Garash Cake
Flourless Garash cake made with egg whites and walnuts, frosted and covered with chocolate ganache. Giveaway at the end of the post.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SplendaHoliday #CollectiveBias
Holiday baking is very exciting to me!
I love searching for new recipes, re-testing old ones, trying new products and after all enjoying the baked goods.
When it comes to the amount of sugar in baked goods, I’m one of those people, who always tries to reduce it, even if it is with just a 1/4 cup.
But I don’t really need to worry any more because I recently found the SPLENDA® Granulated No Calorie Sweetener, SPLENDA® Sugar Blend (contains sugar) and SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend (contains sugar) at Walmart.
They are available in the Sugar Aisle.
These products are awesome and I love baking with them.
They are perfect to use in cakes (like this Garash Cake), cheesecakes, custards, pies and cookies. Enjoy your favorite desserts without all the calories from added sugar.
The Garish cake I’m sharing with you today is one of my childhood favorites. I don’t make it very often, but when I do, it is usually around the holidays. It is a Bulgarian recipe and it is one of the staple desserts there. It is light and very delicious! The layers are around 5 mm thin with chocolate ganache in between, that melts in your mouth. The cake is perfect for the holidays! Make it and bring it to your holiday party. Chocolate lovers will be impressed.
Now is the time to mention that this is not the authentic recipe. I did change it a bit, so it works for my taste. The original recipe calls for a lot of sugar, which I did not like. The chocolate ganache is made with chocolate morsels, but I did make it with cocoa powder, egg yolks and butter.
The amount of sugar in this 8-inch cake is just 2/3 cups. This is because I used the SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend for the cake batter and ganache.
As I told you earlier, whenever I can reduce the amount of sugar in baked goods, I’m more than happy to do it. It is shocking when you realize how many calories come with all of the added sugar. Through the SWEET SWAPS™ Initiative, the SPLENDA® Brand is dishing out creative ways to swap full sugar for SPLENDA® Sweetener Products in order to save calories.
Did you know that the average American consumes more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day? That’s more than TRIPLE the recommended amount for women and more than DOUBLE the recommended amount for men!
If this sounds interesting, head over to your local Walmart to check these SPLENDA® products out.
For more inspiration check out some SPLENDA® recipes visit the sweet swaps site here.
Garash Cake
Ingredients
- 9 eggs — , egg whites separated from egg yolks
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 9 tbsp cocoa powder — (not Dutch-processed)
- 3 cups raw walnuts
- 2/3 cups SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend — , divided
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut for decorating — (optional)
Other:
- cooking spray
- parchment paper
- 8- inch cake pan
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray over the parchment paper. Set aside.
For the cake layers:
-
In a food processor process walnuts and 1/3 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend until fine crumbs are formed.
-
Beat egg whites until soft peaks. Carefully fold the walnut sugar mix into the egg whites. Divide batter into 4 equal parts. Bake each cake layer for 12-15 minutes. Carefully remove from the cake pan and peel of the parchment paper. Let them cool down to room temperature.
For the chocolate ganache:
-
In the meantime prepare the ganache.
-
In a medium sauce pan over low heat melt butter. Add cocoa powder and whisk to incorporate, making sure there are no lumps.
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment beat egg yolks and 1/3 SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend for 3-5 minutes until thick and frothy. Beating on low speed, add the cocoa butter mixture. Beat until incorporated. Beating on low, slowly add the heavy cream to thin the ganache. Let it cool completely.
To assemble the cake:
-
Place a cake layer on a plate. Spread about 1/4 cup of the ganache over it. Cover with another layer. Spread 1/4 cup ganache over it. Repeat with the remaining layers. Cover the cake with chocolate ganache. Place cake in the fridge uncovered for at least 1 hour to set.
Optional:
-
You can decorate the top of the cake with chopped walnuts, almonds or shredded coconut. The original recipe calls for green colored chopped almonds, but I colored some shredded coconut in green and used it to top the cake.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 531, Fat: 46g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 197mg, Sodium: 240mg, Potassium: 320mg, Carbohydrates: 23g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 16g, Protein: 11g, Vitamin A: 795%, Vitamin C: 0.5%, Calcium: 85%, Iron: 2.6%Giveaway time! Enter for a chance to win $500 in gift cards from SPLENDA!
This cake is absolutely gorgeous, Mira! I love the pretty layers and flavor. And I love using Splenda sugar when baking, too. Especially around the holidays!
I honestly didn’t know you could substitute Spenda in baking, I’ll have to head of to Wallys to check it out. My husband love it in his coffee though. This cake look divine, I love how it’s not too sweet! Then I can eat a second piece without getting “sugar tongue” You know the feeling, when your tongue actually aches and it sore because you had too much sugar!! Ha.
This cake is delicious, Mira! Love the idea of using Splenda, I will definitely give that a try. The layers are gorgeous – perfect cake for the holidays!
I am so intrigued by this cake! Not only is it gorgeous but the flavors are incredible. Is it bad that I wish I had a slice of this right now and I haven’t even eaten my breakfast yet?
I’m a huge fan of the blends. It’s nice to get the reduced sugar while still having some of the real stuff in there. Much more balanced. And this cake looks amazing! I’m sure I would never notice that it’s reduced sugar!
I’ve been baking like crazy as well . . I LOVE this cake, Mira! love that you are sharing a Bulgarian cake! It’s beautiful!
Mmmmm, what an awesome looking cake. Thank you so much for sharing this Bulgarian cake recipe.
I always try to reduce the amount of sugar in recipes too, girlfriend… or at least swap some of it out for splenda products! This cake looks fabulous! LOVE that it doesn’t have a ton of sugar, but is is full of delicious flavor! Winning right there! So gorgeous and perfect for the holidays! Cheers! <3
I always love your Bulgarian recipes, Mira! This cake is so elegant and look fantastic!
This cake looks so scrumptious, Mira, and that’s great that Splenda has a brown sugar blend. I love brown sugar — it adds so much flavor!
These layers are stunning- totally believe that this cake just melts in your mouth (Yum!!) What a showstopper 🙂
This cake is so gorgeous, Mira! Those layers are so perfect too. Love that you used Splenda’s brown sugar baking blend, definitely need to keep an eye out for it next time I get groceries!
This cake is so elegant…It looks very melt-in-your-mouth-y. Is that a word? It is now! I will definitely try it using the Splenda brown sugar blend…great idea!
The minute I laid eyes on they beauty, I knew I had to stop by. Those thin cake layers make it look so elegant. And I’m all for reducing the sugar because. . .well. . .that means I can have an extra slice, right? 😉
This cake is stunning, Mira! I’m in love with those layers. And using splenda to lighten up the sugar is a great idea.
This cake is beautiful, Mira! I love all the pretty layers and that you lightened up on the sugar. Holiday baking is my favorite and this would definitely be a showstopper at any table 🙂
I’ve been thinking of a cake to make for my husband’s birthday and this has everything he loves rolled into one. I only hope mine comes out looking even close to yours. It’s beautiful. #client
The cake is gorgeous Mira, never heard of it but sounds wonderful!
I was so interested to read this, Mira … you know how much I like your Bulgarian recipes! This cake sounds absolutely delicious with all that ganache inside it. I like your country’s thinking. Less cake and more chocolate! I usually reduce the sugar in cakes, too. I never find it makes the cake taste any less delicious!
Oh my God, this cake has so many layers and looks so amazing! Mniam mniam mniam! Perfect dessert for the weekend. I’m planning to make something similar for Christmas and I simply can’t wait!
This cake is seriously stunning! And your photos… gorgeous.
I can’t find the instructions on making the garash cake, only the ingredients
Hi, I’m not sure why you can’t see it, it is there. I’ll paste it
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray over the parchment paper. Set aside.
For the cake layers:
In a food processor process walnuts and 1/3 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend until fine crumbs are formed.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks. Carefully fold the walnut sugar mix into the egg whites. Divide batter into 4 equal parts. Bake each cake layer for 12-15 minutes. Carefully remove from the cake pan and peel of the parchment paper. Let them cool down to room temperature.
For the chocolate ganache:
In the meantime prepare the ganache.
In a medium sauce pan over low heat melt butter. Add cocoa powder and whisk to incorporate, making sure there are no lumps.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment beat egg yolks and 1/3 SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend for 3-5 minutes until thick and frothy. Beating on low speed, add the cocoa butter mixture. Beat until incorporated. Beating on low, slowly add the heavy cream to thin the ganache. Let it cool completely.
To assemble the cake:
Place a cake layer on a plate. Spread about 1/4 cup of the ganache over it. Cover with another layer. Spread 1/4 cup ganache over it. Repeat with the remaining layers. Cover the cake with chocolate ganache. Place cake in the fridge uncovered for at least 1 hour to set.
Optional:
You can decorate the top of the cake with chopped walnuts, almonds or shredded coconut. The original recipe calls for green colored chopped almonds, but I colored some shredded coconut in green and used it to top the cake.
Hi there,
If I want to use regular sugar and brown sugar what would my measurements be please?
Hi Robyn, for Regular white granulated sugar it will be 1 and 1/3 cups /divided (2/3 cups for the layers and 2/3 cups for the ganache). I have not tried it with regular brown sugar, but it will still be 1 1/3 cups /divided. I suggest that you use regular white sugar, because regular brown will not make it healthier and also the cake layers might be too chewy (but you can still use it if you decide). Let me know if any other questions.