Monday 21 February 2022

"Žur vekna" (beli komisbrot) - Vintage "Party Loaf" (White pound cake )

"Žur vekna", još jedan starinski kolač - sjajan način da se potroši višak belanaca.
Jednostavno i brzo se priprema. Belanca mogu da se skupljaju u tegli, čuvaju u frižideru nekoliko dana, pa kada se nakupi dovoljan broj onda ih upotrebiti. Na teglu zalepiti nalepnicu i zapisati koliko ukupno ima belanaca, svaki put kada se neko doda.

Kolač se može peći u plehu kao za kuglof (u obliku prstena), ili u rebrastom duguljastom plehu (kao za "Srneća leđa"), ili u običnoj duguljastoj modli (kao za terin).

Kalup podmazati mašću i posuti brašnom, (obložiti papirom za pečenje ako pleh ima ravne ivice). Iseckati koštunjavo voće (orasi, bademi, lešnici), seckanu crnu čokoladu, kandiranu koru od pomorandže, suvo voće (grožđe, brusnica, kajsije, urme...) - šta se već nađe u špajzu. Izbor i količinu naseckanih sastojaka prilagoditi ukusu, veličini pleha - okvirno, potrebno je 5-7 kašika. U pripremljene komadiće dodati onoliko kašika brašna koliko ima belanaca i sve lepo promešati kašikom.

Umutiti u čvrst šne belanca sa prstohvatom soli. Kada su belanca čvrsto umućena, dodati onoliko punih kašika šećera koliko je bilo belanaca i još malo mutiti mikserom. U šne izručiti pripremljeno seckano voće pomešano sa brašnom, dodati onoliko kašika ulja koliko je bilo belanaca i sve ovlaš (lagano) promešati varjačom. Masu sipati u pripremljen kalup. Kolač treba da bude debljine oko 5-7cm. Peći u prethodno zagrejanoj rerni na 170°C (paziti da sredina ne ostane "živa", ali ne valja ni da se prepeče - bocnuti čačkalicom, ako je čista kada se izvuče, onda je pečeno). Ukoliko se učini da će površina da zagori, a sredina je i dalje nepečena, kolač pokriti papirom za pečenje i nastaviti. Kada je kolač pečen, izručiti ga na tacnu, ostaviti da se potpuno ohladi.

Žur veknu poslužiti uz kakao, toplu čokoladu, čaj, kafu...

Napomena:
- Postupak za pripremu kandirane kore od pomorandže možete videti ovde.
- Potrebno je 6-10 belanaca ako se kolač peče u plehu za kuglof ili u rebrastom duguljastom plehu  dužine oko 40cm (za "srneća leđa"). 

Sastojci: 10 belanaca, 10 kašika šećera, 10 kašika brašna, 10 kašika ulja, 5-7 kašika mešanih komadića (orasi, bademi, lešnici, čokolada, suvo voće - grožđe, kajsija, brusnica, urma, kandirana kora pomorandže...).

Vintage "Party loaf" (White pound cake)

"Party loaf" - another old-fashioned pound cake. Great way to use leftover egg whites from the fridge. This cake is simple, easy, quick and delicious. 

Egg whites can be collected in a glass jar, stored in the fridge for a few days, used when you have enough to make this cake. Put a sticker on the jar and write down how many egg whites there are each time you add some.

The cake can be baked in a bundt pan, or in a rehrucken pan/Scandinavian almond cake pan, or in a loaf pan. 

Grease the pan with some lard, sprinkle all the sides with flour (line with baking paper if the baking pan has straight edges). Chop the nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts), dark chocolate, candied orange peel, some dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, dates, apricots...) - whatever you find in the pantry. Adjust the choice and amount of chopped ingredients to taste, to the size of the pan - roughly, you need 5-7 tablespoons. Add as many tablespoons of flour, as there are egg whites, to the prepared chopped ingredients and combine with a spoon. 

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm and fluffy. To the firm egg whites, add as many tablespoons of sugar as there were egg whites and mix few more minutes. Now put the prepared chopped ingredients, mixed with flour, into the egg whites, add as many tablespoons of oil as there were egg whites and mix everything lightly with a spatula. Pour the cake batter into the greased baking pan. The cake should be about 5-7cm high. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (make sure that the middle is well baked, but also it should not be overbaked - as always, insert the toothpick in the middle, if it comes out clean, it is done). If it seems that the surface will burn, and the middle is still unbaked, cover the cake with baking paper and continue to bake. When done, leave the cake in the pan for 5-10 minutes, after you should carefully revert it onto a wire rack, let it cool completely before serving.

Serve the loaf along with cocoa, hot chocolate, tea, coffee... 

Note:
- See how to make candied orange peel.
- You will need 6-10 egg whites if the cake is baked in standard bundt pan, or in an almond cake pan about 40cm long.

Ingredients: 10 egg whites, 10 tablespoons sugar, 10 tablespoons flour, 10 tablespoons oil, 5-7 tablespoons chopped mix (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried dates, raisins, candied orange peel...).