White Michałki cake

This White Michałki cake is absolutely delicious! Only partially baked – it has a homemade crisp chocolate pastry base topped with a praline-style filling that tastes remarkably similar to the popular Polish sweets. The filling is made with milk powder, white chocolate and, of course, roasted peanuts, which are the signature ingredient of Michałki chocolates. This cake is wonderfully indulgent, with the flavour of milk powder and peanuts taking centre stage – so you simply need to be a fan of milk powder ;).

Ingredients for the chocolate pastry:

• 100 g butter
• 150 g plain flour
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1½ tbsp cocoa powder
• pinch of salt

Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl, add the butter and quickly rub or cut it in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks, icing sugar and salt and quickly bring the dough together (you can also use a food processor). Shape into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 60 minutes.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper.

Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it out and use it to line the base of the tin. Prick the surface with a fork and bake at 180°C for 20–23 minutes, or until lightly browned and baked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Ingredients for the White Michałki filling:

• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 30 g butter (2 tbsp)
• 1½ cups full-fat milk powder
• 1½ cups roasted unsalted peanuts
• 100 g white chocolate
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or a few drops of arak flavouring

Grind 1 cup of the peanuts into a fine powder (using a food processor or coffee grinder) and finely chop the remaining ½ cup. Chop the white chocolate and melt it in a bain-marie or in the microwave. Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the sugar and butter. Heat gently, stirring until the ingredients have dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly, but the mixture should remain warm. Add the milk powder and mix thoroughly to remove any lumps. Add the melted, warm chocolate and mix. Finally, add the ground and chopped peanuts and the vanilla extract or arak flavouring. Mix until combined. If the mixture is too runny, add a little more milk powder (depending on the consistency; I would add another 2 tbsp next time).

Spread the White Michałki filling over the cooled chocolate pastry base and smooth the surface. Leave to set, preferably in the fridge for a quicker result.

Ingredients for the white chocolate topping:

• 100 g white chocolate

Chop the white chocolate and melt it in a bain-marie or in the microwave.

Remove the chilled White Michałki cake from the fridge and spread the melted chocolate over the top. Leave to set, then slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Z Piekarnika.