Name: Dobos Torte (Dobos Torta)
Yield: Makes 12 servings
Cuisine: Hungary
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; 3 tablespoons water; ¾ cup sugar; 12 whole hazelnuts, toasted and peeled, for garnish; 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour; 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature; 1⅓ cups confectioners’ sugar, divided; pinch of salt; ½ cup toasted, peeled, and finely chopped hazelnuts, for garnish; 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted; 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Preparation info

Makes
12
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Kaffeehaus

By Rick Rodgers

Published 2002

About

Five thin layers (no more, no less) of vanilla sponge cake, each slathered with chocolate buttercream icing, and topped with wedges of caramel-glazed cake—this is the famous Dobos. It’s one of the few Austro-Hungarian creations that is never literally translated, as any Hungarian can tell you that the Dobos is a national institution, and much more than just a layer cake.

There are no shortcuts to a perfect Dobos Torte. The layers must be baked individually—never sliced from o