Best Markiza Cake Recipe (Classic Marquise Torta)
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Markiza Cake (also known as Marquise Torta) has been a favorite in my family ever since we first tried it. It is a very well known Russian traditional dessert in the Russian cuisine. It consists of many thin shortbread layers. Each layer of shortbread cake dough is covered with meringue and toasted hazelnuts. (My favorite ingredients). The layers are then baked separately until crispy and golden. Afterwards, each cake layer is covered with a dulce de leche buttercream. It is almost like eating a combination of crunchy cookies with a luxurious smooth cream.
This cake consists of simple ingredients but is a bit time consuming to make so definitely plan to spend some time in the kitchen. But, if you are able to push through the sweat, you will get praises all around. This Markiza cake recipe has been one of my popular posts since posting this recipe and for good reason. After making this cake over and over again in the past decade, i have come up with a few tips to speed up the process which i will also share with you here down below. If you follow the recipe and instructions properly, this recipe will be instant success from your first try. I recommend printing the recipe card for a smoother experience.
Markiza Cake Dough Ingredients:
- 1.5 sticks or 12TBSP Unsalted Butter (room temp)
- 1.5 sticks or 12TBSP Margarine
- 3 cups All purpose Flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 3TBSP Sour Cream
- 1tsp Baking Soda +vinegar to activate
Markiza Cake Meringue Ingredients:
- 8 egg whites
- 2 cups of white Sugar
Dulce De Leche Buttercream Ingredients:
- 3 sticks Unsalted Butter (room temp)
- 1 14oz can Dulce de Leche
- 16oz Cool Whip (refrigerated)
- 8oz Cream Cheese (room temp)
How to make Markiza Cake dough:
1. In a large bowl combine 3 cups of flour, 1.5 stick of margarine and 1.5 stick of butter. Work in the butter and margarine into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs.
2. Add 3 egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of sour cream and 1tsp of baking soda activated with vinegar.
3. Kneed the dough until it all comes together and is smooth. The dough will look like it has cracks all over (see pic below) That is normal!
4. Divide the dough into 10-11 equal parts, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. After Refrigeration, roll out each dough ball very thinly and place a dinner plate or a bottom of a springform pan and cut around it to make a perfect circle.
RECIPE NOTES ***TIPS*** MUST READ!
*Roll out the dough directly onto foil so you don’t have to transfer the dough and risk tearing it.
*Wet the working surface with a damp cloth and then put the foil over it. This will prevent the foil from moving around on the counter and make the rolling out part so much easier.
*Roll out all of the dough layers first and then make the meringue and divide the meringue equally onto each layer. This will help the meringue not deflate or get runny when you need to use it.
*Bake multiple layers at once to speed up the baking process. (adjust time accordingly) ( i use full size oven baking sheets to make this process go smooth and quick).
*Put buttercream into a piping bag and draw spirals on each layer. This step helps to equally spread the cream as well as prevent the dry meringue from breaking. Adding cake layers on top will spread the cream on its own.
*Use leftover dough to roll out more layers for a higher cake.
How to make Meringue for Markiza Cake:
6. Beat 8 egg whites on low speed until they are frothy and you can see tracks from the whisk, then gradually add sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Once all the sugar is in, bring up the speed to high and whip to stiff peaks. ( 10-15minutes)
7. Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of meringue onto each shortbread layer and spread evenly.
8. Sprinkle toasted and crushed hazelnuts on top of each layer. ( I like to get these whole roasted hazelnuts in bulk, it is the cheapest and freshest I’ve yet found anywhere). Store in the freezer to preserve freshness!
9. Bake at 350F for about 10-12 min or until the meringue is dry and the base layer is golden brown. (If you will be baking more then 1 cake layer, adjust time according to your oven)
How to make Dulce De Leche Buttercream:
10. First, cream 3 sticks of unsalted butter in a stand mixer, then add 1 package of cream cheese, mix until it combines. Secondly, add 1 can (14oz) of dulce de leche, mix again to combine. Lastly, add 16oz of cool whip, incorporate and whip until the cream is smooth and stiff.
11. Place the buttercream in a piping bag (or a ziplock bag and cut off the tip) and assemble the cake by drawing spirals on each layer.
Decorate the outside of the cake to your preference. My cake decorating skills need a lot of help so i keep the decorating to the bare minimum 🙂 I like to use a large star tip and pipe cream on the sides of the cake and a little bit on top of the cake. You can choose to cover the top of the cake with piped roses or any of other decor. I like to expose the beauty of meringue and toasted nuts so i leave it as is.
This cake makes a decadent dessert to serve on any occasion but especially during the holidays like Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving. In fact, check out my perfect thanksgiving turkey recipe if you are looking for one. It is tender juicy and fall off the bone delicious.
Enjoy!
Related Posts:
Dulce de Leche Cream
Cooking Dulce de Leche in the Instant Pot in 30min
Golden Key Cake
Speedy Chocolate Cake with a 3-ingredient Cream Cheese Frosting
Easy Milky Girl Cake
Shop this Post:
Aluminum Baking Sheet 16″ x 22″
Wooden Rolling Pin
Aluminum Foil
Acacia Wood Cake Stand with Lid – 12in Round
Cake Boards 10inch
Disposable Decorating Bags, 18-Inch, Pack of 100
Large Piping Tips Set
Whole Roasted Hazelnuts
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below. Better still, snap a photo and tag it on Instagram with #alenashomecooking. I love seeing your creations.
Markiza Cake
Markiza Cake is a very well known Russian cake that consists of many thin shortbread layers. Each layer of dough is covered with meringue and toasted hazelnuts then layered with a dulce de leche buttercream.
Ingredients
Shortbread Dough:
- 1.5 sticks or 12Tbsp Unsalted Butter (room temp)
- 1.5 sticks or 12Tbsp Margarine (room temp)
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 3 TBSP Sour Cream
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda + Vinegar to activate
Meringue:
- 8 Egg Whites (room temp)
- 2 cups White Sugar
Dulce De Leche Buttercream:
- 3 Sticks Unsalted Butter (room temp)
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 1 14oz Can Dulce De Leche
- 16 oz Cool Whip
Instructions
-
Instructions:
Shortbread Dough Layer:
1. In a large bowl combine 3 cups of flour, 1.5 stick of margarine and 1.5 stick of butter. Work in the butter and margarine into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs.
2. Add 3 egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of sour cream and 1tsp of baking soda activated with vinegar.
3. Kneed the dough until it all comes together and is smooth. The dough will look like it has cracks all over (see pic below)
4. Divide the dough into 10-11 equal parts, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Roll out each ball very thinly and place a dinner plate or a bottom of a springform pan and cut around it to make a perfect circle.
Meringue:
6. Beat 8 egg whites on low until they are frothy and you can see tracks from the whisk, then gradually add sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Once all the sugar is in, bring up the speed to high and whip to stiff peaks.
7. Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of meringue onto each shortbread layer and spread evenly.
8. Sprinkle toasted and crushed hazelnuts on top of each layer.
9. Bake at 350F for about 10-12 min or until the meringue is dry and the base layer is golden brown. (If you will be baking more then 1 cake layer at a time, adjust time according to your oven)
Dulce De Leche Buttercream:
10. First, cream 3 sticks of unsalted butter in a stand mixer, then add 1 package of cream cheese, mix until it combines. Secondly, add 1 can (14oz) of dulce de leche, mix again to combine. Lastly, add 16oz of cool whip, incorporate and whip until the cream is smooth and stiff.
11. Place the buttercream in a piping bag (or a ziplock bag and cut off the tip) and assemble the cake by drawing spirals on each layer.
Decorate the cake to your preference. Enjoy!
***TIPS****
*Roll out the dough directly onto foil so you don’t have to transfer the dough and risk tearing it.
*Wet the working surface with a damp cloth and then put the foil over it. This will prevent the foil from moving around on the counter and make the rolling out part so much easier
.*Roll out all of the dough layers first and then make the meringue and divide the meringue equally onto each layer. This will help the meringue not deflate or get runny.
*Bake multiple layers at once to speed up the baking process. (adjust time accordingly)
*Put buttercream into a piping bag and draw spirals on each layer. This step helps to equally spread the cream as well as prevent the dry meringue from breaking. Adding cake layers on top will spread the cream on its own.
*Use leftover dough to roll out more layers for a higher cake.
My favorite cake and I am so glad I found your recipe for it! Makes soooo much layers! Made it several times! Thank you so much for sharing with us!
The best cake recipe!!! Will definitely make again!
I love how detailed your recipes are! I haven’t messed up on any of them yet. This cake is the 5th recipe I’ve made off your website and I’m hooked. Thank you for all your work.
My favorite cake of allll time!! I add EXTRA nuts because I love nuts in cakes that much 😃 thank you for the recipe!
If I make this cake ahead of time for Christmas would it be ok to freeze it? Will it still taste good.
I did this recipe last year and wow it’s amazing and everyone loved it.
The best Markiza cake recipe I’ve found. Also I love how you include all the tips and details to make our baking so much easier. I’ve noticed you include tips n tricks like that in your other posts too and they help SO MUCH. thank you for taking the extra time to type those up, they really go a long way.
SOOOOO GOOOOD!!!!!
BOMB.COM this cake is legit the best slice I’ve eaten in my life
I make this cake using the same recipe but for the cream I just use dulce de leche and butter. It’s so perfect that way, stays crunchy and just the right amount of sweetness
Hi! Is this cake crunchy or soft?
I follow your recipe over n over again 😋😋
I don’t usually leave reviews on websites but this recipe was well worth my time! this is THE BEST markiz cake I’ve ever tried! It’s a must try!!!
By far you have the best Markiza cake recipe! Made this cake by your recipe twice already and I’m planning to make it again for Christmas.