This month’s challenge from Liz Vos was a huge surprise for me. I truly did not expect to like making this recipe as much as I did. I know I did not have this dessert as a kid, although once when we visited some family in Hungary there might have been a relative or neighbor that served a slice of this, but again, I don’t remember it well. We may have sampled it when we visited Gerbeaud Bakery several years ago on another visit, but I’d remember the kremes more than this dessert. Then again having dessert at Gerbeaud is not really about having dessert…it’s more about having the experience of having dessert at Gerbeaud. The beauty of this old historic building is more impressive than it’s desserts. There are so many other places to have wonderfully tasting desserts in Hungary including Ruszwurm on the Pest side. p.s. Liz, I still plan on making the second August challenge…the kremes…just waiting for the weather to cool so we can enjoy this recipe without it wilting from the heat.
On to the recipe…this is one that Liz found and posted on her site. Liz mentions a caramelized topping, and the next time I make this cake, I will check out a recipe that includes the caramelized topping just to try it. Also, there are a ton of dobos torta recipes out there, and I would definitely use one that has a sweeter cake. This one was good, but more severe in the cake than I would have liked. Liz stated that she used a vanilla sugar instead of the granulated sugar in the cake batter, and I did one step better…I had on hand a lavender vanilla sugar, and used that. It kept the cake sweet, yet complex, with the light lavender scent. This cake is made like a bar cake. A lot of the dobos torta recipes are round, and I would try one of those for the fun of it.
This cake does not rise! Spread it on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. The recipe calls for a jelly roll sheet, however a plain old cookie sheet will work just as well. Start from the center and spread the batter out into a large square/rectangle shape. Remember, you will be slicing this vertically to make the cake into a bar shape when all is over. Also, you will not be slicing this cake horizontally as it does not rise as some other recipes that layer cakes call for.
Now for a secret…A lot of dobos torta recipes that require the cake to be cut in order to create the layers state to ‘cut the cake with a knife’…this cake is not so easy to cut. It’s light and spongy from the whipped meringues that are carefully folded into the batter. Here’s a better idea. Lightly spray a pizza pan cutter and slice the cake vertically to create six perfectly shaped pieces that will layer nicely on top of each other. Don’t worry if the edge pieces don’t overlap perfectly…it all works out in the end.
This is not to say that layering and icing and layering and icing and layering and icing…and doing this six times doesn’t create a bit of panic as you worry that the whole thing won’t tip and fall, but trust yourself not to pierce this lovely delicacy with a toothpick or skewer. Nudge the cake left or right by hand and quickly ice the sides, and you will have the most lovely looking cake ever!
I mentioned to Liz that the finished cake reminded me of a Buche de Noel that I made a number of years ago or my New Year’s Disaster cake, that I am determined to make again, as it looked so beautiful! Due to some shaping/shaving, I did manage to sample the Dobos Torta, and thought the cake was light, spongy and faintly sweet, while the buttercream frosting with the coffee gave the cake a very regal, almost liqueur-like flavor. I really had some qualms about mixing coffee into a buttercream frosting, however, it worked quite well. Colleagues at work liked the cake, and my husband also voted it a winner. I liked this recipe well enough, however I will look for a recipe with the caramel round as I do like caramel and would be interested to see how it differs. This recipe though did bring back faint memories of Hungary…something about the coffee, bitter chocolate, sugar and butter filling/topping had Hungary written all over it. This recipe gets high marks for ease, taste and presentation. Don’t even bother taking the cake off the parchment. Slice it right on the parchment, peel off the cake and start the icing and layering. You will be surprised at what a beautiful and delicious cake you’ve created!
Dobos Torta
Cake Batter
9 eggs separated
9 tablespoons granulated sugar (I used lavender vanilla sugar)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
9 tablespoons flour (it doesn’t seem like much, but you don’t really need much for this cake)
Frosting
3 sticks softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1/2 – 3/4 cup strong coffee, cold
2 ounces (8 little squares) of unsweetened Bakers chocolate, melted (microwave for 30 sec intervals)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Batter instructions:
In one bowl beat 9 egg whites until stiff.
In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks for 1 minute and slowly add sugar as you continue to beat for 4 more minutes.
In yet another separate bowl stir or sift together flour, salt, baking powder.
Add flour mixture to egg yolks/sugar and stir until smooth then gently fold in the egg whites.
From Liz: I used parchment paper (not wax paper) on the back of two jelly roll pans and divided the batter in half and spread it as evenly as possible on the parchment paper. I thought the batter might spread out so I was too conservative. Next time I will spread it closer to the edge except for about ½ an inch because it didn’t seem to spread.
From Suze: I used parchment paper on top of two cookie sheets. I placed the batter in the center of the sheet and worked my way toward two closely identical square/rectangular shapes.
Bake for 10 minutes then check with a knife to make sure it comes out clean. (Suze: I baked the cakes for 15 minutes total.) I carefully turned these onto a wire cookie sheet and covered them with a pastry cloth so they wouldn’t dry out while I made the frosting. (Suze: I made the frosting while the cakes were baking and did not remove them from the parchment. I cut the cakes into three even pieces using a lightly ‘Pam-sprayed’ pizza cutter. Worked just great!) Once cool, carefully cut each cake into 3 even pieces so you have a total of 6. This first time I cut the layers on the short side. Next time I will cut them on the long side. (Suze: Cut the cake vertically from top of pan to bottom to get the bars you will need to layer.) Also, I will cover a piece of cardboard that will be an inch larger all the way around with aluminum foil and use that as the base for the dessert. Once I assemble it I will freeze it uncovered for about an hour, take it out and wrap with saran wrap sprayed with non stick coating. I plan to wrap all around the cardboard. Then I will wrap it the entire package with aluminum foil and put it back into the freezer until I am ready to thaw it and serve. (Suze: I did not freeze the cake. Keeping it in the refrigerator with the non-stick plastic wrap and tin foil around helped keep the cake’s shape and kept it from sliding/collapsing/shape shifting.)
Frosting instructions:
Cream butter and powdered sugar with mixer
Add vanilla and melted chocolate
Slowly add strong coffee until you find the consistency you want. (Suze: I used less than half a cup…more like a quarter cup, yet this gave a nice flavor to the icing.)
Figure out where you want your cake to be and place the first piece of cake there, frost, and continue to alternate until you end with frosting. Then use the remaining frosting for the sides of the cake. You may end up with some excess frosting. (Suze: Either I was sampling too much frosting while icing, or I gave each layer a more generous amount of frosting in between, however I did not end up with any excess frosting….besides, who doesn’t like a nip or two of frosting?)
Slice and serve. This dessert is very rich so slice at about 1/2 inch and consider slicing that piece in half as well. Savor and serve with a nice cup of coffee or tea. Cover leftovers and refrigerate. (Suze: Leftovers? There were none to be found when I went to retrieve my plate.) 🙂
Suze's Adventures 