Albinita Cake (Lenten Version)
Automatically translated from Romanian. See the Romanian original
A Lenten cake with thin sheets of tomato paste dough, filled with a creamy coconut milk semolina pudding and a layer of plum butter with walnuts, chilled until perfectly set.
Ingredients
Method
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Vigorously mix the oil and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then add the tomato paste.
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Mix for another 2 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients for the dough.
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Knead until you get a beautiful, elastic dough.
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Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and let it rest on the counter, covered with a towel, for 30-40 minutes.
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Roll out the sheets and bake them at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes, checking to ensure they don't burn.
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Heat the coconut milk with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest.
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When it reaches a boil, add the semolina and whisk vigorously so no lumps form.
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Simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat.
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Once the heat is off, stir the coconut oil and shredded coconut into the cream.
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Remove the baked sheets and lay them out on the counter, ready to be filled.
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Mix the crushed walnuts with the plum butter to prepare the second filling.
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Place one sheet in the tray, then cover with half of the semolina cream, followed by another sheet, the walnut-plum butter mixture, a third sheet, the rest of the semolina, and the final sheet.
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Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
The story behind this recipe
Albinita cake, or the challenge thrown down by my mother, because she knew I was looking for Lenten desserts.
In Bucovina, we really observe the fast, the entire Lenten period, and this is a lovely challenge for me.
Alright! Let's get to the recipe.
Simple ingredients, but a bit meticulous (I dirtied a few bowls and spatulas).
For a large tray (20 generous servings) measuring 30x50, you will need:
Dough:
30 tablespoons sunflower oil
6 tablespoons tomato paste (bulion)
10 tablespoons sugar
1 kg flour
200 ml lukewarm water
1/2 sachet baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Filling:
2 liters canned coconut milk (the best quality you can find)
8 tablespoons sugar
350 g semolina
100 g coconut oil
4 tablespoons shredded coconut
Vanilla
Lemon zest
800 g plum butter (magiun de prune)
1/2 cup crushed walnuts, doesn't have to be crushed very finely
Pinch of salt
First, we make the dough. Mix the oil and sugar vigorously until it dissolves, then add the tomato paste. Mix for another 2 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients.
Knead until your thoughts are sweating. We need to obtain a beautiful, elastic dough.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and leave it on the counter, covered with a towel, for 30-40 minutes.
Roll out the sheets and bake them at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes. I kept checking them to make sure they didn't burn, but were properly baked.
In the meantime, we take care of the semolina cream.
Heat the milk with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest.
When it boils, add the semolina and mix vigorously with a whisk because we don't want lumps.
Let it simmer on low heat for about 2-3 minutes, then turn it off. Keep stirring occasionally.
After you turn off the heat, stir in the coconut oil and shredded coconut.
By now, I know the sheets have finished baking. We take them out and lay them on the table. We prepare them for filling.
Instead of plum jam as in the recipe, I chose plum butter (magiun de prune). I think the one from Râureni is the BEST.
I took the walnuts, crushed them, and mixed them with the plum butter. Basically, I prepared the second filling.
First, put a sheet in the tray, then cover it with half of the semolina cream. As you might have guessed, the next sheet follows, then the plum butter with walnuts, a sheet, the rest of the semolina, and the last sheet 🥴.
Done!!
Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Enjoy! 😘
