Bird's Milk Cake (Printable Recipe Version)

Super fluffy, chocolate-topped layers and light-as-air mousse make this Russian favorite disappear fast.

# Ingredients You’ll Need:

→ Cake

01 - 1/2 cup boiling milk (or use water plus 4 TBSP sugar instead)
02 - 2/3 cup Cool Whip, split up
03 - 1/2 cup flour
04 - 1/2 cup sugar
05 - 3 eggs

→ Sour Cream Mousse

06 - 1 stick of plain butter, no salt
07 - 4 packets Knox Gelatine
08 - 1/2 cup regular milk
09 - 15 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
10 - 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
11 - 2 lbs Daisy sour cream

→ Ganache

12 - 1 cup heavy cream
13 - 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet kind)

# Steps to Make It:

01 - Finish up by making smooth ganache: get your cream hot in the microwave until it’s just bubbling, then pour it right on the chocolate chips and ignore it for a bit to melt. Whisk till dreamy and shiny. Let it cool off for a minute then pour over both cakes so it spreads. Pop it back in the fridge so the chocolate gets nice and solid.
02 - Set the butter into a saucepan with gelatin and milk, then whisk as it slowly heats to a boil. Once everything’s all melted together, pull it off the stove. In another big bowl, combine your sour cream and sugar, beating the mix for a solid 15 minutes so it gets super silky. Pour the condensed milk in and beat it even more, five extra minutes just for good measure. With your mixer running, slowly stream in the hot gelatin and keep going for 2 more minutes. The mix will look thin—that’s what you want! Now pour the fluffy mousse mix onto your cake layers and slide the pans into the fridge. Leave them for a few hours (3 to 4) so they set up nice.
03 - Flip the steps: grab a 9-inch regular cake pan and grease it, then throw a bit of flour in there so nothing sticks. Mix those eggs and sugar in your mixer until you’ve got a pale, foamy mess—give it at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mix and gently fold it in, don’t go wild. Once it’s ready, pour the batter into your pan and bake at 350°F. When it’s cooled off, slice the cake in half the long way so you’ve got two thin rounds. Drop each layer into a separate 9-inch springform pan. Drizzle them both real good with the milk-sugar mixture. Now slather about a third-cup of Cool Whip across each cake top and let them hang out. If they look kinda skinny, don’t stress—that’s right!

# Extra Information:

01 - This sweet from Russia, 'Ptichye Moloko' (meaning 'Bird's Milk'), is famous for its soft, mousse-like bite that practically vanishes as you eat it.
02 - You’ll get two whole cakes from this batch, so you can stash one in the freezer or pass the extra to a friend.
03 - Skipping Cool Whip works fine—the tangy creamy filling will still grip the sponge just right.

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