Malai, or alivenci, is a cornbread-like cake from the Romanian cuisine. The large amount of cheese and sour cream in the batter makes it a favorite for Shavuot.
There are savory and sweet versions to malai (the word for corn in Romanian). To make the savory version, simply omit the sugar from the recipe and reduce salt to 1½ teaspoons.
Romanian malai cake
Course: Cakes and cookies, Pastries & BreadsCuisine: Romanian, JewishDifficulty: Easy12
servings15
minutes55
minutes1
hour10
minutesThere are savory and sweet versions to malai (the word for corn in Romanian). To make the savory version, simply omit the sugar from the recipe and reduce salt to 1½ teaspoons.
Have all the ingredients at room temperature before starting!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs
1 lb. sour cream plus more for serving
1 lb. Greek yogurt (low fat is fine)
1 lb. cottage cheese (low fat is fine)
DIRECTIONS
- Turn oven to 325 F degrees. Grease a 9” x 12” pan.
- Put dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix for a minute on medium-low speed. With mixer running, add eggs one by one and mix briefly just until incorporated. Add sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese, mix briefly and remove from mixer.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes until cake feels firm in the center and is golden on top.
- Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm with a generous dollop of sour cream.
Hello! I am writing to thank you so much giving us the recipe for Romanian Malai Cake! I am looking forward to making it and I was wondering: would it be possible to add the zest of one lemon to it? Thank you!
Thanks! I think it’s a nice idea, definitely if you’re making the sweeter version (as in this recipe.) Happy Shavuot!
Bom dia
O meu nome é Charito Peraza, vivo en Brasil en una ciudad pequeña llamada Itaberaí. que pertenece al Estado De Goiás
La primera vez que escuché y leí sobre la Torta Malai fue en un grupo de Recetas Judías del cual participo del Facebook y allí encontré diversas versiones unas con queso y otras no
Al comparar tu receta con las que encontré em el grupo de Recetss judías del Facebook me llamó lla atención los nombres de alivenci (que tú utilizas en tu receta) y en llad versiones que vi en el grupo de recetas Judías del Facebook lo llaman también de Malisnik. (fue aqui que me quedé en duda y me encantaría saber si los tres nombres son correctos ((Malak, o Alivenci o Malisnik) son correctos para esta Torta, pues la quiero hacer lhasts el día 15 de marzo de 2025
Otra cosa que me llamó la atención es que esta Torta llamada Malai me recordó de una Torta típicamente brasileña llamada “Bolo de fuba cremoso” con la diferencia que el queso que se utiliza es el queso media cura y les hecha en ls licuadora y la consistencia de la masa cruda es bien líquida
Estoy encantada con tu site:/ blog
De antemano muchasb gracias
Dear Charito, thank you so much for your interesting question, and I apologize for getting back to you so late (and missed the March 15th deadline!)
All three names are right – Malai just mean cornmeal, and names that end with “nik” usually mean that the dish is related to this ingredient (or sometimes to a place.) – like the potatonik kugel that’s made of potato, or Israeli Kibbutznik for people who live in the kibbutz.
Thanks for telling me about the Bolo de fuba cremoso – I will look it up. It is always interesting to find the connections between dishes in different communities, across the ocean. Thank you so much!