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The Ptichye Moloko recipe has been the most popular recipe this month and your comments and suggestions helped me develop this new ptichye moloko cake recipe. It’s basically the ptichye moloko (mousse) sandwiched between biskvit cake layers with a light syrup and a very simple creme chantilly frosting.
I made this ptichye moloko cake for our church banquet and thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it. I posted loads of pictures. It’s not as complicated as it looks. I hope you enjoy this cake; just in time for Christmas!
What you will need for Ptichye Moloko Cake:
2 round 9-inch cake pans (1 of which should be a springform pan – see below).
Ingredients for Biskvit Cake Layers:
8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour *measured correctly
Ingredients for Ptichye Moloko Layer:
(note: this is 1/2 of the original ptichye moloko recipe)
1 packets unflavored gelatin (7 grams by weight)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz tub of sour cream
8 oz tub of cool whip, refrigerated (not frozen)
Ingredients for Syrup:
1 can Sprite, 7-UP, or LaCroix with 2 Tbsp sugar (what I used).
Ingredients for Creme Chantilly Frosting:
2 cups (1 pint) Heavy Whipping Cream
3 Tbsp confectioners (powdered) sugar, sifted
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for Chocolate topping:
3/4 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Biskvit Cake Layers:
1. Line 2 non-stick cake pans with parchment paper and preheat the Oven to 350 ˚ F.
2. Separate egg whites from yolks. In a medium bowl, whisk together yolks, sugar and vanilla. Add flour until well blended.
3. In a bowl of electric mixer beat egg whites on high-speed until they foam and are about 3-4 times in volume (about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes). Don’t beat too long or they will become too stiff and won’t blend well
4. Use a spatula to gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites until well combined. Don’t mix too much or you will lose volume. The batter should have a fluffy texture
5. Divide the batter evenly among the two, lined cake pans and bake 20 minutes until the tops are golden.
6. As soon as the cake is done, turn the cake out onto a clean surface and peel off the wax paper. This is much easier to do while the cake is still very warm
7. Use a knife to remove rough edges and let cakes cool to room temperature.
8. Place on of the cake layers into the bottom of a springform pan and pour 1/2 of your soda/syrup over the cake and let it soak in. (You will pour the ptichye moloko over this layer).
How to Make Ptichye Moloko (Mousse) Layer:
1. In a small sauce pan, combine 1 packets unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup milk. Whisk together over medium heat. Continue whisking until it just begins to steam, then remove from heat (DON’T BOIL).Set aside to cool.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 8 oz tub of sour cream and a 8 oz tub of cool whip until well blended.
3. With the mixer on, slowly add the warm milk mixture.
4. Immediately pour over the first biskvit layer inside the prepared baking dish. Smooth the top as evenly as possible. Cover and refrigerate to cool
How to Make Creme Chantilly Frosting:
Freeze your mixing bowl and whisk attachment for 10-15 minutes before beating the cream and keep the heavy whipping cream refrigerated until you are ready to use it.
1. Whip the heavy cream at high speed until it forms soft peaks (1 minute).
2. Add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla and continue whipping at high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks but is still smooth (about 1 minute).
Assembling your Cake:
1. Place the second cake layer over the ptichye moloko and pour the rest of syrup/soda over the cake layer. Cut around the edges of the cake to loosen in from the springform pan.
2. Trim the edges of the ptichye moloko to make it even with the cake layers.
3. Frost the Cake. Even out the cake with a foodscraper (I love this little tool!)
Making the Chocolate topping:
1. In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips, stirring constantly until smooth.
2. Transfer to a ziploc bag and cut a small hole on the tip. Practice a couple of strips on wax paper so your cake doesn’t end up looking like mine (semi-ugly). Transfer the cake to your favorite cake stand. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.
I hope you enjoy it! It’s really much easier than it looks.
Ptichye Moloko Cake Recipe (Bird's Milk Cake)
Ingredients
Ingredients for Cake Layers:
- 8 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
Ingredients for Ptichye Moloko Layer:
(note: this is 1/2 of the original ptichye moloko recipe)
- 1 packets unflavored gelatin, 7 grams by weight
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 oz tub of sour cream
- 8 oz tub of cool whip, refrigerated (not frozen)
Ingredients for Syrup:
- 1 can sprite, 7-up, or LaCroix with 2 tbsp sugar (what I used).
Ingredients for Creme Chantilly Frosting:
- 2 cups 1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 Tbsp confectioners, powdered sugar, sifted
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for Chocolate topping:
- 3/4 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Line 2 non-stick cake pans with parchment paper and preheat the Oven to 350°F.
- Separate egg whites from yolks. In a medium bowl, whisk together yolks, sugar and vanilla. Add flour until well blended.
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high-speed until they foam and are about 3-4 times in volume (about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes). Don’t beat too long or they will become too stiff and won't blend well.
- Use a spatula to gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites until well combined. Don’t mix too much or you will lose volume. The batter should have a fluffy texture.
- Divide the batter evenly among the two, lined cake pans & bake 20 minutes until the tops are golden.
- As soon as the cake is done, turn the cake out onto a clean surface and peel off the wax paper. This is much easier to do while the cake is still very warm.
- Use a knife to remove rough edges. Let cakes cool to room temperature.
- Place on of the cake layers into the bottom of a springform pan and pour 1/2 of your soda/syrup over the cake and let it soak in. (You will pour the ptichye moloko over this layer).
How to Make Ptichye Moloko (Mousse) Layer:
- In a small sauce pan, combine 1 packets unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup milk.
- Whisk together over medium heat. Continue whisking until it just begins to steam, then remove from heat (DON'T BOIL).Set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 8 oz tub of sour cream and a 8 oz tub of cool whip until well blended.
- With the mixer on, slowly add the warm milk mixture. Immediately pour over the first biskvit layer inside the prepared baking dish. Smooth the top as evenly as possible. Cover and refrigerate to cool.
How to Make Creme Chantilly Frosting:
- Freeze your mixing bowl and whisk attachment for 10-15 minutes before beating the cream and keep the heavy whipping cream refrigerated until you are ready to use it.
- Whip the heavy cream at high speed until it forms soft peaks (1 minute).
- Add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla and continue whipping at high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks but is still smooth (about 1 minute).
Assembling your Cake:
- Place the second cake layer over the ptichye moloko and pour the rest of syrup/soda over the cake layer. Cut around the edges of the cake to loosen in from the springform pan.
- Trim the edges of the ptichye moloko to make it even with the cake layers.
- Frost the cake and even it out with a food-scraper.
Making the Chocolate topping:
- In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Transfer to a ziploc bag and cut a small hole on the tip. Practice a couple of strips on wax paper. Transfer the cake to your favorite cake stand. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.
Natasha, I have quite a few wonderful Ukrainian and Russian clients at the Salvation Army. One year, a lovely woman brought us a cake for Christmas that was the best treat I’d ever eaten! It seemed similar to this ptichye moloko cake, but had no chocolate and it had some fruit – pineapple, I think – in the cream layers? It was a three layer cake, with the cake itself being not too sweet– moist, but with a somewhat “coarse” texture — bigger air pockets than a typical cake (perhaps from the soda?) Does this sound familiar? Unfortunately, I can’t remember which lady gave it to us, to get the recipe, or even the name. Can you help?
I don’t really have any cakes like the one your describing. It kind of sounds like a biskvit cake (the sponge cake in the recipe above), but that combination is new to me. Although pineapple does sound nice!
Several if your recipes call for cool whip from a tub- this is not easily avail to me. Is it ok to substitute with same qty of whipped cream? Esp. Ptasie mleko as we call it in Polish :))
Thanks !
For most recipes, you can sub cool whip with whipped heavy cream, but I just haven’t tested it with this one. I want to experiment though next time I make this cake. If you beat me to it, let me know how it worked out! 🙂
Hi Nat
Can you please tell me how long it takes for the ptichie moloko part to stiffen up? Mne hotya bi znat primerno. Ive never made anything like this before and i dont want to ruin it 🙂
Thanks!
You want to refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes, longer is better if you have time, but at least 30 mins. 🙂 You’ll be able to tell when it’s firmed up and set.
Thanks so much for quick reply! I made the cake and now im just waiting a little longer to try it. I hope it tastes better than it looks ( i messed up on the decorations, as always) :))
And it is gooooood! Wow i am shocked it tastes so good :)) thanks again. My husband will love it for sure:)
That’s so great!! I love to hear great reports like yours. It’s so encouraging 🙂 And your comment made me smile. Thank you!! 🙂
Спасибо Наташа Ваши тортики очень вкусны мой муж поделился вашим веб сайтом на роботе то Американцы в восторге как все доступно и просто делается и какое все вкуснятина .
Thank you so much for your sweet compliments! I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes! 🙂
Наташа, я сегодня приготовила торт . Все делала строго по рецепту. Очень удивлена тем, что у меня получилось. На вкус узнаю только завтра. Завтра день рождения у дочери.Первый раз украсила торт нотами из песенки “Happy birthday”. Конечно не идеальная форма торта у меня вышла, но я довольна.И довольна очень вашим отношением. Спасибо. Буду теперь готовить по вашим рецептам.
Thank you Olga 🙂 I’m so glad you liked the cake. Happy birthday to your daughter!
Наташа, спасибо огромное за рецепт!!! Удался на все 100%. Именинница и другие гости были очень довольны.
You are welcome Olga, I’m glad everyone loved it :).
Наташа, добрый день! Сколько мл должно быть сиропа?
It should be 355 ml, hope this helps :).
Thank you
To the half below the first cup 🙂
Just made it for the first time and it turned out great!!!! Thank you for the recipe, hope to pass it to my daughter (even thou she is only 8), and do it together!!!! Our family loves this cake, especially grandmother . Wish I can post the photo of the cake , I added some strawberries on the top and drizzled with more chocolate, so now you have chocolate covered strawberries as a bonus on the cake. Yum:) thank you.
Oooh chocolate covered strawberries sounds amazing!
Hello Natasha, I was wondering, could you put beze in the middle of the cake instead of the other thing? Thank-you
Yes; you totally could! 🙂
Do you know any good recipe for a cream I could put on top and make it Valentine’s theme? 🙂
Do you want it to be pink? Or you could use the same frosting and put strawberries on top to romance it up a bit 🙂 Something like this? https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/01/15/decorating-cakes-with-chocolate/
BTW I Love your blog Natasha! Thanks for sharing w/ us such amazing recipes!
Thank you Dina 🙂
Try to make the cream with flavored yogurt instead of sour cream. Heat up the yogurt w a few tbsp of sugar on low heat until sugar dissolves. Make sure you don’t boil the yogurt.
Thank you for the tip Dina :).
You r welcome 🙂
Just one question I had about the ptichye moloko part of the cake. When you put it in the fridge to cool down, how long does it need to stay in there because mine is taking quite a bit of time to stiffen up.?
It should stiffen up as soon as its cold. How long did yours take.
Natasha, thank you for your blog and wonderful recipes. We are originally from Ukraine and looking at the pictures makes me feel nostalgic and happy at the same time.
I’m going to bake this cake for my son’s 5th birthday and I’ve never tried making ptichye moloko cake before, so I’d like to ask you a couple of questions –
if I use the original recipe portion for gelatin it’ll be 0,5 oz, right? Then I should double the rest of the ingredients (1 cup of milk, etc), too.
That means I can bake two cakes and use the doubled portion of the gelatin mixture?
Or, can I pour the gelatin mixture over the second cake layer?
Will it be OK?
Thank you for your time.
Hi Natasha, I want to make this cake but don’t really get the whole thing with the syrup, what do you do with it?
You pour half of it into each cake layer as you assemble the cake 🙂
hey, on the packets for the gelatin, what 1 packet? it comes in 2’s, so do you mean 1 as in the 2 pack or rip the 2 and use one of the small packets? cuz it didnt work too great and i used 1 as in deviding the 2 pack into 1 small individual pack. but your picture looks like a 2 pack.???
The two pack was when I doubled the recipe. It is just one packet of gelatin. Was it too runny or what was wrong wit it?
it was too soft, not thick or stiff enough. if i leave it out in room temp, it got soft like whipped cream. so i added more. I dont know why it didnt work by your recipe, but adding 1.5-2 packs helped
That is strange; those packets of gelatin should all be the same. It definitely should stay firm after it’s been refrigerated. I just checked my knox gelatin packets again and the box has 32 envelopes which total 8 oz = 0.25 oz each. Are yours the same size?
I have a box with 4 envelopes and the net wt is 1 oz , so how many envelopes do I use out of my small box?
Hi Natalia, use 1 envelope.
hey so whats the minimum amount required for the birds milk (middle section of the cake) to stay refrigerated before you can add the frosting..??
I don’t remember the exact timeframe but it’s when it sets and isn’t wobbly
Dear Natasha,
I’ve just discovered your blog, with the greatest pleasure!! No doubt that I’ll soon make the Ptichie Moloko cake (what a surprise it could be for my Russian family 🙂 )! There is just one question I’d like to ask: what is “cool whip”, could you just translate it in Russian? (looks like I don’t know enough English…)
Thanks a lot!
There is a picture of cool whip in this post: https://natashaskitchen.com/2011/10/07/quick-and-easy-fruit-salad/ It’s in the second picture down. Its in the freezer section at any grocery store.
Thank’s a lot! (Such a frozen whipped cream doesn’t exist in France, that’s why I could’nt understand what it was. I suppose it can be supplied by an ordinary whipped cream…)
Thank so much for such an awesome recipe! My hunny’s new favorite cake! 🙂
Yay! That’s awesome! 🙂
i just made this and its the first cake that ive done that ACTUALLY turned out well!!! love this recipe, its soo easy(:thanks Natasha.
That’s awesome!!! Congrats on your first cake success! 🙂
hey can i sustitute something for a springform pan? if not, where can i buy one? thanx!!
I can’t think of an easy substitute. What’s nice about a springform pan is that you don’t have to transfer it from one dish to another and risk breaking it. Most places that sell cookware will have them; bed bath & beyond (thats where I purchased mine), walmart, target. Occasionally you might find them at places like Ross and Marshalls, but not always.
K that makes sense. Thank you for the tip! I’m definitely gonna try out this recipe!!