Guriev Kasha (Gur'evskaya Kasha), Special for you
Guriev Kasha. This classic Russian dessert is as full of calories as it is of panache. It was named after Count Dimitri Guriev, Tsar Alexander II’s Minister of Finance, well known for his high-living ways. Guriev Kasha may be served warm from the oven or chilled.
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ pints (1.6 litres) single cream*
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5 oz (150 g) semolina
- 12 oz (340 g) brandied fruit, drained and coarsely chopped
- Pinch of salt
- 6 oz (170 g) sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla essence
- ½ lb (225 g) walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Spun sugar
- ½ lb (225 g) cube sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 tablespoons water
* traditionally, the layers of guriev kasha are separated by skins formed from cooked milk. To make these milk skins, use half single cream and half milk in the amount called for above.
Pour the mixture into a large, shallow pan and bake at 200°c/400°f/gas 6 until a skin forms on top. Carefully transfer the skin to a buttered plate. Make five or six skins in this manner.
Measure the remaining milk, adding more single cream if necessary to bring it to 2 ¾ pints (1.6 litres).
When guriev kasha is made with milk skins, it’s usually prepared in one large dish. The skins are layered with the kasha, fruit and nuts.
Details
Serves: 4
Method
Step 1
Bring the cream to the boil in a deep saucepan, and then slowly pour in the semolina, stirring constantly. Add the pinch of salt.
Cook over medium heat, uncovered, until thick. Then stir in 2 oz (60 g) sugar and the vanilla essence. Keep warm. While the semolina is cooking, caramelise the nuts.
Put 4 oz (120 g) sugar and the lemon juice in a large frying pan. Carefully heat until the sugar begins to melt, stirring constantly.
Continue to cook until the sugar turns golden brown and syrupy; do not let it burn. Immediately stir in the chopped walnuts and coat them well. Keep warm.
Step 2
Grease four 8 oz (225 g) glass serving bowls. In the bottom of each bowl place a layer of the cooked semolina, then top it with a layer of caramelised nuts.
Top the nuts with some drained brandied fruit, and then repeat the layering. The top layer should be semolina.
Decorate the tops of the desserts with extra nuts and fruits. Sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon sugar and brown under the grill. For a more flamboyant touch, top the Guriev Kasha with spun sugar.
Step 3
Spun sugar:- Take a dowel or broomstick 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter and support it between two chairs, or between the kitchen counter and a chair.
It should be at about waist height. Grease the dowel liberally with vegetable oil. place the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small, deep saucepan.
Bring to the boil, stirring. When the crystals have dissolved, wash down the sides of the saucepan with a small brush dipped in water, until no sugar crystals remain.
Step 4
Boil the syrup rapidly until it reaches 156°C/312°F on a sugar thermometer. (You must watch carefully, as this happens rather quickly.) Just at this point remove the syrup from the heat and, working as quickly as possible, take a wire whisk and dip it into the sugar.
Throw the thick sugar syrup across the dowel, letting it drip down and turn into strands of spun sugar. Continue throwing the hot sugar on to the dowel until it is all used up, heating the sugar gently if necessary.
Step 5
Gather the spun sugar from the dowel and gently shape it into a mound (or several) of caramel-coloured strands.
The sugar does not keep well, especially in damp weather, so it is best to prepare it no more than a few hours before serving time.
Note
For ease in cleaning up, it is best to spread newspaper on the floor underneath the dowel to catch any sugar syrup that drips on to it.
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