Check out these recipes for Hungary’s most famous desserts

Hungary and its people are famous for their love of good food. It is almost mandatory for a good meal to end with a delicious dessert, and what could be better than finishing a meal off with some of Hungary’s most beloved and famous desserts, many of which were named after the person who came up with the idea.

This article features some of the most iconic Hungarian desserts, as well as their recipes so that you can try them out at home.

Dobos torta or Dobos torte/cake

According to the Collection of Hungarikums, this dessert is a “layered pastry named after its inventor, Hungarian chef József C. Dobos, a delicatessen owner in Budapest. Dobos cake was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885; King Franz Joseph I and Queen Elisabeth (Sisi) were among the first to taste it. The cake soon became popular throughout Europe.”

It is so iconic that it has its own entry in several English dictionaries, and the original recipe is the following:

“You need 6 sponge layers for a 22 cm cake.

For the sponge layers: mix 6 egg yolks with 3 lots (lot=half an ounce, 50 grams) of powdered sugar, whip 6 egg whites into a hard mousse with 3 lots (50 grams) of powdered sugar, then mix the egg yolks with 6 lots (100 grams) of flour and 2 lots (35 g) of melted butter.

For the cream, you need 4 eggs, 12 lots (200 grams) of powdered sugar, 14 lots (235 grams) of butter, 2 lots (35 grams) of cocoa powder, 1 lot (17 grams) of vanilla sugar, 2 lots (35 grams) of cocoa butter, and 1 bar (200 grams) of chocolate.

Beat the eggs with the sugar on the stove until it heats up, then take it off the stove and mix until it cools down.

Cream the butter, add the vanilla sugar, the melted cocoa butter, and the slightly heated, soft chocolate, then mix it with the cooled eggy mousse, fill in five sponge layers, pour caramelised sugar over the sixth layer, and cut it into 20 pieces.”

Rigó Jancsi

János Rigó was born in 1858 in Pákozd, with a great talent for playing the violin, which brought him to Pest, and he later travelled all around the world. In 1896, he performed in Restaurant Payard when he met Clara Ward and then fell in love. They both got divorced so that they could remarry. One time, he wanted to impress his woman with a creamy chocolate cake. While watching the couple, the confectioner who created the cake named it after him with a great sense for marketing. His hopes were right, the cake became popular and spread quickly.

Ingredients

For the sponge cake:

• 3 eggs
• 60 grams of sugar
• 60 grams of flour
• 20 grams of cocoa powder

For the cream:

• 400 millilitres of whipping cream
• 100 grams of dark chocolate

For the chocolate glaze:

• 40 grams of dark chocolate
• a tablespoon of butter

Instructions

For the sponge, separate the eggs and mix the egg yolks with the sugar. In another bowl, whip up the egg whites, add them to the sugary mixture and combine carefully. Then add the cocoa powder and the flour and mix everything together. Bake the sponge at 180 °C for 8-10 minutes. For the cream, melt the chocolate over boiling water. After it has melted, take it off the stove and slowly mix in the whipping cream.

Cut the sponge into two layers and spread the cream between them. For the glaze, melt the chocolate and the butter and spread the mixture on top of the upper sponge layer. Store the cake in the fridge and cut it into squares with a knife dipped into hot water before serving.

Enjoy!

Eszterházy cake

The exact origin of the recipe of this Hungarian dessert is somewhat shrouded in mystery or just lost to history, but most people connect the cake to the famous Esterházy family. Some sources mention Miklós Esterházy, while others state that the cake was made for Pál Antal Esterházy since he was known to be a real gourmand. For instance, the Esterházy sirloin was named after him.

Ingredients

For the sponge cake:

• 10 egg whites
• 300 grams of sugar
• 350 grams of ground walnuts
• pinch of salt

For the cream:

• 2 teaspoons of brandy
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 500 millilitres of milk
• 2 packs of vanilla sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 50 grams of sugar
• 300 grams of butter

For the glaze:

• 100 grams of white chocolate
• 50 grams of dark chocolate

Instructions

Prepare five parchment paper pieces and draw 20 cm diameter circles onto them. Whip up the egg whites and slowly add the sugar. Then carefully add the ground walnut and a pinch of salt. Mix them together without breaking the mousse. Spread the mixture equally on the five circle-shaped parchment papers and bake each of them at 200 °C for 10 minutes.

Next up, you have to make the filling. Pour the milk into a pan, add the brandy and the sugar and start heating it. Mix the egg yolks with the flour until you get a smooth consistency, and slowly add this mixture to the milk. Stir constantly until the cream thickens, and take it off of the heat. Leave it to cool, and then mix in the room-temperature butter.

Then, layer the cake. Spread the filling between the sponge layers and on the side. Cover the top layer with melted white chocolate and draw circles with the dark chocolate. Take a toothpick and draw lines from the inside of the cake, thus forming a web shape. If you wish, you can decorate the side of the cake with ground almonds. Let the cake sit in the fridge for a few hours, then serve it.

Enjoy the dessert!

Rákóczi túrós (Rákóczi cottage cheese cake)

The name can be deceiving because it was not named after famous monarch Ferenc Rákóczi II but a confectioner named János Rákóczi. He was a unique master chef who worked all over in Europe’s best restaurants. His dessert debuted in 1958 at the world exhibition in Brussels.