Babos Receptai (Part 15)

Here's a recipe Tatjana got from her daughter—my Dad's twin sister—Jonė.

 Here's how I translated the recipe:

Streusel Kuchen

Streusel Topping:
1 to 1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter (not specified in the recipe, but I would add)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Cake:
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Tatjana probably used one of these)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 sticks margarine
1 stick butter
1 "cup" granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk 

Marmalade or jam 


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and adjust the rack to the center position.

For the Streusel: Mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the vanilla. Chill the streusel while you prepare the cake batter.

For the Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream the margarine, butter, and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

Alternately fold in the sifted dry ingredients and the milk, beginning and ending with the sifted dry ingredients. 

Spread the dough on a greased, flat baking pan (size not specified). Spread some marmalade or jam over the top.

Scatter the streusel over the top of the cake. Bake for about 40 minutes. If the cake is not ready after 40 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 minutes.

Make one at home.

I started baking in the early 1970s. I don't recall what sparked my interest, but I grew curious about trying new recipes. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, did not venture much beyond her own repertoire. My Mom worked full time, so she never cooked, and she only occasionally baked for the holidays. We also had few cookbooks. Besides the 1956 edition of the Betty Crocker Picture Book, I remember the German-language edition of this book, and a copy of European Desserts for American Kitchens.

I started experimenting with some of the recipes in European Desserts for American Kitchens. I first made a Dobos Torte, and then I moved on to a dessert—Crepes Saint Martin—that featured a delicious, rice-pudding-like filling. I finally saw that the book contained a recipe for one of the "triple crowns" of Lithuanian baking: "Baumkuchenas" (the other two "crowns" would be "Napoleonas" and Nut Torte ... at least at our house).

A homemade Baumkuchenas, of course, would not feature the typical "branches" or dough spikes created by baking the cake on a turning rotisserie over an open flame. If  you want a Baumkuchenas with the typical appearance, then order one (the mail-order cakes are quite good). The recipe in European Desserts for American Kitchens, however, tastes almost identical to the traditional, branched cake, and I've been making it since 1972. A few years had passed since I made one, so yesterday I got ambitious.

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Here's how I adapted the recipe:

Baumkuchenas

1-1/2 cups (7.2 ounces) potato or cornstarch
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8.4 ounces) granulated sugar
9 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
9 egg yolks, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons freshly-squeeze lemon juice


Adjust the oven rack to about six inches below the broiler element. Preheat the oven—on the broiler setting—to 475 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and the sides of the springform pan with butter. Dust the pan with flour and shake out the excess.

Sift the potato or cornstarch and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, begin mixing the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt and low to medium speed until the egg whites begin to get foamy. Gradually increase the speed to medium-high and then high. While beating, add about 4 tablespoons of the granulated sugar to the egg whites. Continue beating until the meringue is stiff and holds its shape. Set the bowl with the meringue aside.

In another bowl of the electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the remaining sugar. This should take about 5 to 6 minutes, and the mixture should be very light and pale in color. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the lemon rind and the vanilla extract.

On low speed (or by hand, using a spatula), mix in about one-third of the potato starch. Gently fold in half the meringue. Then, add one-half of the remaining potato starch and the rest of the meringue. Finally, fold in the remainder of the potato starch.

Before beginning to bake, place the bowl with the batter, a trivet, and a large spoon or ladle near the oven. Using the spoon or ladle (or a small, offset spatula), spread about 1/4 cup of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the layer is lightly browned. The first layer may take about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes. When the first layer is done, remove the pan from the oven, set it on the trivet, and spread another 1/4 cup batter over the first layer. Continue in this manner until you have used up all of the batter. In our oven, the layers take about 2 to 2-1/2 minutes each, and you should end up with about 14 or 15 layers. The baking process is tedious.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest, in the pan, on a wire rack for about one hour. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and remove the springform. Let the cake rest until it is completely cool, about two hours.

Before serving, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and spread it on top of the cake.

Tested

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Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, April 2, 2016. Our friend Tom reported that he tried my paternal Grandmother's recipe for Devil's Food Cake. He made the cake shortly after I posted the recipe, and the result was a success.

Thanks to Tom for sharing photos of the cake.

Babos Receptai (Part 14)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, baked only a few signature items. She often made (and I still bake) "Babos Pyragas." She also (over)baked Banana Cake. Occasionally, she made Devil's Food cupcakes from scratch. She never frosted the cupcakes, so they were quite dry. (I dislike cupcakes, by the way, because who wants to eat all that hard crust? Isn't it better to eat the soft, moist inside of a cake?)

Here's Tatjana's recipe for the Devil's Food Cupcakes (notice again the chemical formulas):

Here's how I wrote up the recipe:

Devil's Food Cake

(1) First, cream together:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 whole eggs

(2) Second, sift together:
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

 (3) Third, stir together:
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

And now add to the (1) sugar/shortening/egg mixture the (2) sifted dry ingredients and (3) the liquid ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and the liquid ingredients in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

A cake (Tatjana used a 10-inch tube pan) bakes for about 45 to 55 minutes* at 350 degrees F.

ADDED: A reader tests this recipe.

*Baking time adjusted from the duration I originally had posted.

Easterscapes, in Three Takes

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Suburban Chicago, Spring 1965 or 1966. My Best Friend's Mom, Louise, decorated the house for every holiday.

Weekend Coffee

Suburban Chicago, 1979. Dad and Mom are guests for coffee. I see a box of slides on the coffee table. It could be a long afternoon.

Related by Marriage: Too young for cake.

Suburban Chicago, January 1960. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather Stanley, his maternal Aunt Martha, and his Mom celebrate Mr. Irene's first birthday. There's a plate of Košeliena on the table: icky! That's one of the few foods I won't eat (the others are: poppy seed roll, grapefruit, and coconut. I also hate gin.)

Cake, in Three Takes

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Suburban Chicago, Spring 1973. My Toronto Cousin and I share a Pepperidge Farm walnut layer cake. There was a period when we used to pick up one of those frozen cakes. We recently looked for that cake, but it apparently has been discontinued.

This photo set shows how pink our kitchen was. Behind us is the dishwasher and the Roper wall oven. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, is washing dishes; the dish rack holds a plastic tumbler from the Jewel Food Store.

I'm wearing a turquoise ring my Parents bought when we first vacationed in Glacier. On my left hand is a minuscule ruby ring that belonged to my maternal Grandmother, Jadzė. I also wear the dainty watch I selected in Switzerland. There's instant coffee and a copy of "Draugas" on the table.

(Neither my Toronto Cousin [ever] nor I [in 1973] smoked; that looks like Dad's ashtray. Do you remember crafting ashtrays and trivets with those little tiles? Who supervised you when you spread the grout?)

Ah! The checkered dish towel is still in use.

We're still counting.

Suburban Chicago, July 1965. That's a sad little cake, but happily it's not coconut!

(Jewel shoppers will recognize those tumblers and plastic dishes.)

Babos Receptai (Part 12)

Whoa, you say! This is not the handwriting of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana! How can it be one of "Babos Receptai?"

This recipe was written for me by Tatjana's daughter, Jonė. It's a recipe for Lithuanian Crumb Cake. Although that treat is ubiquitous in Lithuanian cuisine (the crumb cake appears at weddings, teas, and fashion shows), my paternal Grandmother rarely baked it. Tatjana thought her cake, "Babos Pyragas," was much better. I disagreed, and I was disappointed we had no "family recipe" for the Crumb Cake. Fortunately, my Dad's twin sister had one.

Here is how I wrote up the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 1-1/2 cups lingonberry preserves, or other tart jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and dust it all over with fine, dry breadcrumbs. Shake out excess crumbs. Set the prepared baking pan in the freezer while you prepare the ingredients.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread lingonberry preserves evenly over the dough. Carefully crumble the remaining reserved dough over the preserves.

Bake about 30 to 34 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

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BONUS!

A few years after I tweeked this recipe, I started baking it with a cottage-cheese filling. The cheese version is my favorite; here is the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas su Varškė

Crust:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

finely grated rind of one-half lemon

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

scant 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) cottage cheese, drained (measure before draining)

3 tablespoons instant-blending ("Wondra") flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Generously butter and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. 

For crust: Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream; continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears. The mixture will (and should) be crumbly.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan.  Place pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In the workbowl of a food processor, mix together the sugar with the lemon rind until the rind is finely chopped. Add the egg yolks and beat for about one minute, until the mixture becomes thick and pale in color. Add the butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Add the cottage cheese and process until the mixture is entirely free of lumps. Add the flour and process with 2 or 3 on/off pulses.

Spread the filling over prepared crust. Crumble the reserved half of the dough over the filling.

Bake for 30 to 36 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Babos Receptai (Part 11)

Here's a recipe in which my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, illustrated our tendency to mix the Lithuanian and English languages:

Tatjana also has written the telephone number and surname of a patient on the lower corner of the page. The patient must have called for Mom while Tatjana was baking.

Lithuanian newspapers regularly use English words in their stories (they do correctly conjugate or decline the words). For example: the Lithuanian word for "exhibit" is "paroda," and the word for "television show" is "programa." Articles now use the word "šou" (pronounced "show") to describe both. And "reality show" is "realybės šou."

Babos Receptai (Part 10)

One of the other cakes my paternal Grandmother made for Easter was a nut torte. I disliked the torte because it didn't resemble the sweet American cakes I favored. The nut torte was a big job because Tatjana ground the nuts using a small, hand crank, grinder. She insisted pre-ground nuts from the grocery store lacked the correct texture for the batter.

Here's how I wrote up the recipe:

Riešutinis arba Migdolų Tortas (Walnut or Almond Torte)

For torte:

8 to 10 ounces walnuts or unblanched almonds, slightly toasted and cooled

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon potato starch or corn starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

12 egg yolks (Baba used yolks from 16 eggs graded "medium")

1 cup granulated sugar

12 egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup granulated sugar

For glaze and filling:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup rum

       3/4 cup (approximately) lingonberry preserves

For icing:

       2/3 cup (10-2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter  

       2-2/3 cups brown sugar

       2/3 cup whole milk

       1/8 teaspoon salt

  

For garnish:   

       Whole walnuts or almonds 

Torte: Preheat the oven to 350^oF and adjust rack to center position. Butter a 10-inch (or 12-inch) springform pan (or two 10-inch layer cake pans or three 9-inch round cake pans) and dust with flour. 

In the workbowl of a food processor with the metal blade in place, grind the nuts with the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the 1 cup granulated sugar until the mixture is thick and light in color, about 10 minutes.

In another large bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until the mixer is stiff. Remove bowl from mixer. Fold half of the walnut mixture into the egg yolks and then, using a rubber spatula, gradually fold egg whites gently to the nut/egg yolk mixture. 

Pour into prepared pan(s) and level top(s). Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes for the springform pan (35 to 45 minutes for the layer cake pans). Remove from oven, place pan(s) on a rack and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.  

When cooled completely, slice into two (or three) horizontal layers (omit this step if you baked two or three layers).

Glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add the rum, and cool.

Brush first layer with about half the liqueur glaze. Spread with a layer of the lingonberry preserves.  Continue with the remaining layer(s), also soaking with the liqueur glaze. Let the layers stand while you prepare the icing.

Icing:  In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt butter. Stir in the brown sugar until brown sugar dissolves. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly. Slowly increase heat and bring the mixture rapidly to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.  Beat with a wooden spoon until lukewarm and of spreading consistency. Spread icing over the torte. Garnish with whole nuts. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Here's how the cake looked when I baked it:

Verona, Wisconsin, April 2007. I may have "cheated" here and made a coffee buttercream instead of the icing Tatjana used to prepare.

Babos Receptai (Part 8)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, sometimes added other people's recipes to her collection. She received a recipe for "Karališkas Mazurkas" (Royal Mazurka) from a friend; that recipe became a regular feature of our family's Easter menu.

Poles commonly bake Mazurkas, but I've not seen a recipe similar to this one.

Here is our version of the recipe (Note: My Mom later wrote "5 eggs, 1/4 pound butter, 3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar" in the margin): 

Karališkas Mazurkas

8 ounces (1-3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder*

8 ounces (1 cup, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (my addition)

5 eggs

3 ounces (3/4 cup) blanched, slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and adjust rack to the center position. Generously butter a 9 x 9-inch square baking pan (reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees if using a glass pan). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar very slowly, beating mixture until it is very thick and pale yellow, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and the almond extract. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. (Mixture may appear curdled at this point; that is okay.)

Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, gently fold in the dry ingredients (do not overmix or the cake will be dry). Fold in the blanched, slivered almonds. 

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for about 33 to 37 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  

Cool in the pan and slice into squares. 

*A later version uses 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, instead.

General Manners: Allow guests to blow out the candles.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1957. One should behave when the Moms are watching.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

General Manners: Wait patiently for a slice of cake.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1957. The well mannered children understand the rules.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Lighting the candles.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1961. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, lights the candles of my Toronto Cousin's birthday cake.

It looks like Jonė and my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, shopped together for fabric.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Happy Birthday!

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1958. Happy Birthday to my Toronto Cousin!

The partygoers celebrate in the kitchen of Toronto Cousin's childhood home. The refrigerator is very similar to the one we had. The door on the right leads to the basement of the Toronto house. The stairs to the basement were very steep, and I was afraid to walk down them. I used to scoot down those stairs on my butt to avoid falling.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Satisfied

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1961. My Toronto Cousin still is working on her cake, and one of her guests has had enough.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

That's some pretty nice china for a children's party.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1959. It is, however, a mixed table setting.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin (a guest on the left) for making this photo available to us.

Parties can be tiring.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 1959. Only my Toronto Cousin has the energy to smile.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.