Guriev Porridge
Guriev porridge is a Russian dessert of baked semolina layered with sweet milk skins, toasted walnuts and dried apricots, finished with a caramelized sugar crust. It's named after Count Dmitry Guriev, a statesman at the court of Tsar Alexander I in the early 19th century.
Ingredients
- 1 lmilk
- 200 gsemolina
- 100 gsugar
- 50 gbutter
- 100 gwalnuts
- 100 gdried fruit (dried apricots)
- 400 mlcream 33%
- vanillin, to taste
Method
- Bring the milk to a near boil, then whisk in the semolina in a thin, steady stream so it doesn't clump. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring, until the porridge is thick and holds its shape on a spoon. Stir in the sugar (reserve 2 tablespoons for the topping), butter, and vanillin until smooth, then take off the heat.
- Make the milk skins: pour the cream into a wide, shallow ovenproof dish and place it in the oven at 180-200°C (355-390°F). Every 8-10 minutes, a golden skin will form on the surface — lift it off with a fork or spatula and stack it on a plate. Repeat until you have 5-6 skins in total.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet until fragrant, then chop them coarsely. Cut the dried apricots into small pieces.
- Butter a 20x20 cm baking dish and build 3-4 layers, alternating semolina porridge, a milk skin, and a scattering of walnuts and dried apricots. Finish with a layer of porridge on top.
- Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the surface and bake at 200°C (390°F) for 10-15 minutes, until a caramel crust forms.
- If the crust needs more color, finish under the grill/broiler for 1-2 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn, or use a kitchen torch. Serve warm, with jam or extra nuts alongside.
FAQ
Semolina is what gives Guriev porridge its dense, custardy base, and there isn't a perfect substitute. Finely ground rice or rice flour makes a passable stand-in, though the texture turns denser and less silky. If you want the same basic semolina-milk porridge without the layers and skins, our manna kasha recipe uses the same base and is a good place to start. Ground oats can work in a pinch, but the flavor shifts noticeably away from the original.
Pour 400-500 ml of cream (or cream mixed with milk) into a wide, shallow ovenproof dish and place it in the oven at 180-200°C (355-390°F). Every 8-10 minutes a golden skin will form on the surface; lift it off carefully with a fork or spatula and stack it on a plate. Repeat until you have 5-6 skins — that's roughly what a 400-500 ml batch yields in a 24-26 cm dish. A narrower or deeper dish slows the process, since the skins depend on a wide surface exposed to the oven's heat.
It's traditionally served warm, straight from the oven, while the caramel crust is still crackling. Toasted nuts and a spoonful of fresh berries or jam alongside are the classic pairing — the tartness cuts through the richness of the cream and sugar. Because it was originally a dish meant to impress, presentation matters more than usual: portion it onto plates rather than serving straight from the baking dish.
Keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat individual portions in the oven at 160°C (320°F) for about 10 minutes, which brings back some crunch to the caramel top. A microwave will warm it through but leaves the crust soft rather than crisp, so it's a fine option if you don't mind losing the crunch.
Lumps happen when semolina is added to milk that isn't hot enough, or poured in all at once instead of a thin stream while stirring. Always bring the milk close to a boil first and add the semolina gradually. Scorching on the bottom usually means the heat was too high during the initial cooking — keep it at a gentle simmer once the semolina goes in. If the caramel crust burns rather than browns, the oven or grill was too aggressive in the final minutes — watch it closely instead of relying on a timer.
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Comments (1)
Chill the bowl and whisk before whipping cream for guriev porridge. Cold equipment makes the cream whip faster and hold its structure better. In a warm kitchen, this step is the difference between stiff peaks and soup.