Alla Gefka
“I am inspired by the joy of people for whom"the cake is intended" Photo: Alla Gefke's personal archive How it all began: I have always loved to cook. While on maternity leave, I realized that I wanted to do something interesting and, preferably, creative. I settled on cakes and pastries. At first, I studied information on the Internet, experimented with recipes and techniques. At the first opportunity, I went to study with professionals - I took a course in European cakes and pastries from the French pastry chef Joan Martin. After that, I took practical master classes in the same direction in Barnaul with Vera Nikandrova, an international consultant in confectionery art. I baked my first cake at the age of 14, and then forgot about this activity for a long time. The next one a few years later was for my dad's birthday - in the form of a chessboard with edible chocolate figures. The birthday boy decided at first glance that the board was real. The taste of the cake also caused a lot of excitement. So I decided to make another cake. And then more and more... I took my first recipes from my old cookbooks and the Internet. Now I mainly use the recipes I got during my training. And the more new things you learn, the more you experiment on your own.
1/6Photo: Alla Gefke's personal archivePhoto:Personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: Personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: Personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: Personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: Personal archive of Alla GefkeI remember my third cake. I made it using an online master class from a craftswoman from London. And I decided to send her a photo of the result. Honestly, I didn’t really expect her to answer me. But she did! She wrote that she was very happy to receive my letter, and then posted my photo on her Facebook page with words of delight that the cake using her master class was made by Alla from distant Siberia! For me then, it was a huge boost of positivity, as if I had received an answer from outer space. The most fashionable sweets today are European desserts: mousse cakes and pastries covered with mirror glaze or velvet. Fresh berries and fruits, chocolate decorations, and French macarons are now used more in decor. Many experimental types of decor - special biscuits, caramel and nut plates, edible gold and silver… The decor of a European dessert should maximally reflect what is inside it. At the same time, everything should be stylish, laconic and solemn. Buy or order a cake: vk.com/almaksik or @allagefke
1/7Photo: Alla Gefke's personal archivePhoto:personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: personal archive of Alla GefkePhoto: personal archive of Alla Gefke
Alla Hefka's recipe: chocolate chip cookies
I spent a long time looking for a good cookie recipe withchocolate chips. There are a lot of them, but something always didn’t suit me. This recipe is slightly modified. What you will need: 115 g butter, 120 g brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg, 160 g flour, 1/4 tsp soda, 100 g dark chocolate. How to cook: Beat soft butter with sugar at medium speed of a mixer for 2-3 minutes. Beat the egg a little with a whisk, then gradually add it to the butter and sugar, whisking thoroughly after each portion of the egg. Then add the sifted flour with soda, knead the dough. After that, add the chocolate chips (cut the chocolate bar with a sharp knife into pieces of about 1 x 1 cm). You can put them in the refrigerator for an hour, or bake them right away. Roll the balls with damp, but not wet, hands (I make the size of a walnut, the cookies are 5-6 cm in diameter). Place them on baking paper at a distance of 6-7 cm from each other. Bake until golden brown at 180 degrees. It is very important to use cane brown sugar and dark chocolate of at least 65%
