Daring Dobos Torte

This month's Daring Bakers' challenge is co-hosted by Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella and Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar. They chose Dobos torte.

According to Angela and Lorraine, the Dobos torte is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

I originally planned to pass on this month's challenge because it's summer time and I wanted to spend as much time away from the kitchen as possible. Even though we only need to complete 8 out of 12 challenges per year to maintain good DB standing, as the posting date approached, I felt guilty for skipping one due to laziness. I blame it on my OCD. I just like knowing that I can check this one off my list. So at the last minute I threw this cake together.






The sponge cake recipe was straightforward. I was too lazy to bake the cake in six rounds so I just spread the batter in two half-sheet pans and cut out rectangular layers. My sponge layers ended up too thick since I used only two half-sheet pans for the whole quantity of batter. I should have used three pans instead of two. My frosting and cake layering skills need some work. It bothers me that my buttercream layers are so much thinner than the cake layers.

I've only made Swiss meringue buttercream before so using whole eggs for this particular buttercream recipe was new to me. Even though I used a 60% cacao chocolate, I felt the buttercream was too sweet. But I really enjoyed the whole egg method. The chocolate buttercream turned out super rich due to the egg yolks and the buttercream did not feel too greasy or taste overly buttery. The recipe was also very forgiving. I thought my chocolate-egg mixture was cool enough to start adding the butter, but after beating in all the butter my buttercream was still a bit runny. So I chilled it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and then beat it until it was the proper fluffiness.

I didn’t want the caramel coating on the top cake layer to be so hard that it would be impossible to fork through it so I thought that adding a little butter to the caramel might help. When the sugar reached a medium amber color I added a generous tablespoon of unsalted butter and swirled it until melted and proceeded to coat my cake layer. I had a minor mishap involving the hot pan and my sink so I was distracted. I was distracted for less than a minute but it was long enough that the caramel I poured over the cake layer had already started to set so I was unable to coat the cake layer as well as I should have.

I could fork through the caramel coated cake layer without any problems. I was worried that the caramel might be too hard or stick to my teeth but it wasn't and it didn't. The caramel shattered perfectly and melted it my mouth. I'm not sure if it turned out so well because I took the sugar to the correct stage or because I added the butter.

I read somewhere that the caramel coated cake layer was the key to the Dobos torte's "keeping properties". Well, I can't speak to that, but I can say that the caramel coated cake layer technique is something I will keep with me and use for other cakes. The caramel coated cake layer was my favorite part of the Dobos torte.






The fine print:
The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Cherry Tart with Almond Streusel

The premise behind the monthly event You Want Pies With That is to make a pie based on a given theme. Then everyone who made a pie can vote for their favorite pie and the baker with the most votes gets to host and choose the theme. This month's host Jacque chose the theme "Nuts About Pie".



The last of the season's sweet cherries are still available in the markets so I wanted to make a tart with them before they're all gone. I knew I could incorporate nuts into the tart crust, but I wanted my pie to be nuttier. Then I found inspiration in a past issue of Bon Appétit - a streusel made with almonds, crystallized ginger and orange zest. I knew it would go perfectly with the cherries. I used meyer lemon zest instead of orange zest and I think it was a good decision. But I am always looking for ways to use up my endless supply of meyer lemons so it was not only a good decision but an easy one.

The crumbly streusel clung to the sweet cherry filling providing each mouthful with the toasted nuttiness of almond, the subtle spice and mild heat of ginger and the floral fragrance of meyer lemon. Even though the almond crust, cherry filling and streusel are magical together, I wanted to scrape off the streusel from the top of the tart and eat it all. Yes, the streusel topping was that good. It would've been a crime not to share something so delicious so I had to show restraint. But believe me when I say I'll be using that streusel to top anything that I can.



Sweet Cherry Tart with Almond Streusel
(makes one 9 1/2 x 1-inch tart)

Almond crust:
2 ounces ground blanched almonds
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 ounces (1 cup) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Streusel topping:
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon finely grated orange or meyer lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 teaspoon almond milk (or cream or milk)
2/3 cup sliced almonds

Cherry filling:
24 ounces sweet cherries, pitted (I used Bing)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Make the dough for the crust:

In a food processor, add the ground almonds and sugar and pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and pulse about 15 times or until no loose bits of almonds/sugar remain. Add the flour, zest and salt and pulse about 15 times or until the butter is about the size of small peas.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and the cream. Add it to the mixture in the food processor bowl and pulse until the ingredients are just barely incorporated, about 8 times.

Dump the mixture into a plastic Ziploc bag and flatten the dough. Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll out.

Roll the dough to an 11-inch dough circle and line a 9 x 1-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the dough so that it's even with the edge of the pan. Patch any holes or tears with the excess dough. Chill the tart shell in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking. [Note: If you find the dough too sticky to roll out, you can press the dough into the tart pan with your fingers. Try to get an even thickness. You probably won’t use up all the dough. Excess dough can be baked like a sugar cookie.]

Make the streusel topping:

Blend flour, sugar, crystallized ginger, zest, and salt in a food processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, blend until coarse crumbs form. Blend in milk (mixture will resemble moist coarse crumbs). Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Stir in almonds. Set aside. [Note: Streusel can be made one day ahead. Cover and chill in refrigerator until needed.]

Make the cherry filling and bake the tart:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400F.

Gently toss cherries, sugar, and lemon juice in large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Add cornstarch to cherry mixture and toss gently to coat. Place chilled crust on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any possible spills from the tart. Transfer cherry mixture to chilled crust. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.

Remove tart from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375F. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over cherry filling. Return tart to oven and bake until crust is golden brown and cherry juices are bubbling thickly, about 30-40 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely before serving.