Šakotis

Ingredients

• Eggs20
• Butter500 g
• Sugar400 g
• Flour400 g
• Potato starch100 g
• Soured cream200 ml
• Vanilla1 tbsp
• Lemon zest2
• Salt1 pinch

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Separate the whites from the yolks and whip the whites with half the sugar to firm peaks.

   15 min

2. 2

   Beat the softened butter with the remaining sugar until pale, about eight minutes.

   10 min

3. 3

   Add the yolks one at a time, still beating, then work in the soured cream, vanilla and zest.

   12 min

4. 4

   Sift the flour with the starch and salt and fold it in with a spatula in three additions.

   8 min

5. 5

   Fold in the whipped whites gently so the mixture does not collapse; the batter has to stay airy.

   8 min

6. 6

   Heat the oven to 190 °C and pour the first thin layer onto a greased spit or into a tin.

   8 min

7. 7

   Bake each layer three minutes to a golden colour and pour the next, until the batter runs out.

   85 min

About the dish

The batter is poured in a thin stream onto a turning spit, and each layer bakes before the next goes on. The spikes form from dripping batter rather than being shaped by hand.

There are a great many eggs in the batter — up to fifty for a large cake. They are what give the brittle dry structure that lets a šakotis keep for months.

The home version bakes in an oven on a rotisserie or layer by layer in a tin. That is an approximation, and no true branches come of it — worth calling by its name.

Worth knowing

• — Every layer has to set completely. Poured onto a raw one, the next mixes with it and no layers show on the cut.
• — The batter should flow without pouring freely. Too thin it runs to the bottom; too thick it sits in lumps.
• — Šakotis keeps for months in a dry place. In Lithuania it is given at weddings and kept until the anniversary.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

420 kcal

Protein

8 g

Fat

26 g

Carbs

40 g

More from Lithuania

• Cepelinai — Large potato dumplings with a meat filling, named after airships. Served with crackling and soured cream.
• Šaltibarščiai — A cold beetroot soup on kefir, vivid pink, with cucumber, dill and boiled potatoes served alongside.
• Kugelis — A potato bake from raw grated potato with bacon and onion, served with soured cream.