A Modern Take on a Traditional Recipe

By Gabriela and Daniela Apeloig, Founders of Apeloig Collection

We dedicate this post to our grandmother, Ghitta Schloser  Z’l, whom we never had the honor to meet.

One of the many ways we celebrate our traditions as the Jewish people is through food. Like many of the traditions at the heart of our faith, food has been passed down from generation to generation, year after year.

Although we never had the chance to meet our maternal grandmother, we’re happy to be able to honor her each time we sit down to eat the same food that she ate with her own grandmother. And that’s the the beauty of traditions.

Today, we’d like to invite you to join us in celebrating them with us by sharing our grandmother’s recipe for a delicious ashkenazi food—Malai or Malisnik—a romanian corn cake.

Our grandmother always ground the corn herself, but here we’ll use corn flour to adapt the recipe for the modern woman who has a little less time in her day to day.

And because here at Apeloig Collection, we merge our love of tradition with our love of modern design, we’ve partnered with Latin blogger Recrearte to bring you a twist: meet Malai cupcakes!

Typically, you would serve Malai in a pyrex, paired with a side of sour cream. But what’s better than sour cream? Sour cream frosting! It tastes delicious and looks beautiful atop individually served cupcakes.

Perfect to bring to events, to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or dessert, this may be our family’s new favorite party food. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. 

Ingredients

Mix A:
  • 1 ½ cup of corn flour
  • 1 cup of self-rising flour
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 qt. heavy cream
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 1 ½ cup of sugar (or the sweetener of your choice)
Mix B:
  • 2 lbs 425 g salted ricotta cheese
  • 4 oz. cottage cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup of sugar
Frosting:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 12 oz. whipped cream cheese
  • 8 oz. sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation
  • In an electric mixer, beat all the ingredients from Mix A. Start with the corn and self-rising flour, then add eggs heavy cream, baking powder, sugar and melted butter. Beat until batter is uniform.
  • In another bowl, hand mix all the ingredients from Mix B: ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and sugar. Beat until batter is uniform.

 

To present as cupcakes:

  • Grease cupcake liners, then scoop 3 layers: Batter A on the bottom, Batter B in the middle, then Batter A again on top.
  • Bake at 350°F for approximately 40 minutes. Test using a wooden stick. If it comes out cleanly, your cupcakes are ready.
  • To prepare the frosting, slowly mix powdered sugar, whipped cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla extract in an electric mixer.
  • Frost your cupcake with a spoon, spatula or pastry bag. Get as creative as you’d like with decoration. 
  • Sprinkle a few corn grains on top.
  • Serve and enjoy!

        Below, some ideas on different ways to display the cupcakes in style!

        If you are presenting the dish in a pyrex:
        • Grease an ovenproof pan with butter and sprinkle lightly with flour.
        • Pour Mix A and Mix B in 3 layers: first pour ½ of Mix A, then all of Mix B evenly on top, and finally pour the rest of Mix A on top, making sure the cheese mix is covered.
        • Bake at 350°F for 1 hour 15 min or until a wooden stick comes out completely clean.
        • Serve with sour cream on the side and enjoy!

         

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