Super easy, low-calorie and very delicious, Russian monastery cake is cooked in just an hour. A magic wand for those awaiting the arrival of guests!
Over the centuries monasteries have had a great social impact in Russia — not only as regards spiritual matters but also more prosaic ones.
For instance, monks usually cooked for themselves. Their ascetic lifestyle with numerous self-restrictions forced them to be creative.
Sometimes this produced real gems like this simple yet appetizing cake. You can cook it in just an hour. And yes, it's vegan. What more could you ask for if you’re into healthy lifestyle?
So let's begin. You will need:
- 160 grams (1.3 cups) flour
- 1 glass (250ml, 8.5 fl.oz.) hot strong black tea
- 3 tablespoons thick jam (to your taste, we used blueberry jam)
- 200 grams (1 cup) brown sugar (white sugar is an option as well; you can also replace part of the sugar with honey)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) dried cranberries (you can use other berries, as well as nuts and dried fruits to your taste)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Brew black tea, mix one glass of it with jam, stir thoroughly
- Mix flour with sugar, cinnamon and baking powder
- Pour in the tea-and-jam mix, mix the dough
- Add vegetable oil and berries, stir
- Preheat the oven to 180C (356F). Bake for 25-30 minutes
Enjoy!
Russian Oven is a video series devoted to Russian pastries, featuring traditional age-old pies and cakes, inventive cookies and tarts of recent years, plus Soviet classics and much more. Stay tuned!
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