This Hungarian Esterházy Torte consists of 5 thin layers of almond hazelnut meringue, filled with kirsch custard buttercream and rum apricot jam and glazed with icing. This gorgeous cake, with its signature chocolate stripe pattern, is the perfect dessert for a special occasion. By the way, have you tried my Sacher Torte yet?
Step-by-step video tutorial
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What is Esterházy Torte?
The Esterházy cake was invented in Hungary and is a very popular cake in Hungary and neighboring European countries such as Austria. It's made with thin layers of nut meringue, kirsch custard buttercream and rum apricot jam. It has a distinctive black pattern on the icing reminiscent of cobwebs.
How to make meringue cake layers
Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Add sugar and mix until stiff and glossy. Then fold in the ground nuts and flour. Be careful not to overwork the meringue so it doesn't deflate and lose all of the air.
Then, using a pencil, draw five 9-inch (23cm) circles on parchment paper. Turn the paper over and thinly spread the meringue to fill the drawn circles. Bake one at a time until dry, puffy and lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.
Notes on icing
- The original recipe uses vegetable oil rather than corn syrup. I used corn syrup because it makes the frosting easy to work with and adds a nice glossy finish.
- Heat the glaze in the microwave until it reaches a temperature of 80-85°F (27-30°C). If the frosting is cooler, it won't be spreadable enough, and if it's warmer, it will be too soft and run down the cake.
- As soon as it has reached the required temperature, immediately pour it onto the cake and draw a thin chocolate wheel over it.
- Work quickly when applying the frosting so that it doesn't get too thick when frosting the cake.
- For the chocolate wheel, melt dark chocolate bars, place in a ziplock bag and snip a small tip off one edge and apply immediately after applying the glaze. Prepare it in advance.
- Using a toothpick, draw 8-9 lines alternately from the center to the edges of the cake and from the edges to the center of the cake to create the distinctive Esterházy cake pattern.
Expert tips for success
- The kirsch can be replaced with rum. But if kirsch is available where you live, I highly recommend using kirsch instead of rum, as that's the original liqueur used for the buttercream.
- Bake the meringue layers until they easily separate from the parchment paper. If not baked long enough, the paper will be difficult to remove and you will most likely tear the cake layers. Remove from the paper immediately after you take the meringue layer out of the oven.
- Spread the buttercream in thin layers to match the thickness of the meringue layers.
How long does it last
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Either serve cold or allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Freezing instructions
- Whole cake: After chilling, place the cake in the freezer until it is firm, for about 2 hours. Remove the cake from the freezer and tightly wrap in plastic wrap twice. Then wrap in aluminum foil twice. It freezes well for up to 2 months. To thaw, unwrap and let sit on the counter for 2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
- Single slices: Place single slices in the freezer for about 1 hour. Then remove from the freezer, tightly wrap in plastic wrap twice, and place in freezer bags. It freezes well for up to 2 months. To thaw, unwrap the cake and place on the kitchen counter for 1 hour.
More European dessert recipes to try
- Black Forest Cake
- Tiramisu
- Panna Cotta
- Spanish Flan
- Crème Brûlée
- Chocolate Eclairs
- Croissant
- Marshmallows
Recipe
Hungarian Esterházy Torte Recipe
Ingredients
Kirsch Custard Buttercream
Almond Hazelnut Meringue
- ¾ cup ground hazelnuts, spooned and leveled
- ⅝ cup ground almonds, spooned and leveled
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 8 large egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
Glaze and decoration
- ⅓ cup apricot jam
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- ⅛ cup high-quality semi-sweet chocolate bars, melted
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 ½ tablespoon water
- 2 ½ teaspoon light corn syrup
- 1 cup almond slices
Instructions
- Custard: Combine yolks, cornstarch, and ⅜ cup of milk in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Bring ½ cup of milk and the sugar over medium heat to a boil until the sugar is completely dissolved. Whisk constantly. Slowly pour hot milk into the egg mixture. Whisk to combine. Slowly pour the tempered egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and cook until thick for about 2 minutes. Whisk continuously. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from forming a skin. Chill 1 hour.
- Meringue layers: Using a pencil, draw five 9-inch (23cm) circles on parchment paper. Then turn the parchment paper over and place on baking sheets. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a bowl, combine nuts and flour and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and salt on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whisk until glossy and stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in the flour mixture. Thinly spread the meringue to fill the drawn circles on the paper. Make sure all layers are the same thickness. Bake one layer at the time for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately flip over the parchment paper and remove the paper. Let cool to room temperature.
- Custard: In a large bowl, beat butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Add custard little by little and stir to combine. Add kirsch and vanilla* and stir until fully combined and creamy. Set aside.
- Jam: Combine apricot jam and rum in a bowl and stir until smooth and combined. Set aside.
- Assemble the cake: Place the first meringue layer on a cake plate and spread with ¼ of the custard filling. Then place the second meringue layer on top and repeat the process until you have 4 layers of meringue and 4 layers of custard. Place the last layer (you want it to be the nicest layer of all layers) on top of it, upside out, with the smooth side facing up. Spread the apricot jam evenly on top. Then refrigerate for 30 minutes or until jam is set and dry.
- Decoration: Place melted chocolate in a ziplock bag and snip off a tiny edge of the bag. The line of chocolate that you will later draw on the icing should be 0.04 inch (1 mm) thick. Set aside.
- Glaze: Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup and stir until smooth. Microwave for a few seconds until it reaches a temperature of 80-85°F (27-30°C). Immediately pour onto the chilled Esterhazy cake. Let the glaze drip down the sides of the cake.
- Pipe a chocolate wheel onto the frosting, starting from the center and working towards the edges. Alternately run the tip of a toothpick from the center to the edges and from the edges to the center 1-inch (2.5cm) apart. You will have 8-9 lines in each direction. Cover the sides with almonds, carefully pressing them against the sides with your hand. Chill in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and store for up to 3 days.
Notes
Video
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Marie Louise
Hello
Ingredients , the dry in the flour section;
Mistakes in the measurements / weights of Hazelnut and almonds
The volumes are different for two line however the weights are the same.
What is the correct amount of each, please. I am making this very very soon.
Thanks
Marie Louise
Sabine
There is no mistake in the measurements. A cup of hazelnuts doesn't weigh the same as a cup of almonds hence different volumes but the same weights. Hope that helps!
wendy Ward
Can you substitute hazelnut four for ground hazelnuts and if so do you still need to add all purpose flour to the meringue?
Sabine
Hi, I don't recommend that because hazelnut flour is finer than ground hazelnuts, and having small bits of hazelnuts in the meringue is part of this recipe. I'm sorry.
Barbara
First attempt and it worked out perfectly - personally I felt that my icing should have gern a bit thinner but that’s just my preference. A delicious cake that looks stunning
Samuel
This dessert is so delicious! It is very labor inducing but we'll worth the effort! We added some coconut extract to the merengue and hazelnut extract to the custard, but other than that followed the recipe and we loved it. Never had it before but now I want to go to Hungary to try some!
Kenwood
This looks amazing too try! One question though, when you make the dough for the meringue layers, do you spread them all five at the same time ton harden or do you spread one on parchment paper and keep the rest of the dough in the bowl?
Sabine
I work ongoing. Meaning that I spread the first on the paper, bake it, meanwhile I prepare the next, bake it, then I prepare the next... I don’t prepare all layers in advance because I don’t want that the paper soaks the moisture of the meringue. Hope that helps!
May
I am thinking of making this recipe for my Hungarian mother-in-law. Can it be made a day ahead? If so, store at room temperature in the fridge? Thank you.
Sabine
Hi May, Yes, that is absolutely fine to make it one day ahead. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
David Berg
Unfortunately I tried my hand at this dessert looking for something different for this Christmas. It didn't turn out at all. My sponge stuck to the parchment and tore apart and when I added the kirsch to the buttercream it curdled and could not be saved even after minutes of beating. My ingredients were at room temp so not sure what happened there. All in all pretty disappointing, was really hoping for this one to turn out. Best of luck to others who attempt this!
Sabine
Hi David,
I'm sorry that you had troubles with this recipe. It's indeed not the easiest cake to make, but with following every step accurately, you shouldn't have faced such problems. To watch the video is always good to see how the consistencies look like.
That the meringue stuck to the paper and didn't go off there is just one reason. It was still too wet and not baked through. The meringue needs to be golden brown and easy to remove from the paper as you can see in the video.
Some reasons come to my mind why this could happen.
1. Every oven is different. Maybe mine is more powerful than yours, and you need to add another 2-3 minutes to get the same results. An oven thermometer is a great investment.
2. The baking time also differs when eggs are larger (not every egg is the same). So when there was more wetness, it also takes a bit longer to dry and bake through.
3. Please make sure to measure all ingredients correctly.
4. The circles must be 9" (23cm).
5. The meringue needs to be very stiff that you could cut it.
That the custard cream curdled could be following reasons.
1. Make sure to mix the butter until it is creamy until you add the other ingredients.
2. The custard was not cooked enough or overcooked. As you can see in the video, it needs to have a firm pudding-like consistency.
3. The custard was not cold enough. I know you said it was room temperature but when it was still warm to touch it was maybe still too warm.
4. Adding the custard little by little and mixing until it comes together, then adding the 2 tbsp of kirsch (is really not much liquid though) and mixing should turn out fine. Normally, it comes together almost immediately after adding the liquid.
I hope that helps! If you need anything just let me know. I'm always happy to help!
Happy Holidays,
Sabine
ralu
Looks beautiful
Sabine
Thank you so much, Ralu!
Melissa Griffiths
This is so beautiful! It sounds a bit like a project, but worth the effort!
Sabine
Melissa, it's absolutely worth to try it. It's a very special and super delicious cake.
Amanda
And this recipe is exactly why I check your website every single day, Sabine. This is INCREDIBLE! You are a Michelangelo-esque architect of all things sweet and delicious. I never heard of this dessert before so I did some googling and found others used a chocolate filling, but your creation is utterly peerless--it stands alone in beauty and creativity. The video, the fork so perfectly slicing through the wedge of torte, the texture of the filling, the sprinkling of almonds...it is all a beautiful masterpiece. I could never create and offer up such a gift to this world. Simply marvelous.
Sabine
Amanda, you are so sweet! It touches me deeply that you like my blog and my recipes. Thank you so so much from the deepest of my heart.
This is the original filling and recipe from Hungary. A chocolate filling is not original but sounds delicious as well. I can say, that this kirsch custard buttercream is very special and I know no other cake that has a similar filling.
If you make the recipe and need any help, just let me know. I'm always happy to help!
Have a great day, Amanda!
Sabine xo