Hungarian Torte

 

Tortes are rich, usually multi-layered, cake/confection that is filled with whipped cream, buttercream, mousse, jams or fruits. Ordinarily, the cooled torte is then glazed & garnished.A torte may be made with little to no flour, but instead with ground nuts or breadcrumbs, as well as sugar, eggs, and flavorings. Tortes have a long history originated from many European countries (France, Germany, Hungary, Austria, etc). 

This recipe can be changed to fit anyone's flavor combination. This recipe is not rich.

2 cups finely chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)

1 (.25 oz) envelope active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/3 cups butter or margarine, softened

4 1/2 cups flour

1 (16 oz) jar of apricot preserves

4 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11 x 17 inch jellyroll pan (or 12 x 12 cake pan), line with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. Note: You do not want to skip this step as this will help you get it out of the pan with ease. Mix together walnuts, cinnamon and 3/4 cup of sugar and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, dissolve yeast & 1 teaspoon of sugar into warm water. Stir and let set until creamy, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, stir together beaten egg yolks, the yeast mixture, sour cream and butter.  Gradually stir in flour until dough becomes too stiff to use a spoon. Use your hands to kneed the dough until it becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into three (3) equal parts, form each into a ball, cover and set aside for about 15 minutes to rise. 

3) Roll one ball of dough between waxed paper sheets to fit the pan you are using, place in bottom of pan and spread with 3/4 of the nut mixture. Roll out the second ball of dough and place it on top of the nut layer in the pan and spread the preserves evenly over the top. Roll the third ball the same way and place it on top of the preserve layer.

4) Place torte in oven for 40 minutes. Place the egg whites into a clean bowl, whip to soft peaks. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar while beating the egg whites to stiff peaks to make a meringue. Spread meringue over top of torte and sprinkle remaining nut mixture on top. Bake the torte for an additional 15 minutes. Cool and cut.

Here are a few examples of rich tortes:

Rich Hungarian Torte

Dobos Torte

Napoleon