Recipe of the week: Rákóczi cottage cheese cake

The Rákóczi cottage cheese cake (Rákóczi túrós) brought the Hungarian pies to a whole new level. What made it so special back in the day is that the cottage cheese layer was covered with meringue instead of pastry. The dessert instantly became popular and still remains one of Hungary’s specialties.

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

According to mindmegette.hu, the confectioner was the manager of hotel restaurants, he published cookbooks and won several awards at gastronomic exhibitions. He published his all-around cookbook titled Hungarian gastronomy in 1964, which features the famous cake. But the cake was actually created a few decades before, the recipe appeared in a gastronomic journal in 1937 for the first time. It was presented to the audience at the 1958 world exhibition in Brussels.

The Rákóczi cottage cheese cake is made from easy components. Its base is a shortbread-like pastry, which is covered with a cottage cheese cream flavoured with lemon zest, vanilla and raisins. Then comes the innovative part, the soft sugary merengue. Finally, the apricot jam pulls everything together.

Besides the classic cake, you can also make the dessert in the form of a muffin, tarte, galette or even serve it as a mousse in a cup. When trying out new varieties, pay attention to the ratios, because all components have their roles 😉