Esterházy Torte

Esterházy torte is a layered buttercream cake, originally created by confectioners in Budapest at the beginning of the 20th century. It is very easily recognizable because of the spider web-like decoration. The story goes that it was created in honor of Prince Paul III Esterházy, a member of the Esterházy dynasty and a diplomat of the Austrian empire.

From Budapest the cake quickly spread to Vienna and to the other lands of the Austro-Hungarian empire, including Slovenia. It was popular in cities, like Ljubljana, as everyone there wanted to eat what the Viennese ate.

This is also my family's favorite cake - no birthday goes by without it. It took some time to find a good recipe for the sugar glaze as most of the recipes online only involved powdered sugar and lemon juice. The royal icing recipe requires meringue powder and more time to make than the standard glaze, but the result is well worth it!

Recipe

Dacquoise

• 8 egg whites at room temperature*

• 200 g sugar

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (can be substituted by a pinch of salt)

• Lemon zest of 1 lemon

• 40 g flour

• 150 g almond flour

Custard Buttercream

• 300 ml milk

• 150 g sugar

• 15 g vanilla sugar

• 8 egg yolks*

• a pinch of salt

• 35 g corn starch

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

• 300 g butter at room temperature

• 15 ml kirsch

Apricot Glaze

• 150 g smooth apricot jam

• 25 ml rum

Royal Icing

• 60 ml lemon juice

• 1.5 tbsp meringue powder

• 1 tbsp heavy cream

• 1/2 tbsp corn syrup

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 360 g powdered sugar

Decoration

• royal icing

• black food color

• 150 g toasted sliced almonds

• raspberries

* If you are using small or medium size eggs, use 9.

Instructions:

Dacquoise

1. Draw 6 circles of 24 cm in diameter on parchment paper. Turn the paper upside down.

2. Heat the oven to 180°C (360 Fahrenheit).
3. Grate the zest of one lemon.
4. Mix the almond flour with flour and cinnamon.
5. Put the egg whites into a bowl, add cream of tartar (cream of tartar can be substituted by a pinch of salt) and whip on high speed until medium peaks form, while gradually adding 200 grams of sugar.
6. Add lemon zest, and sift the flour mixture over the batter. Gently fold the batter, mixing just until combined.

7. Spread the batter equally into the drawn circles.
8. Bake the cakes layers in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until a golden.
9. Let cool completely.

Custard Buttercream

1. Put the egg yolks into a bowl, add 150 ml of milk, a pinch of salt and starch, stir until smooth and set aside.

2. Put 150 grams of sugar into a saucepan, add 150 milliliters of milk, and mix. Heat while stirring gently until the sugar is completely dissolved.

3. Add the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

4. Return the custard to the saucepan, and continue cooking the cream until thick.

5. Add vanilla sugar and vanilla paste, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

6. Place soft butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on high speed. Gradually add the custard. Add kirsch and continue mixing until the buttercream is smooth.

Cooked custard

Buttercream

Apricot glaze

1. Mix apricot jam with rum. If you do not wish to add rum, substitute it with water.

Assembling the cake

1. Remove the parchment paper from cake layers.

2. Place the first layer of cake on a cake stand.

3. Spread with one sixth of the buttercream (weigh it!), and continue layering the cake.
4. Place the 6th cake smooth side facing up, and cover with the apricot glaze.
5. Cover the sides with toasted almonds and put into the fridge. I usually leave the cake in the fridge overnight to allow the buttercream to firm up.

Royal Icing

1. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat lemon juice, meringue powder, heavy cream, corn syrup, and vanilla for 2 minutes until well combined.

2. Add powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time, beating well between each addition.

3. Scrape the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are being incorporated and beat for two more minutes.

4. Take a few tablespoons of the royal icing and mix it with black food in a small cup. Put the black royal into one piping bag and the original royal icing into the other.

Making the spiderweb

1. Pipe the white icing onto the top of the cake. Pipe the black icing in a spiral motion.

2. Gently run 8 lines through the pattern using a toothpick, starting from the center.

3. Run lines in between, starting from the outer edge. Sprinkle with almonds to cover up the boundary between the icing and almonds.

4. Keep in the fridge and serve cold with raspberries.