Every Czech kitchen girl knows kefírová buchta! I baked this super easy buttermilk sheet cake for the first time back at elementary school, when the girls’ part of the class had cooking lessons.
„Kefírka“ is so delicious, that I bake it even now when I’m an adult and have my own family.
Instructions
Czech „kefírová buchta“ is a super easy sheet cake for beginners, that’s where it’s magic lies.
All the ingredients are just mixed in one large bowl. The semiliquid batter is poured into a baking tray, greased with oil, and dusted with breadcrumbs before.
You don´t need any eggs, since the” kefírová buchta” is prepared without eggs.
How to Glaze the Czech Buttermilk Sheet Cake?
The cooled-down cake is covered with a thick layer of chocolate coating and sprinkled with grated coconut.
This frosting is typical for the Czech "kefírová buchta".
Baking Soda or Baking Powder?
Baking soda is added into the cake, not baking powder.
The baking soda reacts with acidic food, which is represented by buttermilk and cocoa in this recipe. The dough with baking soda must be immediately placed into the preheated oven.
The baking soda will start the rising process of the dough from the moment it meets the wet ingredients. If you let the dough stand on the counter and didn’t bake it promptly, the cake wouldn’t even rise.
Pronunciation
I recorded a short audio clip on how to pronounce the Czech word kefírka. The first word in the audio is "kefírka", the last is "kefírová buchta", which means buttermilk cake.
Czech Kefírová Buchta - Buttermilch Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 and ¾ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp dark cocoa
- 1 Tbsp baking soda
- 2 cups (480 ml) buttermilk
- ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable oil (sunflower or canola oil)
Chocolate glaze for buttermilk sheet cake:
- 5 oz (140 g) dark chocolate, sweetened (chopped)
- ½ stick (55 g) butter (unsalted)
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream (optional, if the glaze is too thick)
Misc:
- oil and breadcrumbs (to dust the baking tray)
- shredded coconut (to sprinkle the baked cake’s surface)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 340 °F (170 °C).
- Grease a high-sided sheet cake pan (size about 10 x 14 inch) with oil and dust its bottom and sides with a couple of spoonfuls of breadcrumbs.
- Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix them with a blender until everything comes together into a single mass.
- Pour the batter into the tray and bake it for about 30 minutes.
- Let the cake cool down.
Chocolate glaze:
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a water bath, then mix it. If it´s too thick, add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Mix until everything is fully blended together.
- Pour the chocolate icing onto the surface of the cake and let it sit until the covering cools down and solidifies.
- Sprinkle the surface with grated coconut. Enjoy!
Notes
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chartFancy more typical Czech desserts?
- Koláče - authentic recipe for Czech kolache
- Míša řezy - quark and chocolate sheet cake
- Jidáše - Czech Easter sweet yeasted pastry
I like your tip to add jam, I will try this!
Thank you Ria, I hope you will enjoy "kefírová buchta" with the jam! 🙂