Heritage is important. It helps define who we are and gives us a backbone as we venture into the world. I love hearing about, experiencing and embracing other’s cultures, especially their foods. With this waffle cake, I hope to give you a glimpse of my own heritage.
As a second-generation Ukrainian, my diet has basically consisted of meat, potatoes, beets, pickled anything, more meat and more potatoes. When I expose my friends to my Russian-Ukrainian diet, it’s either a hit or a miss depending on their own preferences. It’s a true struggle. However, one particular Ukrainian waffle cake is raved about on a constant basis. This recipe has been handed down for many generations in my family. It’s not only a crowd pleaser, but also a super simple recipe.
The soft gooey-ness of the dulce de leche makes this waffle cake a caramel-lover’s delight, so try it out.
Russian Waffle Cake
Ingredients
Instructions
To begin, you will need two cans of sweetened condensed milk. Place both unopened cans of condensed milk in a pot. Add water over the condensed milk cans until both are immersed in the water.
Next, place the pot on the stove. Put the heat on high until the water is boiling. Turn the heat down to low-medium heat to sustain simmering. Allow it to simmer for 2 hours.
Once 2 hours have elapsed, strain the water from the pot and allow the condensed milk cans to cool down.
Once sufficiently cooled, very carefully open the cans and pour the condensed milk into a large mixing bowl.
Add butter to the hot condensed milk mixture. Mix well until all the butter is melted.
#SpoonTip: Cut up the butter into small pieces to speed up the melting of the butter.
Take a Ziploc sandwich bag (or any equivalent) and pour the chopped walnuts into the bag. Use any blunt object to smash the chopped walnuts until it has a slightly chunky consistency.
Pour the walnuts into the condensed milk mixture.
Assemble the cake. You will need the wafers and the condensed milk mixture. Place a wafer on a large plate and add a portion of condensed milk mixture. You will only need enough of the condensed milk mixture to cover the wafer. Once the bottom wafer is sufficiently covered in condensed milk, add a dry wafer on top. Add another portion of condensed milk on the new wafer. Repeat until condensed milk mixture is all used up. Add the last wafer on top of the cake.
You can enjoy these either warm or cold. This cake tastes great either way. You can try this for breakfast with a hot cup of tea or as a warm, gooey dessert.