This is the cake that brings back memories from the mid eighties, my student days in Belgrade. At the time, this was one of the most prized and “must have” cakes on the menus of all city pastry shops, cafes and restaurants. Besides Saddle of Venison Cake, there were also many other traditional sweets from vastly diverse Serbian cuisine such as krempita (cream pie), sampita (merinque slices), tulumba, baklava, chestnut puree and minjoni to name a few. These were known as basic sweets in any shop cake selection. On the other side, The Saddle of Venison Cake or “Srneca Ledja” belonged to if I may say, to a higher category filled with variety of tortes and pastry rolls.
The origin of the cake is Austrian/German and its traditional name is Rehrücken. The name of the cake comes from the mold it is baked in. It is a long, half cylinder shaped mold that resembles the roast saddle of venison. It is a flour-less chocolate almond cake with chocolate glazing. The sponge is made with cake crumbs and almonds. Old school confectioners ingenuity at work, using cake leftovers to create a new distinguished flavor.
In home baking, having a left over cake trimmings is hardly a common habit and therefore easy substitutes are a muffin or unfrosted vanilla or chocolate cupcakes. These are easily turned into the crumbs using a food processor. I had a chocolate cupcake left over from the batch that my daughter made few days earlier.
As opposed to some of very elaborate and time consuming (but worthwhile) cakes I made and posted on this blog, Rehrücken fits into easy, quick and simple cakes. Preparation time is only about 30-40 minutes and takes about 35 minutes to bake. After the cake is unmolded and completely cooled off needs to be glazed with Red Currant and Chocolate.
Traditionally, Saddle of Venison Cake is decorated with slivered blanched almonds but I omitted this step as I did not see that necessary and the look without them is more in tune with the cake from my student days.
My take on the cake: Rehrücken is a tender, chocolate-y, slightly spiced cake but a bit on the dry side. I suggest you serve the cake with a good dollop of freshly whipped sweetened cream. That is a complement that gives the cake the right combination of texture and moistness. The Saddle of Venison Cake version made in Belgrade pastry shops is often made with buttercream filling. The cake is cut in half by length and then filled. It is a different approach but set on the same goal to enhance the taste.
The recipe I made is adapted from ” Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest and Prague“.
| Prep Time | 30-40 minutes |
| Cook Time | 35 minutes |
| Servings |
pieces
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- 90 g bittersweet chocolate 3 oz equivalent
- 60 g cake crumbs 2 oz or 2/3 cup equivalent
- 60 g natural almonds 2 oz or 1/2 cup equivalent
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 lemon zest
- 4 eggs large, at room temperature, separated yolks and whites
- 114 g granulated sugar divided; 1/2 cup equivalent
- 28 g unsalted butter melted; 2 tbsp equivalent
- 83 ml red currant preserves 1/3 cup equivalent
- 1 3/4 tsp golden Rum
- 225 g granulated sugar
- 125 ml water 1/2 cup equivalent
- 116 g bittersweet chocolate 4 oz equivalent
- 250 ml heavy cream 1 cup equivalent
- 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
Red Currant Glaze
Chocolate Glaze
Sweetened Whipped Cream
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- Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 177°C (350°F).
- Butter a 300 mm (12" ) Rehrücken mold, dust with flour and tap out the excess. A bread baking mold can be used as a substitute.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Let it cool slightly.
- Add cut butter pieces to the warm chocolate, let it melt completely and stir it in.
- In a food processor, grind the cake trimmings and almonds until very finely ground. Add the cinnamon and lemon zest. Pulse to combine.
- In a medium bowl at high speed, beat the egg yolks and 57 g (1/4 cup) of sugar. Beat the mixture until thick and pale yellow, approximately 2 minutes.
- Mix in the melted chocolate and butter and then the almond-cake crumb mixture.
- Separately, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in the remaining 57 (1/4 cup) of sugar until the whites are shiny.
- Add approximately 1/4 of the whites to the chocolate batter and stir it in until is lightened up. Fold in the remaining whites and let it fully incorporate.
- Pour the mixture into the baking mold.
- Bake approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the mold on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. The cake will fall slightly and separate from mold's walls.
- Invert the cake onto the cooling rack and let it cool completely. Don't worry if cake cracked open during baking, now it will even itself out.
- Place the wire rack with the cake over the baking pan.
- Add the red currant preserve and rum in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until glaze is very sticky. Strain the glaze through a wire sieve into a small bowl pressing hard on solids using the back of the spoon. Brush the cake with the warm glaze. Cool completely and let the glaze set.
- In another small saucepan, over high heat, bring sugar, water and chocolate to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium and cook stirring constantly until glaze thickens up and reaches 112°C (234°F), approximately 10 minutes. Keep an eye on a temperature and do not let it go over set 112°C (234°F) or it will turn into a candy!
- Remove from the heat, stir to cool and thicken lightly, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the warm chocolate glaze over the cake and using an offset metal spatula make sure the cake is coated completely.
- Refrigerate the cake to firm the glaze. It is best served the following day, chilled and complemented with sweetened whipped cream.
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