Original Dobos Torte

The history of the Dobos Cake

Karoly (Charles) Dobos or as he called himself Joseph C. Dobos was born on 18 of January
in 1847 in Pest. His ancestors were chefs through several generations. His great-grandfather
worked as a chef in Rakoczi lord castle. In his age of 6 worked as a sue-chef with his father. He
spent his practice years with the Andrassy family. In 1881 the only Hungarian language cook book
was published, the “Magyar-Franczia Cookbook”. This was the first “modern” Hungarian language
cook book. In addition to this his other fourteen cook book was published not in Hungarian
language. In the winter of 1878 he opened his delicatessen shop on the 12 Kecskemeti Street. He
was qualified master chef. He tried to get the ingredients from that place where it was the best
product. By the end of 1884 the Dobos cake borne, which made his name unforgettable in
Hungary and everywhere in the World, not only in the confectionery but in the most famous
Hungarian names in hospitality. He liked to travel and took his cake almost everywhere with him.
Later on he sent in a small wood box as express priced. In 1885 on the first “Budapest General
Exhibition” in the Varosliget Dobos had a pavilion too, where 80 waitresses, 10 chefs and 10
kitchen porter worked. This is the place where the famous story happened, when Queen Elizabeth
and Joseph Ferenc taste the cake. On this exhibition his uniqe made cans were selling like
asparagus, sugar peas, truffle, goose liver, Balaton pike perch, venison vinegar. After all the Dobos
cake was there in every café in Pest and Buda. This flat cake was really different from the typical
over decorated cakes in this age. Not only in the shape, but in the taste and the technology was
different too. In this age the sweet butter cream was unknown. For cakes they rather used cooked
cream, sugar foam, compote, whipped cream. Due to the success of the cake other confectioners
tried to reproduce it, unsuccessfully for ages. The only confectioner, Riedl Joseph was able to
prepare a close similar cake.
In 1906 he handed over the recipe to the Confectioner and Gingerbread Industry Board of
Capital city thus he made accessible for everyone. Then sold his shop and closed finally. As a result
of the First World War he lost all his assets. In that he got his first palsy. After the second palsy he
got pneumonia and died in the St John Hospital in 10 of October 1924.
His daughter kept his book, manuscripts, and awards but most of these had lost in the
Second World War.
Unfortunately we could know only the poor, damage vary of the Dobos cake. In the recent
years the better cafes started to prepare the original vary. House usually avoid preparing as the six
sponge-sheets are quiet difficult to make in a household oven. And it’s not easy to get ingredients,
like cocoa butter or cocoa mass. Despite all these I encourage everybody to look for and make the
real Dobos Cake.

The original Dobos cake recipe

For 1 piece 22 cm diameter cake

Ingredients for the six-sheet sponge:

6 eggs
100g icing sugar
100g flour
35g melted butter
Method:

Whisk the egg yolks with 50g icing sugar in a mixing bowl, until the mixture falls off the whisk in a
thick ribbon. Beat the egg whites with the remaining 50g icing sugar. Gently fold the beatened egg
whites into the egg yolks mixture. Shift the flour into the mixture. Finally add the melted butter.
Divide the sponge batter between the tins and bake them after each other or in 2 batches in a
preheated oven (200°C/400°F/gas 6 ) for 8-10 minutes each until lightly brown. Don’t forget to
grease the tins before pour the batter in. When ready, remove from the oven and turn out on to
wire rack to cool.

Ingredients for the cream:

4 eggs
200g icing sugar
235g soft butter (good quality)
17g vanilla sugar
35g cocoa mass
35g cocoa butter
200g dark chocolate
Caramel glaze:
200 g sugar( cubed sugar is the best)

Method:
1. In a large bowl over simmering water melt the chocolate , cocoa butter and cocoa mass. Leave
to cool to room temperature.
2. Beat the butter with the vanilla sugar until it is smooth and creamy.
3. In a pan mix the eggs and the icing sugar, then heat it up until 85°C, then beat it with electric
mixer until the mixture is cool and fluffy.
4. Mix the butter cream and egg mixture together, then fold the melted chocolate in.
5. Spread 5 of the 6 cake layers with a layer of the chocolate butter cream and sandwich together.
Cover all the cake with the cream. I used patterned side scraper to decorate the cake around.
6. To make the caramel glaze, put the sugar into a heavy saucepan and cook over a low heat.Do
not stir! Just shake the pan! When all the sugar dissolved pour immediately over the remaining
cake layer. Before the caramel sets, cut the cake layer, with the knife dipped in butter, into 8 equal
wedges.
7. Carefully place the wedges on top of the cake with a blob of butter cream under one corner of
each to lift them.
Source: Dobos C. Joseph Memory Book, The Hungarian Gastronomy Book

http://farkasvilmos.blogspot.de/2011/09/az-eredeti-dobostorta.html