One of the most traditional and popular cakes in Serbia is known as Reforma Cake. Rich and full of chocolate and layered with walnut sponge, it is no wonder this cake is featured across festivals, celebrations, and Holidays like Easter and Christmas, plus in almost every dessert shop. This reform torte is what we are making today, gluten-free!
A bit of history
Serbia is a major part of former-Yugoslavia, the country that I grew up in. Many people are familiar with the beautiful beaches of Croatia or perhaps have seen my Bosnian-heritage come through in other notes and bakes, and Serbian influence is no exception. According to Serbia.com “Serbian cuisine is characterized by highly diverse, solid and spicy food, which can be roughly described as a mixture of Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish and Hungarian cuisine. The use of meat, dough, vegetables and dairy products is predominant in it. Food preparation is a special part of the Serbian tradition and culture.” Highly diverse is the key term here, which can be seen in the desserts as well. Walnuts, chocolates, fruits, custards of all kinds can be seen in Serbian baking. Typically rich and luxurious, while creamy in texture, cake variety in bake shop fronts is enough to make anyone a Serbian foodie.
Gluten free?
That’s right! This recipe is sans grains, wheat, oats, etc. Typically gluten is what holds the structure of cakes and is one of the biggest staples in baking. In order to have a gluten-free bake, you have to substitute this “wheat” ingredient. We do so here with the walnuts and egg white mixture that is beat until it is stiff. When baked this is very sensitive, so be sure to treat it as such. This sponge (although a stiff one), without any type of gluten, serves as the cake cores and goes beautifully with the rich filling that elopes it.
Get ready to see how delicious gluten-free baking can be!
Chocolate Cake (Gluten free)
Ingredients
- 10 eggs (separated)
- 2 cups sugar (1-1/4 cup for cake sponge and 3/4 for filling)
- 3 cups walnuts (finely ground using a cheese grater)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2.5 sticks butter (soften)
Chocolate Glaze: Microwave 1 cup of chocolate chips with 4 tbsp of oil for 1 minute. Stir well.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Line 12×16 cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix egg whites with 1-1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form.
- With a rubber spatula mix in your walnuts.
- This is your batter, pour onto your prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Filling:
- Create a double boiler by boiling water in a pot with a heat resistant bowl placed over the boiling pot.
- Mix egg yolks with 3/4 cups sugar into the double boiler mix until it becomes a dense mixture.
- Add your chocolate and mix until chocolate melts.
- Leave to cool.
- Separately, beat softened butter until fluffy.
- Add the cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended. Your filling is now ready.
Cut the cake into 4 pieces, 4″ wide. Spread the filling over each layers leaving some crème for the top layer and sides. Cover with chocolate glaze and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Looking for more chocolate? Look no further than Chocolate Milk Cake.