The Esterházy Cake
Blog-checking lines: For the month of January Jelena from A Kingdom for a Cake invited us to start this year with a dreamy celebration cake. She challenged us to make the Esterhazy cake a.k.a the Hungarian dream.
Hazelnut sponge layers
- 12 large egg whites
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (9 oz) (250 gm) caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (2/3 oz) (20 gm) vanilla sugar
- 2½ cups (9 oz) (250 gm) ground hazelnuts, toasted*
- 2/3 cup (2¾ oz) (80 gm) plain (all purpose) flour
Hazelnut cream
- 12 large egg yolks
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (9 oz) (250 gm) caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (2/3 oz) (20 gm) vanilla sugar
- 1 -1/3 cups (10½ oz) (300 gm) butter at room temperature
- 1½ cups (5-1/3 oz)(150 gm) ground hazelnuts, toasted*
Jam glaze
- 2-3 tablespoons (45 ml) (1-2/3 oz) (45 gm) apricot jam
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) water
White Icing
- 2½ to 3¼ cups (10-2/3 to 14 oz) (300-400 gm) icing (powdered) (confectioners') sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sunflower oil
- 3-4 teaspoons (15-20 ml) lemon juice
- around 4 tablespoons (60 ml) hot water
Chocolate Decoration
- ¼ cup (1¾ oz) (50 gm) dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) oil
- ¾ cup (3½ oz) (100 gm) roughly chopped hazelnuts, toasted*
Directions:
*To toast hazelnuts, bake in a 180C/350F oven until fragrant. This can take from 10-15 minutes but watch them as they can burn quickly. When they are golden they are ready. Allow to cool. Toasting the hazelnuts is a vital process to giving the cake flavour. I found even pre toasted nuts lose flavour and it is best to give them a little toasting in the oven until fragrant. If you are using almonds, do not toast them. To grind, use a nut grinder or a food processor in short pulses so that it doesn't become like a nut butter.
Step 1 - Hazelnut Dacquoise layers. With an electric mixer beat the egg whites while gradually adding the sugar and vanilla sugar for about 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and add in the hazelnuts mixed with the flour and beat until just combined.
Step 2 - Cut baking paper into five squares large enough to draw a circle of 10 inch (25cm) in diameter on the squares. Turn the paper over and place one piece onto an up-side down oven tray and delicately spoon inside the circle one-fifth of the beaten egg white mixture. Smooth with an angled spatula. If you have a 10 inch (25cm) diameter spring form pan with a removable bottom just cut out five pieces of baking paper to fit the bottom and spoon the mixture in the pan.
Step 3 - Place the tray into an preheated moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3 oven and bake for 14 minutes. It will look soft but that is how we want them. Your finger should not stick to the layer when you touch it.
Step 4 - Take the layer out together with the paper and place on an even surface. Cool the oven tray and repeat with the next 4 layers. It is important that the up-side down oven tray is cool when you start to bake the layers. Place all the layers next to each other.
Step 5 - Hazelnut filling. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and then place in a double boiler or a heat proof bowl that fits snugly over a pot of simmering water (making sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl). Cook for 14-15 minutes. Stir every 2-3 minutes for a short while with a wooden spoon always scraping the sides and the bottom. Stir constantly, near the end. You want it to become thick and creamy. Let the filling cool completely.
Step 6 - Whisk the cooked yolks for 30 seconds with an electric mixer. Then whisk the room temperature butter for 2 minutes until light and fluffy then add in the cooked yolks. Add in the ground hazelnuts and whisk again until combined. Set aside 1/2 cup of the filling to spread around the torte at the end. Divide the rest of the filling into 4 bowls.
Step 7 - Line a cake swivel plate with baking paper. Place one dacquoise disc on it and spread with one quantity of the buttercream, then repeat with the other layers but leave the top layer without any buttercream. Place some baking paper over the torte. Press a bit with your hands to even it out, put another tray over the torte and now place something heavy on the top to allow the torte to level up. A pan half-filled with water will be fine. Place the whole torte with the pot in the fridge for one hour.
Step 8 - Jam glaze. Heat the apricot jam and water on the stove. Remove the top baking paper from the torte and spread the jam on top of it. We want a very thin layer, just barely covering the torte. Place the torte back in the fridge for 30 minutes for the jam to cool. When the 30 minutes is up, spread the 2 tablespoons of reserved hazelnut filling around the cake.
Step 9 - White icing. By hand mix the powdered icing sugar, oil, lemon juice while adding teaspoon by teaspoon of hot water until the mixture is creamy, but not runny. Mix vigorously for a couple of minutes. With a hot wet large knife quickly spread the icing over the apricot layer. Tip: it is a bit uneven just turn on the hair dryer and heat the icing so it will smooth out a bit.
Step 10 - Decoration. Before starting with the icing have the chocolate ready since it needs to go onto the soft icing in order to get the web.Melt the chocolate with a teaspoon of oil, place in a pipping bag, or a plastic bag with a cut in the corner that will act as the tip.
Step 11 - Draw four concentric circles onto the cake, then with a knife (not the sharp side) or a wooden skewer run six (6) lines at 30 degree angle to the cake to get the decoration. Each line should be in a different direction. One running away from you and the next one running to you. Press the remaining crushed hazelnuts around the cake to complete the decoration.
Let rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours before tasting. This cake that gets better as times goes by. It can be enjoyed for up to 7 days.