Best Markiza Cake Recipe (Classic Marquise Torta)

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission for every purchase made through these links, this doesn’t change your price in any way. Thank you for supporting my work.

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.

5 from 5 votes

Print

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.

Author Alena’s Home Cooking

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

1. 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.

You might also like

• 
  Crispy Fried Pork Belly With 4 Best Ways To Eat It
• 
  Easy Balsamic sauteed mushrooms and garlic side dish
• 
  Garlic Bologna with Cheese Open Faced Sandwiches
• 
  Sauteed Vegetable and Bologna Ukrainian Salad
• 
  Easy Layered Spring Mix Salad
• 
  Eggplant Appetizer With a Garlicky Vegetable Topping
• 
  3-Cheese Garlic French Bread Recipe (No Butter)
• 
  Japanese Barbecue Mushrooms & Vegetables
• 
  French Onion Coated Tilapia Fillets
• 
  Mom’s Pryaniki