Ptichye moloko

One of Russia's most beloved desserts, ptichye moloko is a decadent cake famous for its reversed cake-to-filling ratio: the thick, but exceptionally light, almost soufflé-like layers of silky custard are separated by thin, fluffy, and moist layers of sponge cake, while the whole confection is topped with a rich chocolate ganache glaze. Ptichye moloko was first made in 1978 by Vladimir Guralnik, who was the head patisserie chef at Moscow's prestigious Praga restaurant. And just like the popular milk-flavored, meringue-filled candy bar that inspired Guralnik to make the cake version, the Russian ptichye moloko (lit. bird's milk) got its whimsical name as a reference to an old idiom denoting "something so exquisite, delicate and rare it probably doesn't even exist". Interestingly, the name caught up immediately and also seemed quite fitting, as bird's milk cake was invented during the heyday of the USSR, rapidly gaining popularity of mass proportions among the Soviet consumers despite being expensive and relatively hard to purchase at the time. In the US, this cake is still popular among Russian immigrants who often use Cool Whip and gelatin to get the right consistency.