BUBLANINA

Today's star is bublanina, a delicious fruit cake that I was introduced to several years ago by my good friend Eva. You will find more than one version of this recipe shared in blogs - many of them by Czech expats, nostalgic of their home.

Since everybody claims the recipe belonged to their grandmother, I used to call bublanina traditional. Then when I browsed Domácí kuchařka, the 1826 cookbook by Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová from which I adapted mazanec last Easter, I found several versions of 'bublanina' so I categorized the recipe as 'historic'. Tradition is part of history whose origins are lost or maybe hidden until you make a discovery like this. Whether Rettigová consulted another source before writing down the recipe(s) is a matter of speculation. Having been raised in the German culture, she might have had access to similar recipes from Central Europe - like 'Kirschenmichel', a traditional bread pudding filled with cherries from the Rheinland. Bublanina is also comparable to French 'clafoutis', whose possible etymology (derived from the Occitan verb 'clafir=to fill') was first recorded with certainty as late as 1856. There is no information about the origins of either clafoutis or Kirschenmichel. Both recipes are categorized as traditional, which roughly means they became popular in the 19th century.

The name bublanina is derived from the Czech verb 'bublat=to gurgle'. It's quite popular now but never mentioned in Domácí kuchařka. It would be interesting to look into the history of this name and I'm sure one wouldn't have to go very far.

Moravian coat of arms - Gozzoburg Castle, Kremž - early 1370s

The recipe I'm sharing below is from page 352 of Domácí kuchařka and exactly the cake my friend has made for ages. Both the ingredients and method are correct and the only drawback is that Rettigová's best-seller came without illustrations. The name 'Moravian cake with sour cherries', also makes sense because Eva's late grandmother was a Moravian Vlach.

Moravský koláč s višněmi. Utři dvanáct lotů čerstvého másla, až se pěni, potom k němupřimíchej čtyry žloutky, dvanáct lotů tlučeného cukru, s půl citronu drobně skrájenou kůru, štipec soli a dvanáct lotů pěkné mouky, všecko dobře pospolu utři a konečně do toho vmíchej tuhý sníh ze čtyr bílků. Nyní pomaž máslem půl archu papíru, kraje se všech stran ohni na dva prsty vysoko, rohy sepni špendlíkama, dej těsto na něj, všude stejně ho nožem rozetři, poklad ho višněmi jednou vedle druhé a nech koláč pěkně do zlatova upect; potom papír odejmi a koláč posyp cukrem.

As with everything proposed by Rettigová, we need to convert (outdated) local units of measure: the zejdlík, which is 0.358 lt and the lot, which is 16-17g. The ingredients for Moravian cake with sour cherries are: 4 eggs, 200g flour, 180g butter, 150g sugar, a pinch of salt, and grated lemon peel. The recipe goes for sour cherries but other versions of bublanina in Domácí kuchařka are filled with sweet cherries or plums. All cakes are made with butter and one version uses cream as well. Butter is sometimes replaced with oil in modern recipes and cream is replaced with milk because health-conscious people find Rettigová's dishes too calorific. My answer is that calories would hardly be a problem if we exercised as much as 19th century people did, and that large amounts of butter and sugar are necessary in cakes because they yield a lighter texture.

 

B U B L A N I N A

This version is Rettigová's Moravian cake with sour cherries (bublanina), increased by one half. After experimenting with room temperature butter, extra-virgin olive oil, and even powered cocoa, I think original bublanina is wonderful and should be made exactly as it was back in 1826. However, this is my list of useful notes:

Butter. It's possible to cut down on butter by approximately one quarter, making it 200g, without spectacular changes in the texture of the finished cake. Butter is not replaced with equal amounts of oil: you must substitute 200ml (= 3/4 cup + 3tbsp) sunflower or extra-virgin olive oil for the butter.

Flour. The original recipe from Domácí kuchařka says 'refined', which likely means 'plain, as opposed to strong or bread flour. Modern versions go for all-purpose flour but Eva's recipe uses 1/3 medium coarse flour, 1/3 refined flour, and 1/3 corn flour - which I strongly recommend. (Using cornflour in bublanina might not have been an option for Rettigová, as cornstarch was used primarily for laundering clothes until the middle of the 19th century.) Powdered cocoa is an excellent substitute for half of the cornflour, if you want a chocolate version of bublanina.

Baking powder. It was added by modern bakers and I really think it's unnecessary, if you treat bublanina as a sponge cake. My friend's recipe says 'little bit of' so I have tried a few versions of bublanina with 2tsp per 300g of flour. With the exception of a cake that I made using room temperature butter so the cake batter was heavier, I found that baking powder rather obstructs than helps. Since the 1826 recipe does not use rising agents, perhaps it's best to go without.

Cherries. Eva makes bublanina with sweet cherries or peaches and other kinds of summer fruit. I used sour cherries as per Rettigová's instructions in the cake pictured above but the fruit came from a jar of purchased spoon dessert (traditional in Greece and parts of the Balkans).

Baking pan. Having no instructions from any source on this matter, I used a 25cm springform pan for my increased dose of bublanina, adjusting baking time accordingly. For the regular dose, a 23cm springform pan is okay.

 

I n g r e d i e n t s

270g (=1 1/4 cups) butter, melted and cooled

200g (=1 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour

100g (= 3/4 cup + 1tbsp) cornflour

2tsp baking powder (optional)

a pinch of salt

grated peel of 1 lemon

6 eggs, separated

225g (= 1 cup) caster sugar

150g (= 1 cup) pitted sour cherries

confectioner's sugar, to dust

 

M e t h o d

Line a 26cm springform pan with parchment paper. Brush the bottom, not the sides, with melted butter and set aside. Preheat the oven to 190C. Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until very light, gradually adding the butter. Beat the egg whites into stiff meringue. Combine the yolk- and flour- mixtures with a spoon, gradually adding the meringue. Pour into the baking tin, drop the fruit in several places, and bake until golden (about 1 hour). Leave to cool for a while, then dust with confectioner's sugar.