“Bird's milk” is a candy whose taste is familiar to most of the inhabitants of our country since childhood. Gentle chocolate souffle first appeared in Poland in the distant 30s. Once in the USSR, delicacy became the favorite of the sweet tooth for long times. Gradually, the “Bird's milk” sweets, which Soviet confectioners later adapted for making a cake, turned from a scarce dessert into a familiar treat, but still very beloved.
Indescribable tenderness
The history of goodies begins in Poland. In 1936, sweets with a delicate souffle and a thin layer of chocolate began to be produced in Warsaw at the E. Wedel factory. The popularity of confectionery quickly surpassed the borders of the country. “Bird's milk” is a candy that got its name for its unique, incomparable taste. The expression "bird's milk" means something inaccessible and fantastically beautiful. The candy recipe developed at the Jan Wedel factory is still a secret.
Overseas sweetness
The conquest of the USSR "Bird's milk" began in 1967. The candy was brought to Moscow from Czechoslovakia by the Minister of the Food Industry. The delicacy pleased the members of the government. Soon, it was decided to create Soviet candy “Bird's milk”. Confectionery tried to create a confectionery factory throughout the country. The magnificent souffle required special temperature conditions, special equipment for whipping. Best of all, the Vladivostok confectionery factory handled the task.
Bird's milk paces the country
The following year, 1968, sweets began to be produced to the joy of the capital’s sweet tooth and at the Moscow factory Rot-Front. Initially, delicate confectionery products were produced in small portions. The complexity of the manufacturing procedure at that time was faced with imperfect technology. As a result, production could not satisfy the demand for sweets.
With the development of confectionery in the country, the number of produced “Bird's milk” increased. The mass delicacy was launched in 1975 at the Moscow factory “Red Beam”.
How sweets became a cake
The appearance of the “Bird's milk” cake is associated with the name of the Soviet confectioner Vladimir Guralnik. He worked in the famous Moscow restaurant Prague. He succeeded in trying Bird Milk candies at the Krasny Luch factory. The pastry made a strong impression on the confectioner, and he decided to create a cake based on his recipe. The implementation of the idea, however, was hindered by some of the nuances of the technology. The size of the “Bird's milk” candy is quite small. If the same recipe is used to make a cake, the souffle loses its properties - it becomes viscous and sticky. For about six months, a team of pastry chefs led by Vladimir Guralnik was looking for a new recipe, trying to improve the technology. As a result, the necessary ingredients were found, and a cake with delicate soufflé, light cakes and chocolate icing was put into production.
New recipe
"Bird's milk" - a candy, which includes milk, gelatin, sugar syrup, chocolate and other ingredients. The cake recipe created by Goralnik included a slightly different set of products. Instead of gelatin, soufflé used agar-agar, a substance derived from algae. Other ingredients included condensed milk, butter, sugar syrup and protein.
Confectioners of the restaurant "Prague" first prepared a small number of cakes. However, a few months after the start of production, the batch of delicacies reached 500 pieces. Soon, cakes began to be baked in other factories of the country - Vladimir Guralnik did not hide the recipe from colleagues.
Homemade Bird Milk Chocolates: Ingredients
Today, childhood sweets that have been loved since childhood can be made at home. An advantageous difference of such a delicacy is the absence of preservatives, which are added to the composition to increase the shelf life of products. In order to prepare “Bird's milk” candies at home, you will need a small amount of products:
- concentrated (condensed) milk - 1 cup;
- any fruit or berry juice - 1 cup;
- chocolate (preferably bitter) - one bar (100 g);
- gelatin - 10 g;
- sour cream - 3 tbsp. spoons.
All products are available to the general consumer.
Candy "Bird's milk": a recipe at home
The preparation of the goodies in this variant of the recipe begins with the preparation of gelatin. To soak, you need a tablespoon of juice. The substance is filled with liquid and left for an hour. Then the swollen gelatin is placed in a pan and a glass of juice is sent there. The container is placed on a small fire and heated until the gelatin is completely dissolved. At the same time, the contents of the pan must be constantly stirred.
Condensed milk is added to the cooled liquid and everything is whipped until a foam forms. The mixture is laid out in suitable forms and sent to the refrigerator. Estimated cooling time is 6 hours. It is better to put sweets in the refrigerator, and not in the freezer. When the treat hardens, it can be removed from the molds. For glaze, chocolate is melted in a water bath along with sour cream. The mixture must be stirred until it acquires a uniform consistency. Sweets are glazed on one side and then sent to the refrigerator. After solidification, the procedure is repeated: sweets glaze with chocolate on the other hand.
Bird's milk cake: cakes
Cake with delicate souffle, thin cakes and chocolate icing is a great treat for a home celebration. For its preparation, it is best to use agar-agar, but you can also use more familiar gelatin. The following products are part of cakes:
- sugar - 100 g;
- butter (soft) - 100 g;
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- flour - 140 g;
- baking powder - 1/3 teaspoon;
- vanilla extract - 2-3 drops.
For baking cakes, you can use two forms of different diameters. Then one layer of dough will become the basis of the cake, and the second "drown" in the souffle.
Beat sugar with butter and vanilla extract. Then the eggs are added to the mixture one at a time, without ceasing to beat. In a separate bowl, sifted flour with baking powder, into which eggs and oil are added. All are thoroughly whipped and laid out in shapes. Cakes are sent to the oven for about 10 minutes. The temperature should reach 180º. Finished cakes are taken out of the oven and left to cool.
How to make souffle
To prepare a magnificent souffle, as mentioned above, you need agar-agar in the amount of 4 g. A complete list of the necessary ingredients looks like this:
- agar-agar - 4 g;
- butter (soft) - 200 g;
- condensed milk - 100 g;
- egg whites - 105 g (from about 4 eggs);
- citric acid - half a teaspoon;
- water - 270 ml;
- sugar - 430 g.
Before preparation, agar-agar must be soaked for several minutes in water. Separately, whip the butter with condensed milk and set aside. Water with prepared agar-agar is mixed and put on fire. The mixture is brought to a boil and granulated sugar is added, then brought back to a boil. Ideally, the temperature of the liquid in the pan should rise to 117º. It is best to use a culinary thermometer to measure it. If not, determine the readiness of the syrup using a test on a soft ball. A little sweet mixture is dripped into a container of cold water. Then with your fingers they try to collect the ball. If it works, then the syrup is ready. On average, it takes 15 minutes to boil it.
5 minutes before the syrup is ready, you need to start whipping the proteins with citric acid. The finished syrup is injected into the proteins in a thin stream, while they continue to beat. The mixture will increase significantly in volume, acquire a beautiful shine, and become thick. It is important that the temperature of the whipped proteins does not drop below 45º, since at 40º the agar-agar will begin to solidify. A mixture of butter and condensed milk is added to the finished proteins and mixed until smooth. Then they begin to quickly collect the cake.
Glaze and assembly
Half of the souffle is poured into the mold; it is covered with a smaller cake. Then the remainder of the souffle is sent to the form. The last is the second cake: it needs to be slightly pressed into the lush milk mass. To prevent voids from forming in the soufflé, with a cake mold you need to knock on the table several times, and then put it in the freezer for 3 hours if it was cooked in a silicone mold, or in the refrigerator until it solidifies - if it is detachable.
For glaze take 75 g of chocolate without additives and 50 g of butter. Everything is melted in a water bath and mixed. After the freezer, the cake is removed from the mold and left to warm up a little. Airy treats are glazed and decorated.
Candy "Bird's milk", the calorie content of which is 45 kcal in one little thing, can not be called a diet dish, like the cake of the same name. At the same time, they are less able to harm the figure than many other options for confectionery.
Now, like 20-30 years ago, one of the most beloved delicacies of the inhabitants of our country is “Bird's milk” candies. The photo, smell and taste of delicate soufflé in chocolate icing recalls happy childhood days. Today, confectionery products that came to the country from Poland are no longer in short supply. Today, "Bird's milk" is a candy that is produced by different factories, slightly varying the recipe, and many housewives who want to please the family with the most delicious dessert.