If you’ve ever spent time in the summer in either Serbia, Bosnia, or Croatia then you’ve probably tried Kapri ice cream. This delicious ice cream consists of vanilla ice cream with a strawberry flavored middle, all covered in delicious crunchy chocolate. So it’s no surprise that someone somewhere translated the flavor into a cake, Kapri Torta. It was one of our favorites growing up, especially when we were offered a slice during winter, which if your family is old school like mine, means no ice cream until it’s warm outside again. Ice cream = sore throat.
One summer while spending time with family back home, I decided to try every ice cream flavor in the line-up that summer. Needless to say, I was just a few shy of achieving my goal. But even though all of the Frikom ice creams are delicious, I always come back to my childhood favorites: Sneško & Kapri. So I’m very excited to share this recipe with you that’s been passed down to me by my family members. I don’t know if it’s the same one I enjoyed as a child, but I do know that once a recipe is tried and true, the cooks in my family stick to it. So it very well could be. And it’s absolutely amazing.
When you look at the recipe you’ll see 3 parts: cake layer, yellow filling, and strawberry filling. I make my fillings first so they have enough time to cool and make the cake layer last. Then it all comes together very fast and best of all tastes best the next day. A perfect make-ahead cake recipe!
While the directions and ingredient list may seem long I promise it’s worth it in the end. So take it one step at a time and you’ll definitely be glad you did when you taste this phenomenal cake. One thing I wanted to mention is that when I make cakes for just my family, I make them long and skinny as I’ve explained how to do below. If I was making this to take to a party or for someone as a gift, I’d double the recipe and make a large rectangle cake.
I hope you give this cake a try very soon.
Looking for more dessert ideas? Check out the dessert section!
Kapri Torta / Kapri Cake
Course: DessertsCuisine: Balkan, Serbian10
servings40
minutes40
minutesKapri torta, a childhood favorite!
Ingredients
- Cake layer
9 egg whites
1.5 cup (150 g) ground walnuts
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tablespoon (9 g) flour
1 tablespoon (15 g) baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 kesica)
- Yellow filling
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
4 tablespoons (30 g) cornstarch
3 tablespoons (18 g) flour
2.5 cups (1/2 L) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 kesica)
2 sticks (200 g) butter
- Strawberry filling
1 lb (450 g) fresh strawberries (cleaned), diced
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 kesica)
1 cup (250 ml) water + 1/2 cup (125 ml)
1 packet gelatin (1 kesica)
2 packets strawberry pudding (European-style packets, see note)
- Chocolate
1 cup (100 g) chocolate chips or 1 bar
3 tablespoons (45 ml) oil
- Topping/Decoration
Whipped cream/Šlag krem
Fresh strawberries
Chocolate shavings
Directions
- Yellow Filling
- In a medium saucepan add the milk, reserving about 1/3 of it. Turn the heat to medium-low and begin to cook.
- While the milk heats up, to the egg yolks add the reserved milk, sugar, vanilla sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk together and then add in the cornstarch and flour. When the milk is just about to boil, turn down the heat to low and add in the egg yolk mixture very slowly, whisking the entire time.
- After adding in all of the egg yolk mixture, begin to whisk quickly. The custard will thicken in less than 1 minute. Once the mixture becomes very thick and begins to boil, remove the pot from the heat, cover the custard with plastic wrap (be careful not to burn yourself) and set aside to cool completely.
- Once cool, whip the butter and then add in the custard 1 spoonful at a time until the butter and custard are combined. Set aside until ready to assemble cake.
- Strawberry Filling
- To a medium saucepan add in the diced strawberries, 1 cup (250 ml) water, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Turn the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it, it can boil over very easily.
- While the strawberries cook, to a bowl add in the strawberry pudding powder, gelatin, and the rest of the water. Stir to combine and ensure there are no lumps.
- Once the strawberries have cooked down, use a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula to break them apart as much as possible. There shouldn’t be any large pieces of strawberry. You’ll also notice the liquid will have reduced by 1/3.
- Once the strawberries have been broken up/mashed and the liquid has reduced, add in the pudding mixture and begin to whish quickly. The mixture will thicken almost instantly. After it thickens cook for 1 minute and then remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap (be careful not to burn yourself), and allow to cool completely.
- Cake Layer
- Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Line a 17 in x11 in/43 cm x 27 cm baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whip the egg whites until foamy and then add in the sugar a little at a time until completely incorporated. Whisk on high for 3-4 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form. Turn off the mixer and add in the walnuts, baking powder, and flour. Fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula carefully as to not deflate the egg whites.
- Transfer the batter to your lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. It should be golden brown and set to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
- Chocolate
- Right before you are ready to assemble the cake, melt the chocolate and oil in a small saucepan and keep close by.
- Assembly
- Cut the cake layer in half length-wise so you end up with 2 long strips the length of the baking pan. Place one piece on your serving dish and pour 1/2 of the melted chocolate on top, making sure to spread it across the surface evenly.
- On top of the chocolate, spread 1/2 of the strawberry filling. Spread evenly.
- Next, on top of the strawberry filling spread slightly less than 1/2 of the yellow filling. Spread evenly.
- Add the 2nd layer on top, pour the remaining chocolate, and repeat steps 2 & 3 again. Use any remaining yellow filling to frost the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 1/2 hour before frosting with whipped cream.
- Decorate with chocolate shavings and fresh strawberries.
- This cake tastes best after chilling in the refrigerator overnight but can be served same day too.
Notes
- For all recipes that call for pudding, I use the pudding packets sold throughout the Balkans that look like this. I have never tried it with American-style pudding mixes, so I recommend you purchase these types of pudding packets from Amazon or the European section of your supermarket for my recipes.
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