar.
  8. The cake preparation scheme ends with its assembly. To do this, divide the settled sponge cake into 3 equal parts using a thread, soak each of them with impregnation. Spread half the cream over the first cake layer. Then the next one. Cover the top of the homemade Prague cake with condensed milk with apricot jam or jam.
  9. The glaze, made from chocolate and butter, should cover the entire product completely. Therefore, it is applied while still hot, before it hardens. After which the finished baked goods are sent to the refrigerator.

Video of making Prague cake

httpss://youtu.be/PJUGjCFAAN4

The fastest and easiest recipe in Prague

The Prague cake at home is distinguished by its simplicity. This applies not only to the cooking method, but also to the set of main components. An easy cake recipe means that its ingredients can be replaced to suit your taste. Only generally accepted dogmas and rules inherent in any baked product remain unchanged. Reproducing the best Prague cake recipe with your own hands is quick and easy.

What you will need

You can see below what the sponge cake of the Prague cake consists of. Ingredients for cream, syrup and glaze are also presented here.

Biscuit dough:

  • two eggs;
  • 300 g sour cream;
  • a glass of sugar;
  • half a teaspoon of soda;
  • vinegar;
  • one and a half cups of flour;
  • half a can of condensed milk (can be cocoa flavored);
  • almond;
  • a pinch of pepper.

  • half a can of condensed milk with cocoa;
  • 200 g soft butter

Syrup and glaze:

  • 5 tablespoons of sugar;
  • 2 tablespoons of water;
  • 1-2 tablespoons of any aromatic alcohol;
  • 50 g butter;
  • 2 tablespoons milk;
  • 4 spoons of cocoa powder.

How to make Prague cake

To prepare Prague cake without any hassle, follow the recommendations below. Believe me, it will turn out amazing. A simple cake recipe involves the following steps:

  1. In a separate container, beat eggs with sour cream and sugar. Add soda dissolved in vinegar, 0.5 cans of condensed milk, flour, almonds and a pinch of pepper. Knead the biscuit dough and place in the mold. The Prague cake must be baked in the oven at 200 degrees.
  2. Whisk the rest of the condensed milk together with the butter. Make an impregnation from boiling water with sugar and, for example, cognac. Soak the cakes, place them on top of each other, brushing them with cream.
  3. To make the glaze, stir together the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder. After boiling, simmer the mixture over low heat for another couple of minutes. Coat the cake with warm glaze on all sides.

How to bake a sponge cake for Prague in a slow cooker

Making Prague cake in a slow cooker

Making Praga according to any recipe is simplified by having a multicooker in the kitchen. The cake turns out delicious. Take a dish and mix eggs and sugar in it. Add soda, sour cream, cocoa, condensed milk and vanillin. Beat the resulting mixture with a mixer until smooth. Stir in flour.

The “Prague” cake baked in a slow cooker is no different from its counterpart from the oven. The consistency of the dough should resemble thick sour cream. Place it from the dish into a buttered multicooker bowl and bake on the “Baking” mode for 1 hour. When the appliance indicates readiness, remove the bowl and leave to cool. While the sponge cake for the Prague cake is being made, prepare everything you need to prepare the cream and glaze.

Cake decoration options

The classic Prague cake was decorated only with chocolate glaze, and in rare cases with nuts on top. Modern confectioners use various techniques and methods for decorating baked goods and desserts. To make the cake look presentable, mastic, sugar icing, and ready-made waffle pictures are used.

You can decorate the Prague cake with chocolate glaze or chocolate shavings. In addition, various chocolate figures are often used. The glaze can be made in multi-colored, milk or caramel.

To create finished products, meringues, fruits and jellies, candies, marmalade and various sprinkles are used. Any decorations are attached to the sticky surface of the top cake. After which the dessert is sent to harden in the refrigerator. No matter how you decorate the cake, its taste will remain unforgettable for a lifetime.

The Prague cake needs to sit

Confectionery secrets for preparing the Prague cake are based on the recommendations inherent in any baked confectionery product.

  1. Chocolate Prague, which is prepared in the Czech Republic, is a pastry soaked in four creams - cognac-based and liqueur, the raw materials for which are Chartreuse and Benedictine.
  2. Baking dishes are round, with an average width of 21 cm.
  3. The recipe for Prague cake with sour cream requires leaving the finished sponge cake for about 6 hours.
  4. To moisten the Prague cake with boiled condensed milk, in addition to the standard cognac impregnation, boiled cocoa is also used.
  5. A delicious cake will be simply amazing if it sits for 12 to 15 hours in a cold place.
  6. When decorating Prague and preparing the cream, it is better to whip the protein foam with powdered sugar.

Each housewife may have her own recipe and methods for preparing the Prague cake. But its amazing chocolate taste will always remain the same - the taste of our Soviet childhood.