It was August 2006. We went there for the European Swimming Championships, to follow the steps of the Empress Sissi, to visit the spas, the Imperial palace and the zoo. We returned from Budapest totally in love, drunk with so many gold medals and fascinated by the Hungarian cuisine.
There are many moments carved in my heart from that holiday: beautiful gardens, elegant spas with affordable prices, friendly people, a well-organized subway with the longest and steepest escalator I’ve ever seen, the most hot fresh paprika salad (Laura still cries thinking back at that salad!), colorful markets overflowing with products, where we are also able to explain us with signs and buy three whistles to cheer at the competitions, breathtaking night views of the Danube.
Beside this, we lived the most exciting sport experience ever (obviously as spectators): gold medals won screamafterscream, encouragement after encouragement, painted faces and posters designed withmarkerson the hostel floor.Thestandswere shaking beneath our jumps when we were singing outnational anthemwithtears in oureyes.We were suffering from supporter’s fever,and we did our best not to recover from it!
Perhaps for this reasons,orperhaps because of thespecial characterof the city, Budapest conquered our hearts: Budapest is acitywith a unique soul and an unmissable atmosphere, made up, in the sametime, by many distinctly different neighbourhoods,on one hand narrow lanes, shadowed alleys and hidden courtyards, on the other hand monumental squares, magnificent palacesand ruinsofapast characterized by a pattern of lights and shades.
Ourguidewas fulloftabsandcolourful slips of paper.Apagewasstressedmore than theothersand, at a closer look, you can still find a few crumbs.From theBudapest DeAgostini guide: onthe north side ofthe Vorosmarty square there istherenownedpastryGerbeaud, founded in the 1858 by HenrikKugler,lateracquiredby the SwissconfectionerEmilGerbeaud,towhom we owethecurrentinterior decor.During the summer it is very pleasant to spent some time on the front terrace,sipping coffeeandfollowing thefreneticmovementof thecolouredsquare.
How could we miss such an opportunity to relax and recharge ourself before heading to the championship competition to support our heroes? There, at Gerbeaud, we met forthefirst time theDobosTorte,the flagship of the Hungarian confectionery, a dessertinventedby the confectioner JózsefC.Dobosin 1884. He presentedthe Dobos Torte at the Budapest general exhibition in1885. To add fame and prestige to an already excellent cake, we must remember that the first ones totaste the Dobos weretheEmperorFranzJosephand the Princess Sissi. The dessert soon becamefamous throughout Europe, partly becausethepastry chef travelled far andwideto presenthiscreation.Therecipe was kept secret for ages untilDobos retiredandgavetherecipeto theChamber ofpastry in Budapest.
How to live again thoseemotions? A slice of Dobos Torte is all you need! OnceagainI must say thanks to Twitter, because through it I met Zita, a talented Hungarian foodblogger. From the Christmas holidays till today we haveexchangedtweets and advices,both extremely curious about each other’s gastronomic culture, and not only. So todayisa slightly special daybecausewe are making a cross cultural recipe exchange, posting in the same time two recipes we picked to exchange, away tolearn something,having funand crossingnational borders.
She baked oneof themost typical recipesofmy country,Ricciarellidi Siena (almond cookies),while, on the other side, I couldfinallyget my hands over the Dobos Torte, a demanding but extremely satisfying challenge.I madetwoattemptsbefore reaching the desired result, which I’m publishing today, with the final amount of ingredients and procedure I followed toget to that idea of perfection that was impressed in my mind as oneof thebest desserts evertried.
Fivethin layersofsponge cake, spread withachocolatebuttercream, endingwitha caramel coated layerofsponge cake, which protects and keeps the cakefreshfor a long time.Elegant, refined, good of a full, round and delicious good,withthe slightly bitter and crunchy caramel to complete a perfect harmony. Ladies and Gentlemen,the DobosTorte!
Giulia
3 from 7 votes
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine Hungarian
Ingredients
Ingredients for the dough
- 9 eggs
- 220 g sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 240 g flour + some for dusting
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Ingredients for the chocolate buttercream filling
- 240 g icing sugar
- 300 g butter at room temperatures
- 80 g cocoa powder
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 tablespoons rum
Ingredients for the caramel coating
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For coating the side of the cake
- crumbled sponge cake or ground walnut or almond or almond flakes
Stay Hungry with our Newsletter!Subscribe to Letters from Tuscany and receive blog updates, new stories and exclusive recipes.
Instructions
Making the dough.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Separate yolks and egg whites. Whip the yolks and the sugar together with the lemon juice and the scraped vanilla pod seeds using an electric mixer until they are light, white and creamy. Add the flour and the lemon zest and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
In another bowl whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites into the mixture. The final mixture should be light, white and very soft.
You need to bake now 6 circle sponge cakes: you can use a 25 cm diameter mould, previously greased and dusted with flour, dividing the batter into 6 parts and baking one cake after the other, or you can spread one sixth of the dough on a rectangular tin lined with parchment paper and then cut out a circle with a large mould.
Whatever method you choose, pour the batter onto the baking sheet and bake the 6 circles for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. As soon as it is ready, remove the cake from the oven, unmould or remove the parchment paper and place on a wire rack to cool. Set them aside, separated by parchment paper, and let them cool.
Making the chocolate buttercream filling.
In a bowl whip together the butter, the icing sugar, the cocoa, the vanilla seeds and the rum. Mix everything together until combined.
Making the caramel coating.
Pick the best and most regular sponge cake. In a pan on medium heat caramelize the sugar with the lemon juice, stirring constantly. When it is very liquid and orange, pour it on the top of the sponge cake. With a buttered spatula spread and smooth the caramel on the cake. You need to work quickly not to let the caramel harden.
Perforate and cut the caramel coat into 12 slices (I used a buttered large knife, they have a very useful form that divides the cake into slices!).
Finish the cake.
Spread the chocolate buttercream on the sponge cakes, place them on top of each other. Spread the cream also on the side of the cake. Sprinkle the side of the cake with some crumbled leftover sponge cake or ground dried fruit. Place the caramel wedges on the top of the cake, placing each one of them on a piped dollop of chocolate buttercream to give them their classical slant. Before serving keep it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Order now the Cucina Povera Cookbook100 recipes to celebrate the italian way of transforming humble ingredients into unforgettable meals. ORDER NOW!
Related posts:
Tuscan Nutella and meringue tartAbout hedgerows and blackberries: Macaroon TartThe Tuscan pine nut cake – a recipe with a storyOh la la! Chocolate Mousse
