Absolutely delicious Russian Royal Delight Cake Recipe. A chocolate cake layer, poppyseed layer and a crunchy meringue layer in and delicious delicate cream.
The combination of flavors makes this cake so unique yet so GOOD!
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Layered cakes always make for great desserts for special events, that includes our Poppy Seed Cake or the Meringue Chocolate Cake (my husband’s favorite dessert on our blog).
In this cake, the combination of the chocolate layer with the poppyseed and meringue gives it so much flavor and the cream brings all of the flavors together. Though the cake is a little more time consuming than other desserts, it’s worth every minute because it truly does taste royal.
how to make royal delight cake-
I’d highly recommend you read the cake all the way through so you know what you are doing. 🙂
- Preheat oven to 355°F. Cover the bottom of two 8-inch round baking pans with parchment paper.
prepare the chocolate and poppy seed layers-
- In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder, set aside.
- Separate the egg yolks and whites into two different bowls.
- Add the sour cream to the egg yolks and beat on high for 2 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy.
- On high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites and beat until well combined.
- Combine the egg yolk mixture and egg whites and gently fold with a spatula.
- Fold in the flour and mix in with a spatula working from the bottom up. Divide the mixture between two bowls.
- Add poppy seed to one of the bowls and add cocoa powder to the second, mix gently to combine.
Pour the cake mixtures into the pans.- Bake in a preheated oven 12-15 minutes. Check the center of the cake for readiness with a toothpick.
Pour the cake mixtures into the pans.
prepare the meringue layers–
- Preheat oven to 320°F. Line (two) 8-inch pans with parchment paper.
- Finely chop the walnuts.
- Beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks begin to form.
- Slowly, add in the sugar and mix until combined.
- Fold in the walnuts with a spatula.
- Divide the mixture between the pans. Try to get the tops spread as evenly as possible.
- Bake 1 hour. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN during baking.
- Open the oven door halfway and allow the meringues to cool before removing. (If you take them out of the oven immediately the change in temperature will cause the layers to flatten).
prepare the cream–
- Mix together the butter, powdered sugar, and cream cheese. Add in the condensed milk and mix with a spatula.
- Refrigerate cream for at least 10 minutes. It will start to thicken and will be easier to apply.
assemble the cake–
- Blend the vanilla wafers and walnuts. Combine together the wafers, walnuts, and poppy seeds. (THIS IS TOTALLY OPTIONAL and you can decorate as you please)
- Once the cakes are completely cooled, place the chocolate layer on a cake platter as the base.
- Add a generous portion of cream.
- Top the chocolate layer with a meringue layer. Cover with a very thin layer of cream. Top with the second meringue layer and a thin layer of cream. Add the poppyseed layer to the top of the cake.
- Cover tops and sides of the cake with the remaining cream.
how to decorate the cake–
- Cover the sides of the cake with the decor mixture and some around the rim of the cake.
- Melt chocolate and add to a plastic bag. Decorate the top of the cake with the chocolate as desired.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Enjoy!
I know as you look at the cake and the ingredients, it may feel intimidating and scary but the recipe is actually really simple, just has a few more steps than a simple cake.
other recipes using poppyseed:
- Poppy Seed Bars– Moist bars with a dulce de leche cream.
- Babka– A soft bread braid with poppy seed filling.
- Roulade– Homemade poppy seed roulade recipe.
- Poppy Seed Roll– Sweetbread with poppy seed and cream cheese filling.
Royal Delight Cake
Amazing layered Russian Royal Delight Cake with a chocolate layer, poppy seed and meringue in a light cream.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
chocolate and poppy seed layers-
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, measured then sifted
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp poppy seed
- 1½ Tbsp cocoa powder
meringue layers-
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 4 egg whites
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
cream-
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
decor-
- 6 vanilla wafers
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 graham cracker
- 1 Tbsp poppy seed
- 1/4 cup chopped chocolate or morsels
Instructions
chocolate and poppy seed layers-
- Preheat oven to 355°F. Line two 8" pans with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder, set aside.
- Separate the four egg yolks and whites into two separate bowls.
- Add the sour cream to the egg yolks and beat with a mixer at high speed for 2 minutes.
- Beat egg whites on high speed until whites go from soft/glossy and start to stiffen (about 3 minutes). Continue beating and slowly add the 2/3 cup sugar, beat until well incorporated.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites and carefully mix with a spatula. Just until everything is combined, careful not to overmix.
- Gently fold in the flour, mixing from the bottom up. Divide this mixture between two bowls. Add the poppy seed into one bowl and the cocoa powder into the second.
- Pour the mixtures into the prepared pans.
- Bake in preheated oven 12-15 minutes, check the center or cake for readiness with a toothpick.
meringue layers-
- Preheat oven to 320°F. Line (two) 8-pans with parchment paper.
- Finely chop the walnuts.
- Beat egg whites on high speed until whites go from soft/glossy and start to stiffen. Slowly add the 3/4 cup sugar, keep beating until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold in the chopped nuts.
- Divide the mixture into the pans, evening out the top of layers as much as possible.
- Bake meringues for 1 hour. DO NOT OPEN OVEN during baking. Turn off the oven and open the door halfway allowing the meringue to cool.
cream-
- Beat the butter, powdered sugar and cream cheese.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the condensed milk, mix just until incorporated. Refrigerate cream until needed.
decor-
- Blend vanilla wafers, walnuts and graham cracker. Combine everything for the decor to create a crumbly mixture.
assembly-
- Once all of the layers are completely cooled, place the chocolate layer on your platter as the base. Add a generous portion of cream. Take 1 meringue layer, flip it over, remove parchment paper and place atop the chocolate layer. Add a thin layer of cream.
- Take the second meringue and flip it over, remove parchment paper and place it over the first meringue. Add a generous portion of cream. Flip over the poppy seed layer and place over top of the meringues. Cover the sides and the top of the cake with the remaining cream.
decorating-
- Take the décor mixture. Cover sides of the cake with it and around the rim of the cake.
- Melt the chocolate and decorate create a design in the center.
- Take a knife and starting at the top of the chocolate circle start pulling the knife vertically until you get to the bottom of the circle. The chocolate will pull as well and it will create a design. Next, take the knife and a small distance from where you just ended take the knife and go up. Do the same on the opposite side of the center, repeat until you reach the end of the circle.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour.
- Enjoy, friends.
Nutrition
Calories: 526kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 11gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 124mgPotassium: 355mgFiber: 2gSugar: 47gVitamin A: 445IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 148mgIron: 2.2mg
(The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)