Zagrebačke kremšnite – a creamy cake out of eggs, vanilla and cholate
The first kremšnita (cremeschnitte) was made in a pastry shop in Budapest for Sissi, Queen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since then, different varieties of this famous cake have been made.
With two puff pastry crusts; sprinkled with powdered sugar; with a dash of egg white foam below the upper crust; with several crusts and marzipan. There is also the well-known Zagreb variety of kremšnite, which do not have an upper crust, but are topped with whipped cream and chocolate. With a little effort, you can have them on your table as well.
Ingredients for 12 pieces:
For the cream:
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (250 g)
10 eggs
250 g white smooth flour
30 g of corn starch
350 g granulated sugar
40 g vanilla sugar
2 l milk
For whipped cream:
700 ml heavy cream
20 g granulated sugar
For chocolate topping:
200g dark chocolate
150g butter
Preparation:
Thinly spread the puff pastry and place it on the bottom of a baking pan. Poke some holes using a fork and place it in the oven at 180 °C for 15 minutes until the crust is done. Separate egg whites from the egg yolks in two separate, larger bowls. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Meanwhile, add the sugar and vanilla sugar and cream the ingredients together with a hand mixer. Then take 300 ml and pour it into a bowl. Pour the remaining milk into a large pot and heat it until it reaches a boiling point (95°C). Whisk everything together with a hand mixer, and then, using a wooden or plastic spoon, slowly fold in the flour, taking care that there are no lumps in the mixture. Slowly pour in the prepared mixture into the hot milk, constantly stirring it with a balloon whisk. Then stir the mixture for several minutes over a medium heat with the balloon whisk until it starts to bubble up, and put aside to cool. While the mixture is still warm, fold in the egg whites with a spatula or a wooden or plastic spoon, pour the mixture over the crust in the baking pan, and smooth out the surface. In a large separate bowl, pour in whipping cream and sugar and whisk it together. Spread the whipping cream evenly over the mixture and smooth it out. Put it in the fridge until the whipped cream stiffens. In the end, put unsalted butter and chocolate pieces in a bain-marie, wait until they begin to melt, and, using a balloon whisk, whisk into a chocolate cream. Leave the cream aside to cool. While the chocolate cream is still lukewarm, pour it over whipped cream and quickly spread it evenly over the whipped cream. Put the pastry in the fridge to cool completely.