Scarlett WDobos Torta
June 26th 2006 03:50
Dobos Torta
About Dobos Torta
This well-known cake was first created by a Hungary chef called Jozep Dobos in the late 1880s. The amazingly thin cake layers and caramel crown were impressive indeed, but it was the cake's profuse use of chocolate buttercream -- a recipe only recently imported from France -- that literally put Dobos torta on everyone's lips. Dobos devised a special package that allowed the cake to be shipped, and soon the cake appeared in other European capitals. Other cooks failed to replicate this treat, so in 1906 Dobos made a well-publicized gift of the recipe to the Budapest Trade Association, preserving it (and his name) for prosperity. The legend was further enhanced by an operetta detailing Dobo's intrigues.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 10-12
6 eggs, separated
150 gm / 1¼ cups icing sugar, sifted
5 ml / 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
130 gm / generous 1 cup plain flour, sifted
For the filling
75 gm plain chocolate, broken into pieces
175 gm unsalted butter
130 gm / generous 1 cup icing sugar
1 egg
For the caramel topping
150 gm sugar
30-45 ml / 2-3 tablespoons water
10 gm / ½ tablespoon butter, melted
1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Whisk the egg yolks and half the icing sugar together in a bowl until pale in colour, thick and creamy.
2. Whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl until stiff; whisk in half the remaining icing sugar until glossy, then fold in the vanilla sugar.
3. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, alternating carefully with spoonfuls of the flour.
4. Line 4 baking sheets with parchment or greaseproof paper. Draw a 23cm/9in circle on each piece of paper. Lightly grease the paper and dust with flour.
5. Spread the mixture evenly on the paper circles. Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool before layering and weighing them down with a board.
6. To make the filling- the chocolate buttercream, melt the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until smooth.
7. Cream the butter and icing sugar together well in a bowl. Beat in the melted chocolate, vanilla sugar and egg.
8. Sandwich the 4 sponge circles together with the chocolate cream filling, then spread the remainder of the cream over the top and around the sides of the cake.
9. To make the caramel topping, put the sugar and water in a heavy-based pan and dissolve slowly over a very gentle heat. Add the butter.
10. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and cook until the mixture turns golden brown. Quickly pour the caramel on to a greased baking sheet. Leave to set and shatter into shards when cold. Place the pieces of caramel on top of the cake, and cut it into slices to serve.
Tips:
There are no shortcuts to a perfect Dobos Torte. The layers must be baked individually -- never sliced from one thick cake -- to give them their characteristic dryness, all the batter to spread with the chocolate buttercream. Luckily the batter bakes very quickly and the process can be speeded up by using two or more baking sheets -- and a kitchen timer to keep track of baking times. Get yourself in an assembly--line frame of mind, and you'll be finished in no time.
**From “The Practical Encyclopedia of East European Cooking”**
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