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A slice of Russian birds milk cake on a plate with a fork.
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5 from 3 votes

Russian Bird’s Milk Cake Recipe with Chocolate Glaze

This Bird’s Milk Cake Recipe (Ptichye Moloko) is made with an easy, soft, and moist sponge cake. Then, there is a layer of smooth custard buttercream and a thick layer of fluffy mousse-like marshmallow called “bird’s milk”. Finally, it is topped with a luxurious chocolate ganache. You’re going to love this one!
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: Russian
Allergy: Nut Free, Vegetarian
Servings: 10
Calories: 474kcal
Author: Marina Rizhkov

Equipment

  • Spatula set
  • Stand mixer
  • hand mixer
  • whisk
  • Cake spatula

Ingredients

Sponge cake

  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

Bird's Milk

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp agar-agar
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp dry vanilla
  • 3 egg whites, room temperature
  • 3 oz jello, lemon flavored
  • 2 Tbsp water

Yellow Cream Custard

  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp milk, I used 2%
  • 3 egg yolks, from large eggs
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened, 1 stick

Chocolate Glaze

  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Sponge Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350F.
  • Butter up a 9″ round cake form.
    A buttered cake spring form.
  • In a stand mixer, beat together eggs and sugar until pale and well blended on high speed. On low speed, add baking powder and flour.
    3 large eggs, ½ cup sugar, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ cup all-purpose flour,
    A stand mix with sponge cake batter and a stand mixer whisk on the side.
  • With the help of a spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.
    Sponge cake batter in a spring cake form.
  • Bake for 25 minutes. Set on a cooling rack.
    Baked sponge cake in a cake form cooling on a wire rack.

Bird's Milk

  • Combine a package of lemon-flavored jello with water. Microwave for 30 seconds (another healthier option is to warm it up on the stove). Set aside until ready to use.
    3 oz jello,, 2 Tbsp water
    Jello powder combined with water in a ceramic bowl.
  • In a stand mixer on high, beat egg whites from large eggs. Add in the dry vanilla. Keep beating until you combine the other ingredients.
    3 egg whites,, ¼ tsp dry vanilla
    A bowl from a stand mixer with beated egg whites and a whisk inside the bowl.
  • On the stove, in a medium-sized saucepan, combine water and agar-agar on medium heat, and bring to a boil.
    1 cup water, 2 tsp agar-agar
    A saucepan with a whisk on the side.
  • Add in powdered sugar, whisk together and boil for exactly 6 minutes (no less – no more). Take off the heat and quickly do the following two steps.
    4 cups powdered sugar
    Syrup in a saucepan with a whisk on the side.
  • Add the jello mix to the egg whites. Keep mixing.
    A stand mixer whisking egg whites and a hand pouring jello mixture into the mixer bowl.
  • With the mixer still beating, pour in the sugar powder syrup. Mix for 3 minutes.
    A stand mixer with whisked egg whites and yellow and a saucepan of syrup being poured into the bowl.
  • Transfer the bird’s milk mousse into the same size cake pan that you used for the sponge cake.
    Birds milk cake in a spring form.
  • Refrigerate for 45 minutes. Meanwhile you can make the cream.

Custard Cream

  • On the stove or the microwave, bring to a boil sugar, milk, and egg yolks from large eggs.
    ½ cup sugar, 3 Tbsp milk,, 3 egg yolks,
    Boiled sugar, milk and eggs in a saucepan with a fork in it.
  • Place in the refrigerator to cool down.
  • After it cools down completely (30 minutes or so) in a mixing bowl, combine with unsalted butter using a hand mixer.
    ½ cup unsalted butter,
    A bowl of buttercream for birds milk cake with a handheld mixer on the side.

Put the Bird's milk Cake Together

  • Spread the buttercream on the sponge cake.
    A sponge cake with buttercream on a wire rack.
  • Gently take out the bird’s milk mousse from the form and place it on the buttercream.
    Birds milk cake on a wire rack with buttercream and sponge cake.
  • Place it back into the refrigerator until the ganache is ready.
  • Important! The bird’s milk layer must be completely cooled down to pour the ganache over; otherwise, your cake will melt.
    A bowl of ganache with a spoon.

Ganache

  • Melt chocolate chips and combine with heavy whipping cream to make the ganache. Spread the ganache all over the cake.
    1 cup chocolate chips, ½ cup heavy whipping cream
    Birds milk cake covered in ganache on a wire rack.
  • Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Notes

  • Prepare the ingredients ahead of time. The process of baking goes smoother when you don’t have to worry about where your ingredients are and the time it takes to get them out! Pulling them out and measuring them beforehand makes baking go a lot smoother.
  • Make sure you have the time. Although this cake is not complicated, you need some patience for it. It comes together with a few different layers of cake and needs time to set. You can make the cake 2 days in advance and then serve it. The end result is worth it though.
  • ​Use lemon-flavored jello, and don’t substitute for another flavor. The taste of the bird’s milk will not be right if you do so.
  • ​Use visuals! Learn how to make an easy sponge cake from our YouTube channel. You will love this delicious dessert; the sponge cake is so simple to make, and you can with just 4 ingredients. The delicate mousse-like marshmallow layer is made in the same 9-inch cake pans as the sponge cake.
  • The white bird’s milk mousse needs to be completely cooled down to pour the ganache over; otherwise, your cake will melt.

Nutrition

Calories: 474kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 70g | Vitamin A: 615IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg