Parsla
I came across a dessert called Parsla on Facebook group for Latvian food. It looked tasty, and several people in the group asked for the recipe. The person who made it posted a recipe of sorts--it was just a list of ingredients.
Darwin happened to be looking over my shoulder and said, "That looks fantastic!" So I decided to make it. I studied the ingredient list and realized it was really a basic cake with an enriched cream topping. It also seemed to be a refrigerator cake. All right then!
I combined eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla, spread it in a square pan, and slid it into the oven. While it was baking, I whipped together cream, ricotta cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it was cloud fluffy.
I had to estimate the baking temperature and time. Most baked goods require 350 d., and a cake of this size and density would probably be 35 minutes. I watched it carefully, and at 35 minutes, checked for doneness with a toothpick. Yep--done! I let it cool a bit, then slipped it out of the pan and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
After the cake was completely cool, I put it back into the pan and spread the topping over it, then sifted cocoa powder on top and summoned Darwin to the kitchen for taste-testing.
It was wonderful! Like most Latvian desserts, it goes for heartiness over sweetness, and does it very well. The cake was both tender and chewy (in a good way), and the curd topping was a sweet wonder, while the cocoa powder gave it just a bit of a bite.
One nice thing about this recipe is that it makes a small cake--a fine thing for those of us who live in small households where sweets need to be limited and a full-size cake would ultimately go to waste.
Here's my recipe, if you want to try it yourself:
PARSLA
INGREDIENTS
For cake:
1 cup wheat flour
3 large eggs
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
a pinch of salt
For curd cream:
1 cup cottage cheese, farmer cheese, or ricotta cheese (I prefer ricotta)
1/2 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar, to taste
1 cup cream
1 t vanilla
a pinch of salt
cocoa powder
Grease 9x9 cake pan and preheat oven to 350 d. Mix cake ingredients together until just combined. Spread batter in cake pan. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clear, about 30-40 minutes. Do not allow the top to brown. Let cool in refrigerator for at least an hour.
Cream together curd cream ingredients with a whisk attachment on high speed until fluffy. Spread on top of cold cake. Dust with cocoa powder. Keep refrigerated.
9 servings.
comments
Darwin happened to be looking over my shoulder and said, "That looks fantastic!" So I decided to make it. I studied the ingredient list and realized it was really a basic cake with an enriched cream topping. It also seemed to be a refrigerator cake. All right then!
I combined eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla, spread it in a square pan, and slid it into the oven. While it was baking, I whipped together cream, ricotta cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it was cloud fluffy.
I had to estimate the baking temperature and time. Most baked goods require 350 d., and a cake of this size and density would probably be 35 minutes. I watched it carefully, and at 35 minutes, checked for doneness with a toothpick. Yep--done! I let it cool a bit, then slipped it out of the pan and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
After the cake was completely cool, I put it back into the pan and spread the topping over it, then sifted cocoa powder on top and summoned Darwin to the kitchen for taste-testing.
It was wonderful! Like most Latvian desserts, it goes for heartiness over sweetness, and does it very well. The cake was both tender and chewy (in a good way), and the curd topping was a sweet wonder, while the cocoa powder gave it just a bit of a bite.
One nice thing about this recipe is that it makes a small cake--a fine thing for those of us who live in small households where sweets need to be limited and a full-size cake would ultimately go to waste.
Here's my recipe, if you want to try it yourself:
PARSLA
INGREDIENTS
For cake:
1 cup wheat flour
3 large eggs
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
a pinch of salt
For curd cream:
1 cup cottage cheese, farmer cheese, or ricotta cheese (I prefer ricotta)
1/2 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar, to taste
1 cup cream
1 t vanilla
a pinch of salt
cocoa powder
Grease 9x9 cake pan and preheat oven to 350 d. Mix cake ingredients together until just combined. Spread batter in cake pan. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clear, about 30-40 minutes. Do not allow the top to brown. Let cool in refrigerator for at least an hour.
Cream together curd cream ingredients with a whisk attachment on high speed until fluffy. Spread on top of cold cake. Dust with cocoa powder. Keep refrigerated.
9 servings.
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