Recipe of the week: Esterházy cake

This delicious cake doesn’t have a single story about its origin, but this is probably why several versions of the Esterházy cake still exist. The walnut-creamy dessert and its emblematic pattern have a special place in the heart of Hungarians.

Finding the origins and the perfect recipe of the Esterházy cake is quite a hard task, because it is not even mentioned in classic Hungarian cookbooks. This is why several legends evolved around its story.

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.

Mindmegette.hu writes that further questions arise when it comes to the confectioner who created the recipe. Since the cake spread quite quickly in Austria and Germany, it can be assumed that Austrian confectioner Franz Sacher had to do something with the cake. According to hvg.hu, most people know that Joseph Haydn was the court composer of the Esterházy family, however, it is less known that the creator of the Sacher cake, Franz Sacher was the court chef of the family in the 1830s. This is why some sources believe that he played a role in the creation of the Esterházy cake.

If this is true, the cake had every chance easily conquer all parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from Fertőd. During this path, the dessert went through several changes, this is why today we can find many different recipes online. The cake is basically the combination of four or five walnut sponge layers, buttercream, a chocolatey fondant cover and the emblematic pattern on top.

The sponge-cake is mostly made with ground walnut, but there are recipes which call for almonds, hazelnut or flour instead. There are also many versions when it comes to the filling of the cake. It is usually made with buttercream, to which some kind of alcohol is added (brandy, rum, amaretto, walnut liquor, coffee liquor etc.). Certain recipes call for sprinkling the sponge layers with alcohol instead of adding it into the cream. The buttercream can be made with chocolate or even a lighter mascarpone cream.

The glazing of the cake is the most important part, because this is what the cake is mostly known for. The Esterházy pattern (or Eszterházy?) forms a web, which is usually made from chocolate. The classic version features a dark pattern on a light base, but some people like to do it the other way around. Besides the pattern, the cake is sometimes decorated with dried fruits, while the creamy side is dipped into almond flakes.