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romanian greta garbo cake recipe squares on a vintage plate
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4.50 from 2 votes

Greta Garbo Cake (Yeast Cake with Jam)

How to make the Greta Garbo cake – a vintage cake recipe made with layers of yeast dough, jam, and ground walnuts.
Prep Time1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Sweets
Cuisine: Romanian
Servings: 20
Calories: 477kcal
Author: Adina

Ingredients

  • Yeast dough:
  • 30 g/ 1 oz fresh yeast or 1 sachet instant yeast
  • 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ ½ cup sugar
  • 200 g/ 7 oz/ ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter very soft
  • 2 eggs medium Germany, large US
  • 200 g/ 7 oz/ 1 ⅔ cup smetana or crème fraiche
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • zest of 1 organic lemon
  • 550 g/ 1.2 lb/ 4 ⅔ cups flour
  • Filling:
  • 450 g/ 1 lb jam of your choice
  • 250 g/ 8.8 oz/ 2 cups ground walnuts
  • 150 g/ 5.3 oz/ ¾ cup sugar
  • Ganache:
  • 80 ml/ 2.7 fl.oz/ ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 170 g/ 6 oz white chocolate

Instructions

Yeast dough:

  • Place the fresh yeast and the sugar in the kitchen machine. Stir well and leave to stand for about 5 minutes or until the yeast is liquid.
  • Add the soft butter and stir well. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition. Add the smetana, salt, and lemon zest and mix well.
  • Add almost all the flour, setting about 2 tablespoons aside. Knead shortly, until the mixture is smooth but don't overdo it, this dough is not supposed to be kneaded too long.
  • Sprinkle the working surface with a little bit of the flour you set aside and turn the dough onto it. Knead shortly and form a ball of dough. If the dough sticks too much to your hands add another tablespoon or so of flour, but not too much. It depends on the size of the eggs if you have to add more flour or not.
  • Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 15-20 minutes.
  • If using instant yeast, mix it with the flour and combine all ingredients for the dough. Proceed with the recipe as instructed above.

Assemble:

  • Sprinkle the working surface with some more of the flour. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Take one part and shape it into a rectangle with your hands. Roll it to fit into your rectangular baking dish of approximately 23x33 cm/ 9x13 inches. Place it in the dish (you don't have to butter the dish).
  • Spread ⅓ of the jam on top of the first dough layer. Sprinkle it evenly with ⅓ of the ground walnuts and ⅓ of the sugar.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough balls, jam, and sugar, closing with a last layer of dough.
  • Cover the dish with a kitchen cloth and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Bake:

  • In the meantime preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Place the cake in the oven and bake for about 1 hour or until cooked through.
  • Turn the heat down to 180 degrees Celsius/ 360 degrees Fahrenheit after the first 10 minutes.
  • Check the cake after 30 minutes or so and cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil if the top is too deeply colored already.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the baking dish. When cool prepare the ganache.

Ganache:

  • Chop the white chocolate very finely or process it to fine crumbs in the food processor. It is important that the chocolate is finely chopped, this way it will melt quicker and better when mixed with the hot heavy cream. Place it in a small bowl.
  • Heat the heavy cream in a small pan until it comes to a boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir well with a spoon until the mixture is smooth. Pour and spread over the cake. Let set well.
  • Cut the cake into small rectangles and serve.






Nutrition

Serving: 1square | Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 95mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g