Medena pita / Honey Cake

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Nevjerojatno je koliko nas mirisi i okusi mogu vratiti u prošlost i podsjetiti nas na atmosferu i toplinu obiteljskog doma. Medena pita je nekad bila jedan od nezaobilaznih kolača na svakom obiteljskom blagdanskom meniju i za mene ima posebno značenje. Ja sam zapravo još uvijek jedno veliko dijete, a nadam se da ću takva ostati čitav život i upravo zbog toga se s vremena na vrijeme volim prisjetiti dobrih starih kolača te okusa i trenutaka koje pamtim iz djetinjstva. Ovo je jedan od tih recepata sa požutjelih stranica mamine tekice...

Medena pita

Kore
3 žlice mlijeka
2 žlice meda
3 žlice ulja
150 g šećera
400 g brašna
žlica soda bikarbone
1 jaje
malo ruma (za poškropiti gotove kore)

Mlijeko, ulje, med i šećer stavite u posudu i zagrijavajte na laganoj vatri uz stalno miješanje dok se šećer ne otopi, a zatim maknite s vatre. U vruću smjesu dodajte brašno pomiješano sa sodom i razmućeno jaje pa rukama zamijesite glatko tijesto. Pokrijte ga čistom krpom i ostavite 10-15 min da se malo opusti. Tijesto podijelite na 4 jednaka dijela i razvaljajte ih u tanke kore. Sa tijestom se jako lijepo da raditi, ne puca i ne lomi se. Moje kore su bile veličine velikog pleha od pećnice, dakle dosta tanke i velike. Svaku koru posebno pecite na preokrenutom plehu obloženom papirom za pečenje. Pecite ih na 180 stupnjeva oko 5 min i pazite da ih ne prepečete. One trebaju dobiti samo laganu kremastu boju. Prije nadijevanja kremom kore sasvim ohladite.



Krema
500 ml mlijeka
6 žlica grisa (pšenične krupice)
150 g šećera
1 vanilin šećer
200 g maslaca
3 žlice čokolade u prahu

Mlijeko, šećer i vanilin šećer zakuhajte pa u njega uspite gris. Kuhajte na laganoj vatri uz stalno miješanje dok se ne zgusne, a zatim maknite s vatre i ohladite. U ohlađenu kremu umiješajte pjenasto umućeni maslac pa ju dobro izradite električnim mikserom. Od dobivene kreme odvojite 1/3 od ukupne količine pa u nju umiješajte čokoladu u prahu.


Prvu koru poškropite sa malo ruma pa na nju namažite polovicu bijele kreme, poklopite drugom korom pa ju lagano dlanovima pritisnite da se slijepi sa kremom. Drugu koru također poškropite rumom pa na nju ravnomjerno namažite čitavu tamnu kremu i poklopite trećom korom koju također poškropite rumom. Na tu koru namažite ostatak bijele kreme i poklopite ju sa poslijednjom korom te i nju poškropite rumom. Pitu pokrijete najlonom, najbolje prozirnom plastičnom folijom i stavite u hladnjak preko noći da kore omekšaju. Idući dan pitu ćete moći rezati lagano kao maslac. Prije posluživanja pitu pospite šećerom u prahu.

Napomena: U originalnom receptu u kremu ide 250 g šećera i 250 g maslaca, ali ja sam te količine smanjila i krema je sasvim dovoljno slatka.

Honey Cake

Cake Layers
3 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. oil
150 g sugar
400 g all purpose flour
1 tbsp. bicarbonate of soda
1 egg, lightly beaten

some rum (for assembling)

Mix together flour and bicarbonate of soda and set aside. In a saucepan heat milk, oil, honey and sugar on medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring continuously. Remove from heat, add flour and an egg. Mix with a wooden spoon until it starts coming together and then knead with your hands into a soft dough. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen cloth and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Take one piece of the dough and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper into a rectangle 2 mm thick. Transfer the flattened dough together with parchment paper on a baking tray and bake for 5 minutes or until just barely golden but not brown. Make sure you don't ovebake it because it tends to burn easily since it is very thin. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Once it cools, handle the cake layer with care since it is fragile and tends to break easily. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough. Cool the layers completely before assembling the cake.

Cream Filling
500 ml milk
6 tbsp. semolina
150g sugar
1 bag of vanilla flavored sugar (10g)
200g butter, room temperature
3 tbsp. powdered chocolate

In a medium saucepan heat milk, sugar and vanilla flavored sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in semolina and cook until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Meanwhile, beat the butter until light and creamy and add it to the semolina filling. Beat the filling with a hand mixer until well blended. Separate 1/3 of the filling and stir powdered chocolate into it.

Assembly
Sprinkle one cake layer with some rum, spread half of the white filling over it and cover with another layer. Press gently with your hands so it sticks to the filling. Again sprinkle the cake with rum and now spread the dark filling over it. Cover with the third layer, press gently and sprinkle with rum. Spread the remaining white filling over it, cover with the last layer and sprinkle with some rum. Don't worry if your layers aren't perfectly shaped. Cover tight with a plastic wrap and leave in the fridge overnight. You will probably notice that the cake layers are quite hard when you're assembling the cake, but don't worry. They will soften up considerably overnight under plastic wrap and the cake will literally melt in your mouth. You can cut away the non-perfect parts the next day and shape or cut the cake as you like. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar before serving.