Buckwheat honey cake with buckwheat chocolate and cultured cream
A Ukrainian buckwheat honey cake is layered with a cream made from cultured cream and soured cream and is served with a fermented buckwheat tea espuma sauce and buckwheat chocolate.
- 310g of cocoa butter
- 15g of tabucha (fermented buckwheat tea), (Eugene uses Tabúcha)
- 210g of blanched almonds
- 90g of cashew nuts
- 60g of toasted buckwheat
- 40g of inulin powder
- 300g of panela
- 60g of coconut milk powder
- 1g of vanilla powder
- 1g of pink Himalayan salt
- 1g of lecithin
- 1l double cream, ideally cultured
- 50g of caster sugar
- 25g of tabucha (fermented buckwheat tea)
- 12g of SOSA Pro Espuma Hot stabiliser
- 325g of whole egg, (approx. 5 large eggs), beaten
- 100g of caster sugar
- 10g of bicarbonate of soda
- 4g of gluten-free baking powder
- 115g of buckwheat honey
- 125g of unsalted butter, diced
- 500g of gluten-free plain flour
- 200g of double cream, ideally cultured
- 60g of icing sugar
- 1/2 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
- 12g of SOSA Pro Espuma Hot stabiliser
- 550g of soured cream
- cornflowers
- Start the buckwheat chocolate at least 2 days before you want to serve the dish. Place the cocoa butter in a pan and melt it gently, keeping the temperature below 45°C
- Meanwhile, place the tabucha, almonds, cashews and toasted buckwheat into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Transfer to a large bowl with the remaining dry ingredients
- Gradually incorporate the melted cocoa butter into the dry ingredients with a spatula, then transfer the mixture to a chocolate grinder machine. Allow the machine to process the chocolate for 48 hours – it will develop a smooth texture and rounded flavour
- Strain the chocolate through a fine mesh sieve and weigh out 200g – this will make more than you need; store the rest in an airtight container for up to 1 month
- For the buckwheat tea sauce, place the cream, sugar and tabucha in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow it to infuse for 1 hour
- For the honey cake, place the eggs and caster sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until pale and aerated and the mixture has formed a light stable foam (you can use an electric hand-whisk and a heatproof bowl if you prefer)
- Place the bowl over a gentle bain-marie and whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Whisk in the buckwheat honey until fully dissolved
- Gradually add the butter, and continue whisking until fully emulsified and smooth
- Fold in half of the flour by hand and allow the mixture to rest briefly. Remove from the heat and fold in the remaining flour – it should be a soft, pliable dough. Cool quickly, then chill thoroughly until firm
- Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, then whisk in the stabiliser. Transfer to a siphon and charge once. Place in a warm water bath to maintain a light, airy texture
- For the cream, in a large bowl and using a balloon whisk, whip the double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds to soft peaks, then carefully whisk in with the stabiliser
- Gently fold in the soured cream using a spatula, maintaining as much air as possible. The final texture should be light, slightly tangy and spreadable. Rest in the fridge briefly to firm up before use
- Once the cake is chilled, preheat the oven to 180°C. Portion the dough into 90g pieces and roll each portion between 2 non-stick baking mats into thin, even sheets about 3mm thick, working in batches if needed
- Bake in the oven for 4-5 minutes (again, working in batches if needed), until lightly caramelised and cooked through, then wrap in cling film and cool completely
- To assemble the cake, layer the baked honey cake sheets in a deep tray (around 32.5cm x 26.5cm) with the cream, building a structured cake of 4 layers of cake
- Evenly cover the top of the cake with the 200g of buckwheat chocolate, smoothing the surface with an offset spatula. Once cool, place the cake in the fridge to rest so the layers soften and absorb the cream and the chocolate sets
- When ready to serve, cut the cake into 12 small pieces using a warm ring cutter or knife
- To plate, place a piece in the centre of a serving bowl (you can warm the cake very lightly with a blow torch so the chocolate gets a glossy finish). Finish with the warm buckwheat tea espuma around the edge of the cake to add lightness and aroma to the plate. Garnish with cornflowers and serve
Place the cocoa butter in a pan and melt it gently, keeping the temperature below 45°C Meanwhile, place the tabucha, almonds, cashews and toasted buckwheat into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Transfer to a large bowl with the remaining dry components Gradually incorporate the melted cocoa butter into the dry components with a spatula, then transfer the mixture to a chocolate grinder machine.
Whisk in the buckwheat honey until fully dissolved Gradually add the butter, and continue whisking until fully emulsified and smooth Fold in half of the flour by hand and allow the mixture to rest briefly. Remove from the heat and fold in the remaining flour – it should be a soft, pliable dough.
Cool quickly, then chill thoroughly until business Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, then whisk in the stabiliser. Place in a warm water bath to maintain a light, airy texture For the cream, in a large bowl and using a balloon whisk, whip the double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds to soft peaks, then carefully whisk in with the stabiliser Gently fold in the soured cream using a spatula, maintaining as much air as possible.
The final texture should be light, slightly tangy and spreadable. Rest in the fridge briefly to firm up before use Once the cake is chilled, preheat the oven to 180°C. Once cool, place the cake in the fridge to rest so the layers soften and absorb the cream and the chocolate sets When ready to serve, cut the cake into 12 small pieces using a warm ring cutter or knife To plate, place a piece in the centre of a serving bowl (you can warm the cake very lightly with a blow torch so the chocolate gets a glossy finish).
Finish with the warm buckwheat tea espuma around the edge of the cake to add lightness and aroma to the plate.
