Hi Russian Bites readers! I’m so excited to share my very first recipe here. If you read Healthy and Sane, you may know I have the biggest sweet tooth. It’s no wonder that the black poodle cake was the very first family recipe I tried to recreate in my very own kitchen.
The cake is called “black poodle” because it looks like that curly head of a poodle. It uses a traditional Russian cake base and sour cream “frosting” but combines the two in this playful way. My family got a hold of this recipe many many years ago from a friend of a friend of a friend and ever since it has become part of our standard holiday repertoire. To this day, it remains to be one of my absolute favorites. The sour cream cream (that’s confusing, huh? 
) is killer – cool and sweet – and the chocolate ganache just puts it over the top! Wanna see how it’s made? It’s actually surprisingly simple (don’t let the abundance of pictures f00l you – I’m trying to make you feel like you were in my kitchen while I was making it)!
Note: it’s best to make the cake layer at least 24-48 hours before adding cream and ganache. This provides for enough time for the cake to get slightly stale so that the cream doesn’t make it soggy but rather absorbs nicely, moistening it. The cream can also be made the night before. Assemble the cake at least several hours before serving. It needs time to set.
Ingredients:
Cake base:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- 200g of sour cream (low fat ok)
- 1t baking soda
- 1T distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (low fat ok)
- 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3T unsweetened cocoa powder
Cream:
- 800 grams of sour cream (low fat ok)
- 1 cup sugar
Chocolate ganache:
- 5T sugar
- 5T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 150 grams butter
Other:
- 1/2-1 cup of chopped walnuts
- 1 cup raisins
CAKE BASE
1. Combine baking soda + vinegar.
The vinegar should activate the baking soda and it will instantly foam up.
2. Beat eggs + sugar together, until frothy:
3. Add baking soda mix to eggs/sugar. Add the rest of the (cake layer) ingredients to the bowl, one by one. Mix until well incorporated before adding the next ingredient.
4. Pour batter into pre-greased 9″ round pan.
5. Bake at 430* for 25-30 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean)
6. Let cool for 24-48 hours.
CREAM
Combine sour cream + sugar
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. The sugar should dissolve into the sour cream.
ASSEMBLE
1. Cut a thin layer of the cake and set aside (it’s in the back)
2. Cut the remaining cake layer into small cubes
3. Dip each cube into the cream, then place over the base.
4. Once you have a full first layer, sprinkle with walnuts and raisins (amounts to taste)
5. Repeat layer by layer, until all cubes and cream are used up.
*If some cream is left, just pour it over the whole cake.
Mmm, do lick your fingers. The stuff is AMAZING!
GANACHE
1. Combine cocoa powder, butter and sugar and melt over a simmering pot of water.
Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved (see how in the picture above there are still sugar granules? Make sure you don’t see them by the end, just keep mixing!).
2. Let cool for a few minutes, then pour over cake.
Done! Let it set for a few hours. The ganache should solidify.
The best part… enjoy a slice with some company! Do tell them this is a Russian recipe. They will be impressed! 
I just couldn’t help myself with all those pictures. Maybe because I know what it tastes like, they seem extra mouth-watering.
Ok and now I’m officially hungry. Time for lunch! See you later this week with another family favorite!
What’s your favorite kind of cake?
:
So neat! The assembly reminds me of monkey bread. The finished cake is gorgeous.
My favorite kind of cake would have to be carrot cake. With LOTS of cream cheese icing
.
That looks delicious!
My favorite is chocolate cake. Yum.
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to see more.
Whoa, that looks so tasty!! What a cool idea to cut the cake up into cubes like that.
That looks good! I’ll ask my boyfriend if he’s ever had this. I wouldn’t mind making it for him!
[...] – Check out Russian Bites for the recipe of the black poodle cake. It’s one of my all time [...]
[...] Black poodle cake [...]
I need this in my life! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
wow, VERY cool, i’d like a slice please
Hmmm kinda reminds me of muraveinik cake
wish i had some right now!
Ooh, I think I had that once. Putting it on the list to recreate
good stuff! i’ll be looking forwards to seeing your post on it
Bake at 430? The cake baked really quickly but the inside was still batter-y. I wonder what happened? After I smelled a burning I just turned the oven off altogether, hopefully it will still be as good. I used Dutch cocoa powder, could that be it?
And also, as I was making the ganache the butter started separating from the chocolate. What I did wrong? I have a feeling ti cuz of the Dutch cocoa powder:(
Hmm, I have no idea why you were having so much trouble although I did use regular cocoa (I only use Dutch processed if the recipe calls for it). Did the cake layer turn out ok by the end? I know everyone’s ovens are different. As far as the ganache, did you whisk it properly? I’m no chemist so have no idea why butter would separate from the chocolate. I’ll see if I can do some research and find out. So sad you had all this trouble. This cake is one of my absolute favorites!!
The cake itself was very good, it was moist and had a good amount of sweetness in it. I think ill just lower the oven temp next time. But the ganache was a mystery, it still was good.
And it was gobbled up in 15 mins:)
Phew, thanks for the feedback. Definitely use regular cocoa powder next time and play around with the oven temps
[...] weird obsession with trying to shape foods into strange things (examples include chocolate sausage, black poodle cake, little hill cake… and now potatoes!). I suppose out of those examples, potatoes seem almost [...]
[...] weird obsession with trying to shape foods into strange things (examples include chocolate sausage, black poodle cake, little hill cake… and now potatoes!). I suppose out of those examples, potatoes seem almost [...]
When the cake is cooling for the 24-48 hour period, is that in the fridge or just on the counter? Thanks!
Just on the counter. Are you making it?
Yes, I made it last night!
Sorry for the late reply, I was away from a computer. I think either way would have been fine anyway. How did it turn out? It’s one of my favorites!!
I actually didn’t love it as much as I thought I would
the sauce was a bit too sour creamy tasting for my taste and I probably would’ve preferred it if it had been a mix of cream with sour cream ..or maybe with a bit of butter or just something to balance out the sour cream taste. But I’m glad I made it and tried something new, thanks for the recipe!
Interesting… I guess we all have different tastes (share it with friends – hopefully they’ll love it like all of ours do). Thanks for the feedback!
I did! and they did! I think I’ll try it next time with a mix of freshly whipped cream and sour cream and see what develops
Love that idea. Keep me posted!
Will do! Any good recipes for Napoleon?
My mom says it’s very easy to make so we’ll try it this Saturday. If all goes as planned, I’ll blog about it asap!
Here you go, Elina! http://www.russianbites.com/russian-bites-napoleon-cake