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Guryev kasha
Guryevskaya kasha (гурьевская каша): baked semolina pudding layered with candied nuts, caramelised milk skins and jam
RussianNamed after Count Guryev, a nineteenth-century Russian finance minister, this pudding was the showpiece of Moscow merchant tables and grand restaurant menus, and it still appears at name-day lunches and during Maslenitsa week. Behind the humble word kasha sits a rich dessert: soft vanilla semolina layered with crackly sugared walnuts, thin golden skins lifted from baked milk and cream, and spoonfuls of apricot jam, then baked until bubbling. Serve it warm in small portions with strong black tea. Where most people go wrong is hurrying the skins; the milk needs a hot oven and patience so each skin turns golden before you lift it off. Chef's tip: use the widest shallow ovenproof dish you own for the milk, because more surface gives you more skins in the same time.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the milk skins
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¾ cup double cream
For the candied nuts
- 3 ½ oz walnut halves
- 1 ¾ oz caster sugar
- 2 tbsp water
For the semolina
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 ½ oz fine semolina
- 1 ⅜ oz unsalted butter
- 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
To assemble
- ⅓ oz butter for the dish
- 5 ½ oz thick apricot jam
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp apricot jam, to serve (optional)
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Pour the 2 cups whole milk and ¾ cup double cream into your widest shallow ovenproof dish and bake for about 8 minutes, until a golden, blistered skin forms on top.
8 minStep 2: Lift the skin off with a fork onto a plate and return the dish to the oven. Repeat 5–6 times, until you have a stack of skins; keep the leftover milk for tea or porridge.
40 minStep 3: While the skins bake, put the 3 ½ oz walnut halves, 1 ¾ oz caster sugar and 2 tbsp water in a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Stir for about 5 minutes, until the sugar turns sandy, then melts into an amber coating. Tip onto baking paper, cool and chop roughly.
6 minStep 4: Bring the 3 cups whole milk and 1 pinch salt to a simmer in a heavy pan. Rain in the 3 ½ oz fine semolina, whisking all the time, and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, until thick enough to hold a trail.
7 minStep 5: Take the pan off the heat and beat in the 1 ⅜ oz unsalted butter, 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Cool for 10 minutes, then beat in the 2 eggs one at a time until glossy.
12 minStep 6: Grease a 1.5 litre baking dish with the ⅓ oz butter for the dish. Spread in a third of the semolina, then a layer of milk skins, a third of the nuts and half the 2 ⅝ oz thick apricot jam. Repeat once, then finish with the last of the semolina and the rest of the 2 ⅝ oz thick apricot jam in small dots.
5 minStep 7: Scatter over the last of the nuts and the 1 tbsp caster sugar. Lower the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and bake for 25 minutes, until puffed, golden and bubbling at the edges.
25 minStep 8: Rest for 10 minutes and serve warm, with 3 tbsp apricot jam, to serve on the side if you like.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guryev kasha take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of double cream?
- Whipping cream, same amount (less rich; whips softer).
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