For the dough
Preheat the oven to 200C/390F (top and bottom heat, no fan). Line the bottoms of two 23cm/9-inch springform pans with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or cooking spray. If you have only one springform, you will need to bake one layer of the cake and then prepare the form again to bake the second layer.
In a saucepan, combine water, milk, unsalted butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract, then heat over medium heat until it starts simmering. Remove from the heat and add the sifted flour. Mix until no dry flour is left, bring back to the heat, and set it to low.
Cook the dough, mixing with a rubber spatula continuously for 2 minutes or until the dough forms a ball and the bottom of the saucepan is covered with white residue. Remove from the heat.
Place the dough into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Let it cool down for 10 minutes or until it’s no longer hot to touch but still very warm.
Start by adding the eggs a little at a time and mix with a hand mixer, a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or even by hand using a wooden spoon, until they are fully incorporated. Then, add more eggs and repeat until all the eggs have been incorporated. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl and beat one last time for just a few seconds to ensure thorough mixing. The dough should be smooth. When you lift the paddle, it should slowly fall from it, leaving a V-shaped tail. The dough should be firm enough to hold its shape. If you achieve this texture before all the eggs have been incorporated, stop adding them. If the texture isn’t there yet after you’ve added all the eggs, you may need to add an extra ¼ to 1 egg.
Split the dough into two even parts and spread unevenly between two prepared spring forms. This unevenness will create random bubbles on the surface of the cake layers during the baking, which represent the Carpathian mountains. If you’re using one spring form, cover the second part of the dough with a plastic wrap while the first part is baking.
Bake for 25-27 minutes or until reaching a deep, even golden-brown color on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down for 10 minutes before removing it from the form onto a cooling rack to cool down completely. Repeat the process if using only one spring form.
For the cream
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Karpatka Cake
