Cake "Shakotis" is a traditional Lithuanian and Polish dessert, which has a very unusual shape. They make it from egg dough, and bake on an open fire. Usually it is cooked for a wedding or New Year. In the literal translation from the Lithuanian language, the name means "branchy", which accurately describes the shape of the cake. This dessert is listed in the Lithuanian National Culinary Heritage Foundation.
Dessert Features
One of the main features of the Shakotis cake is that it is cooked with lots of chicken eggs. From 30 to 50 pieces per kilogram of flour. At the same time, it is baked on a wooden skewer, which is dipped in dough and cranked over an open fire. As a result, the dough during runoff and takes the form of numerous twigs.
It resembles a fancy tree made of shortcrust yellow dough. The cut cake is very similar to saw cut with characteristic annual rings. There are even special ovens for baking this cake. The main thing is that the principle of preparation of the Lithuanian cake "Shakotis" remains unchanged: when draining and baking, the dough takes a very unusual shape. It is believed that the longer and thicker these "branches", the more talented the hostess who prepared it. On a Christmas table, such a cake looks especially attractive, as it looks like a Christmas tree.
Story
Such an unusual dessert, of course, should have its own story. It is believed that the cake "Shakotis" appeared in the XV century. There are several versions of how he appeared, they all agree on only one thing: the first time it was cooked by accident.
The cake recipe "Shakotis" arose during the years of the Lithuanian-Polish union, and therefore has gained popularity in two countries. According to one version, for the first time he was baked by a young chef, whose name was Yozas. It was supposed to be a treat for Queen Barbara. As a reward for his invention, he received a rich decoration that he presented to his beloved. Most likely, the cook got the cake “Shakotis” by accident, when he spilled tender dough on a spit spinning over a fire.
According to another version, Jozas participated in a culinary contest organized by Barbara. A grand feast was held at the castle in Trakai. The cook was in love with one beautiful woman who refused all grooms. He decided to win the contest, because the winner could ask for anything he wanted. He decided to give her a gift, hoping that in this case the beauty’s heart would melt.
Upon learning that the queen loves sweets, he decided to make cookies for her in butter and with lots of eggs. Having prepared fancy pastry, he baked beautiful cookies in the form of amazing flowers, covered with multi-colored glaze. But when he came to the feast, he saw that on the royal table there were a large number of all kinds of vases with muffins, cookies and chocolates of various shapes.
Then he decided to bake the dough directly on an open fire. Jozas began pouring the mixture onto a red-hot iron skewer, it began to bake, forming bizarre patterns. As a result, the cookie cake turned into a branched spruce. Everyone was so delighted that the queen recognized akotis ’as a delicacy of the evening. For the victory, Jozas asked Barbara for a ring from her hand and a pearl necklace to present all this to her lover. They say that astonished not only by his talent, but also by disinterestedness, the queen attended his wedding. As a token of gratitude, the culinary invented another dish dedicated to the ruler. Jozas called it the Queen's Necklace, and made it from swan eggs. After this incident, akotis ’became her favorite treat and obligatory table decoration at all Lithuanian weddings.
Finally, there is the most prosaic version. If you believe her, the first mention of "Shakotisa" occurs in 1692 in the cookbook of confectioners of the German city of Kiel. The need for an unusual dessert arose due to the fact that parishioners brought a large number of eggs to the temple for Easter.
The biggest "Shakotis"
The largest "Shakotis" in history was prepared in 2008. Lithuanian confectioners spent about 1,200 eggs and 160 kilograms of dough on it.
As a result, “Shakotis” turned out to be two meters 30 centimeters high, and its weight was 73 kilograms and 800 grams.
For five hours, three cooks tirelessly twisted the spit, and their assistants, female bakers, poured the dough.
Classic recipe
The classic recipe for the Lithuanian cake "Shakotis" is well known in our time. In order to cook it, you need to take:
- 50 chicken eggs;
- 1 kg 250 g butter;
- 1 kg 250 g of wheat flour;
- 800 g of granulated sugar;
- 10 g of lemon essence;
- 6 glasses of cream with a fat content of 20%;
- 100 grams of cognac.
According to ancient traditions
If you follow the ancient traditions of the ancestors, then you need to cook "Shakotis" as follows.
Sugar and butter are ground until a homogeneous, lush mass is formed, which must be thoroughly beaten. Gradually, chicken eggs are added to it (1-2 pieces). Finally, pour the flour, pour cream, lemon essence and cognac.
The classic "Shakotis" is baked in a special oven. If there is none, then it will be possible to cook it in the most ordinary kitchen. We will tell you how to make Shakotis cake at home in this article.
At home
In order to prepare Shakotis at home, you will need the exact same list of ingredients that was described in this material. Due to the fact that you will not make a cake in a special oven, but in your kitchen, the number of products will not change. Keep in mind that one cake is for 20 servings.
Separately, it is worth noting that the dough that turns out should become yellow, liquid and tasty. On an industrial scale, this dessert is baked in special rooms at the bakery, where there are skewers, which the confectioner pours with dough so that it drains and solidifies beautifully.
In Lithuania, they note that there is no special need to cook Shakotis at home, since you can buy such a cake without any problems at any grocery store. By the way, since Soviet times it was customary in this country to insert a bottle of champagne into a hole in a cake and with such a present go to a wedding or New Year's celebration.
But if you are still far from Lithuania, and you really want to try a unique royal dessert, we will tell you how to make it in your kitchen.
Cooking dough
To start making Shakotis cake at home, we’ll start by making the dough. Rub the butter with sugar thoroughly until a lush foam forms. Add to the resulting mixture a couple of eggs, continuing to beat it. After we send there all the other ingredients.
The dough should turn out liquid so that it is convenient and easy to pour onto a skewer.
Ideally, the test should be watered with a special skewer, which at the same time rotates slowly. It is in the process of dripping dough that the cake takes on such a unique shape.
How can I replace the skewer
According to the Shakotis cake recipe, at home there are several options for how to replace this special skewer. If the area and the structure of the house allow and you have a fireplace, then you can arrange a special device near the source of fire. Only in this case you definitely need a pallet into which the dough will flow.
Another option that Lithuanian chefs recommend using is to reduce the amount of all ingredients by a factor of ten and cook Shakotis in an ordinary oven in the kitchen. To do this, the resulting dough must be poured into muffin tins with a characteristic hole inside, without which the "Shakotis" can not be imagined. In this case, the cake is baked in the oven at high temperature.
In Lithuania, this cake, as already mentioned, is customary to cook for a wedding. In this case, it is believed that the higher the so-called tower of this dessert, the more love the newlyweds will have in life together. So many couples even today compete with each other in the size and height of this national delicacy.
Now you know for sure that you simply have to try Shakotis. Therefore, if you are not ready for culinary experiments in your kitchen, be sure to go to any food store or pastry shop when you are in Lithuania to buy this amazingly delicious and very original looking dessert.
Analogs of "Shakotisa"
Interestingly, in some European cuisines there are analogues of this amazing cake. For example, in Germany they cook special pastries known as baumkuchen.
The slice of this striking pie also resembles a saw cut of a tree with characteristic annual rings, as mentioned earlier. This unusual effect can be achieved due to a unique technology, which involves the following: a special wooden roller is repeatedly dipped in batter, waiting until it is browned.