ElfyThe best and most famous Hungarian torte is Dobos torte, which is made of six thin sponge cake layers filled with chocolate butter cream and topped with caramel slices.
This six-layer cake was named after Hungarian chef and confectioner József C. Dobos (1847-1924). He is frequently referred to as one of the most influential chefs in Hungarian culinary history.
In 1885, Dobos debuted his torte at the National Exhibition.
In an era when cooling techniques were limited, his goal was to create a cake that would last longer than other pastries. The caramel topping and walnut coating served this function by keeping the torte from drying out.
Dobos was the first in Hungary who filled the cake with butter cream.
| Prep time | Cook Time | Rest Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 min | 60 min | - | 110 min |
The torte’s filling is commonly misunderstood to be a simple combination of soft butter and melted chocolate or cocoa powder.
The base of the filling, on the other hand, is eggs beaten over boiling water, which makes the chocolate butter cream lighter and foamier. Thin sponge cake layers also help to balance out the richness of the filling.
Dobos torte is not a five-minute dessert, it takes a few hours to prepare but is well worth it.
The original recipe calls for cocoa butter and solid cocoa mass, but those ingredients are not widely available, thus, we substituted dark chocolate and cocoa powder.
I was skeptical about making the caramel topping, but it was much easier than I expected.
Ingredients
For the cake
For the filling
For the topping
For the decoration
Instructions
First we make the 6 sponge layers.
Make a circle with a diameter of 22 cm on a baking paper.
The batter is spread on the surface of this circle with a palette.
You need to make 6 sheets, one for every sponge layer.
When the batter is spread, the edges should be a little thicker, so that it tends to brown on the edges first.Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites and half of the sugar in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.
Combine the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl. Gradually incorporate the flour into the yolk mixture. To loosen the batter, stir in some beaten egg whites, then gently fold in the remaining whites.
Bake them in 160°C (320 °F) preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until light golden.
Remove the sponge layers from the oven, peel off the baking paper, and place them on a wire rack and let them cool completely.For the filling beat the 4 eggs well with the sugar, a pinch of salt, rum and vanilla sugar and then transfer the mixture in a metal bowl placed over a pot with boiling water.
Keep on steam until it reaches 75°C (167 °F). Stir continuously.
As reached 75°C (167 °F) remove and beat with a mixer until cool.Melt the chocolate over steam or in the microwave, stirring occasionally.
Is very important not to overheat. Let it cool, and then add to the egg mixture, and mix to obtain a homogeneous composition.Beat the butter until creamy. Add the cocoa to the butter and beat until smooth. Finally, add the egg composition, gradually, spoon by spoon, mixing very little after each add.
Be careful, all ingredients must be at room temperature.Sandwich 5 cake layers together (the 6th layer will be topped with caramel) and spread the cream over the top and sides of the cake.
Coat the sides with ground walnut.
Place in the refrigerator.Cut the sixth cake layer into 12- 16 equal pieces and arrange them close together.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the sugar, and cook until the sugar melts and turns golden brown.
Pour over the cake pieces and distribute evenly. Score the caramel with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to separate the tops before the caramel hardens.
Allow the tops to cool completely.The burnt sugar-glazed slices are placed one by one on the cake.
It’s starting to looks like the original Dobos Cake!For perfect cut, the top layer need to be marked with a knife on the burnt sugar, otherwise the whole caramel would have shattered if it had not been previously sliced.
Enjoy, Good Appetite!
