Ingredients
Chocolate butter cream
Caramel hazelnuts
Method
Dobos torte
1.Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease three deep 20cm round cake pans. Line bases and sides with baking paper.
2.Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Beat in sifted flours and milk, in two batches.
3.Beat all the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold egg white into cake mixture.
4.Spread mixture evenly into pans. Bake about 30 minutes. Stand cakes in pans 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto wire racks to cool.
5.Make chocolate butter cream (see recipe below).
6.Make caramel hazelnuts (see recipe below).
7.Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes so they are level. Split each cake into three layers. Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with cup of butter cream. Repeat with remaining cake layers and butter cream, finishing with a cake layer (to make nine layers). Spread the remaining butter cream over top and side of cake. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
8.Serve torte topped with caramel hazelnuts.
Chocolate butter cream
9.Melt chocolate; cool to room temperature.
10.Combine egg whites and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl; whisk over a medium saucepan of simmering water (don’t let water touch base of bowl) until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to touch. Remove from heat.
11.Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Beat egg white mixture with an electric mixer until firm peaks form and mixture cools to room temperature. Gradually beat in butter and then chocolate until smooth.
Caramel hazelnuts
12.Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Place nuts on an oven tray; roast 8 minutes or until skins split. Place in a clean tea towel; rub off skins.
13.Bend the top third of 12 toothpicks over so they snap, but don’t break off; push the nuts onto the tips. Tie kitchen string between two heavy jars; place baking paper underneath.
14.Stir sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil; boil, uncovered, without stirring, about 10 minutes or until a medium golden colour. Remove from the heat; allow bubbles to subside.
15.Dip nuts, one at a time, into caramel, then hook end of toothpick over the string, allowing caramel to drip off the nuts into long spikes. Stand at room temperature until set; remove toothpicks.
You will need 12 toothpicks. The butter and chocolate for the butter cream must be at room temperature otherwise they will not combine with the egg white when beaten. Unless otherwise indicated, butter and eggs should be at room temperature for baking. When baking three cakes, place two cake pans on the top oven shelf and one pan on the shelf beneath. Change the position of the pans halfway through the baking time, placing the top pans on the shelf beneath (also placing the pan that was at the back of the oven nearer the oven door) and the remaining pan on the top shelf. This is necessary to allowing for even baking.
Note