Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is located in 9 out of 11 possible climatic zones at the crossroads between Southwest Asia and Southeast Europe on the west coast of the Caspian Sea – the largest salt lake on the planet. It is on the lake that the state owes its steep rise and more precisely the presence of oil in it. Azerbaijan in translation means the Earth of Eternal Fire. Ever since ancient times the surface of the land has burned gas that burned. This was considered a divine sign, and people from all over the world came to worship. Today, you can see a Zoroastrian temple, built around such a deposit – Attesgach, 30 km from Baku. This Caucasian country astonishes travelers with unique landscapes, natural contrasts and legacy from ancient times, with hospitality so typical of the Orient. This is where the Silk Road passes, here are the world’s largest mud volcanoes (350 of all 800 in the world). The Rock Reserves, like British Stonehenge, palaces and caravansers, carpet and folk traditions, and last but not least, delicious food complement the image of this Asian country with a population of just over 9 million people.

The kitchen is very similar to the Turkish one, as well as that of neighboring Armenia and Georgia. All kinds of meat (no pork), a rich variety of fruits, vegetables and spices (mostly saffron) are served. The most famous dessert is the Pahlava (baklava). After finishing the meal, the lakes always serve tea. Add to it sweets or dried fruit. Drinking this drink is an important part of the local tradition that is common to the East. When he does not know yet, he has not contacted a person, the azer says, “I did not drink a cup of tea with him.” From 1920 to 1991, Azerbaijan is part of the USSR. The cake I chose to make seems to have been influenced precisely by this period in the history of the country, because Russian influence is felt in it. It’s called “Apsheron”. I guess the name is a reference to a peninsula on the west coast of the Caspian Sea, and maybe I’m mistaken. These are just my speculations. 🙂

For the cake:

6 proteins

6 yolks

150 grams of sugar

1/3 teaspoon soda bicarbonate

1 tablespoon of vinegar

vanilla

200 grams of flour

200 grams of walnuts, coarsely chopped or cut with a knife

For cream:

150 ml of milk

20 grams of flour

300 grams of softened butter

400 grams of sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons of Baileys

For decoration:

ground walnuts / chocolate

Steps of preparation:

Extinguish the soda in the vinegar. We break down the proteins until they become stiff or when they stop running out of the mixer stirrers. Without interrupting stirring, we add sugar, egg yolks (one by one), vinegar and soda and vanilla solutions. Stir to homogeneity the mixture. Flour and walnuts are mixed and added 2-3 times to the dough. Mixing here is done with a wooden spoon or spatula without being too vigorous to get all the air out of the mix. We divide the resulting dough into 2 parts. Each of them is baked in a 26 cm diameter pan which is covered with baking paper and the walls are greased with oil or butter. Bake in a preheated 190 ° C (170 ° C fan) oven for about 10-15 minutes. The battered blazes remain bright in color. Let them cool completely.

In a saucepan mix the milk and the flour for the cream. We turn on low heat, stirring continuously until we get a thick cream. Cover it with a foil for fresh storage to avoid cracking.

While this part of the cream keeps crushing the butter with a mixer until a fluffy cream, then add the sweetened condensed milk and the „Baileys“ liqueur. Finally, mix the two parts of the cream.

Horizontally cut into 2 parts each of the baked, cooled ponds. Using a ring, we begin to rotate blade and cream until it is exhausted, but leave a little of the cream on a cake board. For decoration I used a mixture of walnuts and a few pumpkin seeds (as for color). Leave the cake in the refrigerator for several hours, and best for one night. The next day, we remove the ring and smear the walls of the cake with the rest of the cream. I added from the mixture of walnuts and pears, but you can have imagination and decorate whatever you like, like chocolate. I wanted to dominate the walnut taste and bet on a simple decoration.

This is it. According to the people who have tried it, this cake is one of my best hits. If you can not trust their impressions, try doing it at home. I am convinced that the effort is worth it.

Azerbaijan has fallen into my list for future trips as I was looking at the first Formula One start in the streets of Baku in 2016. I was impressed by the futuristic view of the city and the striking development of this country in recent years. Now I add a culinary motif to visit there. And I will definitely try at some local patisserie “Apsheron” to know for myself whether I have managed to present the traditional taste.

Next destination – Akrotiri and Dhekelia.