For whatever reason, this recipe is nowhere to found in most Louisiana Creole/New Orleans cookbooks (never mind the Internet). Legend has it that the cake dates back to 1872, when the Grand Duke Alexis of Russian visited New Orleans for Mardi Gras (the song “If I Ever Cease to Love” was written for the very same occasion). The trifle is made with leftover pieces of cake, pie crust, muffins, and cookies which are moistened with a binder (in this case seedless raspberry jam, anise flavoring and rum). I have heard that the original Russian cake used vodka and not rum, but I am not able to verify that.
If you’ve never had one of these, it’s quite an experience for the senses. My grandparents used to get one of these every year for their birthdays (they were 2 days apart) from Mr. Lawrence’s Bakery (Mr. Wedding Cake) on Elysian Fields. My grandmother would come home with one of those pink bakery boxes and out would come this fragrant and colorful cake. It smells vaguely of licorice and something almost tropical. It’s also this very bright almost garish ruby red and the top is covered with white frosting and colorful sprinkles, you can imagine how appealing that is to a kid. I was only allowed a very small piece as a kid (I’m not sure if actual rum was used in Mr. Lawrence’s recipe, but my grandmother seemed to think so) and I loved every bite of it. This past March, I was reacquainted with Russian Cake when we were shopping at Dorignac’s in Metairie. G. and I split one piece before bed and apparently I tossed all night like a rotisserie chicken. I think it was worth it.
Russian Cake (Creole Trifle)
6-8 cups of diced cake pieces
1 box yellow or white cake mix (plus ingredients needed to bake this; will vary from brand to brand)
8 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
1 to 1-1/2 cups white rum (will depend on amount of cake pieces)
1 teaspoon anise flavor (look for the real stuff)
red food coloring (just in case, my jam wasn’t red enough)
pre-made (or homemade) buttercream frosting
colored sprinkles (the spherical kind)Mix rum, anise, jam and (optionally) the food color with a wire whisk until everything is well integrated; the alcohol in the rum helps dissolve the jam quickly so it shouldn’t be more than 30 seconds. Pour evenly over your cake pieces and place bowl in fridge for a few hours or overnight (covered). The more cake pieces you use for the inside, the denser and heavier the cake will be. The Russian cakes I remember weighed several pounds and seemed very heavy for their size. When ready to assemble cake, bake your boxed cake according to instructions in a 9-inch cake pan. When cool split the cake evenly down the middle. Place one half in a 9-inch springform pan (one used for cheesecakes) and “fill” with your soaked cake pieces. Try to get this even as possible. Place top layer over “filling” and cover with saranwrap, the plastic touching the top of the cake. I placed my cleaned cake pan over the top of this and weighed it down with jars from the fridge. The reason I did this was to make sure that the cake was flat, number one, but also I wanted some of the “juice” from the middle to seep into the top and bottom layer, thereby binding the cake together. Place in fridge overnight (make sure it’s covered). The next day, frost the top and cover with sprinkles. Voilå!
Technorati Tags: Cake, Creole, Dessert, Food, New Orleans, recipe
duh, I could have read THIS before I asked if you made it on the other…regardless, it looks fabuous!
The best Russian cakes were made with whole, stale cakes, icing and all. It’s just not a Russian cake-to me- without hunks of icing and jelly inside. We took our time picking one out at bakeries, looking for the one with the most icing chunks inside! That sweet, thick birthday/wedding cake icing made it decadent!
Thanks for this recipe tho- I’m going to try it with stale cake I’m saving, maybe some jelly squeezed out of jelly donuts, or a whole jelly roll cake!
If only the one of the bakers who made these would resurface and make them at another store! There certainly is a customer base waiting to buy!
That’s the beauty of Russian cakes, no two are alike!
I have to try this one. I actually have all of the ingredients (Except for stale leftover cake) in my pantry!
I remember eating New Orleans Creole Russian Cake as a young man in the early 1950’s in the Seventh Ward Gentilly area. The cakes could be purchased by the slice at Lawerence Avalasiti’s Bakery(Mr. Wedding Cake) or at Dixiana Bakery on Broad near St. Bernard Ave. This week for my wife’s 66th birthday we purchased a Russian Cake at Haydel’s Bakery on Jefferson Highway. I had never seen a whole Russian Cake before this. It was a cube shape measuring about 12 inches in all directions and weighed about eight pounds. Besides the mottled deep red color there were chunks of white wedding cake, yellow cake and some chocolate brownies with an interspersing of white, blue, and green cake icing. There was a half inch layer or yellow cake at the top and botton with the customary white cream icing and multi-color round sprinkles on top. We and our guests each had a half of a modest slice which was a lot more than any person hoping to survive should attempt eating. I love New Orleans and our Creole way of life and our rich fine foods … amoung them Creole Russian Cake.
This looks a wonderful recipe - I have been hunting for the magic behind a Russian cake for a while. I can recommend Shaul’s Bakery in both Exeter and Taunton, England. They make a lovely Russian cake with a good thick layer of chocolate on the top.
Apart from Shaul’s, I’m not aware of any other bakeries who make it.
I read the directions and am confused. The ingredents list white cake, but the directions say yellow cake. None-the-less, I used white cake top and bottom. I attempted to make it with 3/4 water and 1/4 rum. I did not do something right. It definitely was not as dense or was not tightly packed as I remember Russian cake from the bakery. Maybe I did not press hard enough or cut the cake pieces small enough. Oh well, I will try again. Just a little disappointed.
I fixed the “yellow cake” typo. Sorry about that.
thank you for solving a mystery. I was born in the n/east of England, uk, in 1946 and my mother regularly bought russian cake. I have lived in the n/westof england for 40years and no one here has heard of it. my friends here say I am imagining it ! The cake we bought didn’t have any frosting or decoration on top. just the cake but it was definitely the same recipe. Delicious.
Elaine
hi….hope you see this…i’m from new orleans, but left sometime ago. we often think about our beloved russian cakes of our childhood from lawrences and gambinos. there is a recipe nin a new orleans cookbook..written by a couple, i cannot remember the name of it. they had great recipes and they were pretty authentic, however the russian cake recipe was tried by my sister and came out terrible. i suppose that it would be hard to make it like the old days. we will try to make your recipe which is different from the one in the book, i remember it had red wine in it. we will also go to haydel’s and look for the real thing. when we go for a visit. it makes me sad to remember the old days. oh, i once heard it is called russian cake because of the many colors resemble the faberge eggs. thanks for memories.
i love this blog but it makes me soooo homesick! take care chere!
This is amazing… every time i “discover” something new about New Orleans I am more and more delighted. What a gem of a city, the best of America. If only people could KNOW… Thank you for this wonderful site!
I stumbled through your blog last week and came back again today due to its richness and interesting cuisines stuff. Keep up the good work. Looking forward for a little read after dinner!
I moved to New Orleans from Arkansas back in 1964. Worked on Canal street and ever so often would find the Russian cakes at D.H.Holmes bakery, it was wonderful!! I don’t remember any tasting like Anise but do remember the rum flavor. Am going to try this recipe and make a few adjustments,
I grew up in Gentilly and had Russian cake at “Mr Wedding Cake” Lawrence’s Bakery. A couple of years ago I told my husband all I wanted was Russian cake for my birthday he found some at Margarite’s in Slidell but it wasn’t the same.
But just a couple of weeks ago he found some at the Rouse’s on Gause and Front street. It was perfect just as I remembered. Two slices in a container just enough.
I was surfing the internet looking for Mr. Lawrence’s recipe for rum cake and happened upon this blog. I don’t suppose anyone out there has the recipe? It was a bundt/tube style white cake with crushed pecan topping. My husband is desperate for this recipe and any assistance would be helpful.