This post is also available in: Romanian
The moment of truth finally came. I started to explore, try and love the Czech cuisine. For starting, just with cakes. Soon, however with other meals as well.
I ate Marlenka in 2009, but I didn’t like it. It was dry layer cake. Few month later, I dare to try it again. Different pastry shop, different taste. It was amazing. I felt in love with this precious simple cake and I said to myself that I really must to make it at home.
It was hard to find the recipe. It was hard to find the most accurate recipe of this wonder cake. But, finally, I managed and here we are talking about it.
So this week, I tested the recipe. The preparation of the honey dough was pretty simple and strait, and the layers came out perfectly. They were fine, bit crispy and golden brown.
For the cream filling I had few difficulties. In the recipe, was not specified how much to boil it and which should be the order of ingredients. So, I had the surprise of a failed cream. On second try, I boiled the cream just enough to have it a bit thicker, but not more then 8 minutes. The cream must not be very thick or extremely liquid. Then, the assembly of the cake was simple. Very important is to leave enough time for the cake to cool in the fridge, before cutting and serve it.
Ingredients for Marlenka :
- 2 eggs
- 60 g butter
- 200 g crystal sugar
- 40 g honey
- half of teaspoon of baking powder
- 600 g flour
Ingredients for the cream filling :
- 230 ml sweetened condensed milk
- 2 eggs
- 30 g honey
- 60 g butter
- 100 g ground walnuts
Directions :
Start preparing the cake. Add the sugar and honey in a small saucepan on medium heat and stir until all melted and well blended. Then add the butter and mix well. Add the eggs, baking powder and mix well. Add the flour bit by bit stirring well. Add the flour until still kneadable but slightly hard. It should not come apart. Add flour or milk necessary to make the dough non-sticky. Separate the dough into 4-5 pieces, and roll it in into 5 large fine squares equally square.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a parchment paper in a large pan. Place the dough layer inside. Bake each layer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown, then cool on an iron rack.
Prepare the cream filling. In a small saucepan melt the butter on medium heat. Then pour in the eggs lightly beaten and the honey. Stir well until combined. Add the condensed milk gradually and stir continuously. Leave the cream on heat until starting to become thicker, around 3-5 minutes. Let the cream cool a bit. Put filling between layers to ensemble the cake.
Sprinkle walnuts on top layer after the last fifth layer of filling. Melted chocolate drip to decorate. It is best to let the cake rest and cool in the fridge for minimum 6 hours or better, over night, before serving.
This must be the most sumptuous looking blog ever!
I’m just checking out other autofocus blogs as I’ve just downloaded it. You’ve done a fine job here, food for thought for sure.
D
Hi David! Thanks for stopping by on my site! Hope you’ll be back to read and even prepare by yourself some recipes from here.
Hi! I was recently in Prague and tried Marlenka and loved it! Just wondering if putting the eggs on heat won’t make them curdle?
Thanks!
Monika
Hi Monika,
The eggs will not be crudle if you will use them at room temperature. Take off the heat the honey mixture and add at once the eggs over the honey mixture and mix well until incorporated.
A lot of thanks for this recipe. The cake is my mother’s favorite. We find it in Romania imported from Czech Republic, at a very high price.
Thanks for your visit, Teodora, and dare to try Marlenka recipe, is easier to make than it looks. And definitively it would be cheaper if you make it, then if you buy it.
Hei, acum mi-am dat seama ca esti romanca!!! Felicitari pentru blog!!!
Multumesc Teodora, si te mai astept cu drag pe aici!
Hi Gabriela I made a cake but with small squares. They re abit dry so it seems they look pastry rather than cake. Just dont know I’m mistaken or it’s naturally a bit dry?
thank you so much for your recipe x
Hi Eliza. The cake it shouldn’t be too dry. I’m not sure how dry it came up for you, but you also should let it stand over night, in order to allow the cream and flavors to soak the layers of the cake. Did you use the same quantities for the cream and layers? If you didn’t put enough cream between layers, this could be also a reason why the layers didn’t soak properly. However, the cake itself, is a bit dry, but not too much.