avg —
Ant Hill Cake Classic Soviet Recipe
Instructions
I start by baking a shortcrust base. The site has other ways to make shortcrust pastry as well – you can choose any of them. I get the listed ingredients ready and begin.
Add the vanillin and baking powder to the flour and sift it thoroughly through a sieve. Sifting matters: it aerates the flour and distributes the baking powder and vanillin evenly. Without it the ingredients settle into little lumps in the dough.
Melt the butter in the microwave or in a water bath and pour it into a separate bowl. Add the sugar, sour cream and a pinch of salt. Salt in a sweet dough is my little secret: it enhances the sweetness and gives the dessert more depth.
Mix everything with a whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved – the crystals should disappear. If the sugar does not dissolve fully, it will be gritty in the baked base.
Add the butter-and-sour-cream mixture in portions to the bowl of dry ingredients (flour + baking powder + vanillin) and knead the dough. Adding it gradually avoids lumps and gives an even texture. The dough comes out soft and a little sticky.
Divide the dough into two roughly equal pieces, put them into separate bags and place them in the freezer for 15–20 minutes. Chilling is an important step: the dough firms up so it can be grated without smearing.
Grate the chilled dough on a coarse grater. If the dough is still soft, return it to the freezer for another 10 minutes. The grated dough should hold its "shavings" shape without sticking into a lump.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the grated dough in an even layer. Make the layer about 1.5–2 cm thick so the crumb bakes evenly and does not burn at the edges.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C and bake the base for 20–25 minutes. A temperature of 180 °C is ideal: the crumb browns but does not dry out into hard rusks. Watch the colour – as soon as the crumb turns golden, take it out.
Bake the base until golden and leave it to cool slightly. Hot crumb must not be combined with the cream – the butter would melt and the cream would run. There is no need to wait for it to cool completely either: warm crumb soaks up the cream better.
Break the slightly cooled shortcrust into random pieces – I break it by hand into pieces of different sizes. The uneven crumb gives the characteristic "ant hill" look: differently sized pieces create the effect of a mound with a bumpy surface.
For the cream, take soft butter and boiled condensed milk. The condensed milk needs to be boiled for 2.5–3 hours in a pot of water (the tin fully covered with water), or you can buy it ready-boiled in the shop. The butter must be soft – cold butter will not whip and overheated butter will melt.
Beat the soft butter with a blender for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the boiled condensed milk and beat for another 3 minutes until smooth. The cream should be thick and smooth, with no lumps – about the consistency of thick sour cream.
Add the finished cream to the shortcrust crumb. If you like, you can add about 100 g of walnuts – this makes it even more interesting in flavour and crunch. Lightly toast the nuts beforehand to make them more aromatic.
Mix the whole thing thoroughly so the cream coats every piece of shortcrust evenly. The final taste depends on this: "dry" spots will be bland, while too much cream will make the cake cloying.
Shape the Ant Hill Cake into a mound on a flat dish. Press the crumb firmly with your hands, forming a cone or hillock – like a real ant hill. The firmer it is, the more neatly it will slice later.
Poppy seeds or the chocolate sprinkles used for Easter cakes work perfectly as the "ants" for decoration. Sprinkle them generously all over the top – these are the "ants" running over the ant hill. The classic Soviet version.
Put the finished cake in the fridge for 3 hours – to set and soak through. During this time the cream stabilises, the crumb absorbs the condensed milk, and the "ant hill" becomes one whole.
After 3 hours, cut the cake into pieces with a sharp wide knife. I serve it to my family and friends – an excellent dessert with tea in a cosy home setting.
Tips
- 1
Before grating, you MUST chill the dough in the freezer for 15–20 minutes – otherwise it will smear over the grater and will not form the characteristic crumb.
- 2
Boil the condensed milk yourself for 2.5–3 hours: homemade boiled condensed milk is noticeably more aromatic and thicker than shop-bought. Cover the tin completely with water and top it up as it boils away.
- 3
For variety you can add 100 g of chopped walnuts or roasted almonds to the cream – they give a distinctive "nutty" note. I use a similar trick in other Soviet cakes.
- 4
Before serving, let the cake stand in a warm room for 20–30 minutes after the fridge – the cream softens slightly and the flavour opens up more fully. An ice-cold cake dulls all the nuances.
Video
FAQ
What can I use instead of boiled condensed milk in the cream? +
You can make boiled condensed milk yourself – simmer a tin of ordinary condensed milk for 2.5–3 hours. Without boiled condensed milk the options are limited: plain white condensed milk gives a lighter cream with a delicate taste, but without the characteristic "caramel" note. Caramelised sugar with milk is trickier but works. Ready-made caramel from the shop (kaymak, dulce de leche) is also suitable. The principle is the same: you need a thick, sweet base with a "caramel" flavour for the traditional result.
Can you make "Ant Hill" without baking? +
Yes, a popular simplified version is "Ant Hill" from ready-made biscuits: take shortbread biscuits (500 g), break them into pieces and mix with the cream of boiled condensed milk and butter. This "lazy" version is a quick alternative to the classic when there is no time to bake. The taste is close, though a little less aromatic. You can also use chocolate biscuits for a "chocolate ant hill".
How long does Ant Hill Cake keep? +
The cake keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge, covered with film or in an airtight container. It only gets tastier with each day – the crumb soaks up the cream better and better. It is not worth keeping longer than 4 days – the butter in the cream may turn rancid. I do not recommend freezing it – on defrosting the cream separates and the crumb becomes wet and loses its texture.
Why might the cake "fall apart" when slicing? +
There are three reasons: (1) the cake was not given time to soak – 3 hours is essential; (2) there is too little cream – increase it by 20% and mix more thoroughly; (3) the crumb is too dry (an over-baked base) – next time bake it to a light golden colour rather than brown. A properly made "Ant Hill" slices into even pieces with a sharp knife and holds its shape thanks to the firm crumb and the buttercream that acts as glue.
- Comment
or post as a guest
Be the first to comment.
