Hungarian Dobos Torte Recipe

Method

Chocolate Buttercream

*This amount of buttercream is enough to full frost the cake generously. If you're not frosting the outside and decorating the top, you can get away with making less. I've put the amount in the notes section below.

In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together the eggs with the sugar and cocoa powder until they're well combined.
4 large whole eggs, 200 grams granulated sugar, 15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder I use Dutch-process
Add the chocolate and place the pan over medium-low heat, stirring continuously but not aggressively. Just keep it moving so it doesn't scramble the eggs.
200 grams dark chocolate chopped
Once it starts to thicken a little, whisk more aggressively. Take the mixture up to 170°F / 77°C or until it holds streaks. Immediately remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to chill completely.
Remove immediately, cover the surface with plastic wrap and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.

I refrigerated it for 30-60 minutes but keep an eye on it because you don't want it to get too firm or it won't mix well.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the room temperature butter until it's pale and fluffy.
283 grams unsalted butter room temperature
Add the vanilla and gradually beat the cooled chocolate mixture into the whipped butter until it's smooth and silky, scraping the edge of the bowl as needed.
17 grams vanilla sugar can be swapped for 1 Tbsp vanilla

Sponge Cake

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C) and grease and line pans with baking spray and parchment paper.

The original dobos (made in my photos) used a 9" pan - I recommend 8" pans so they're a smidge thicker, easier to handle and gives a little more substance and height to the cake.

I used three pans and just did the other three layers after the first three baked.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the 6 egg whites with 50 grams of sugar until stiff peaks form.
6 large egg whites, 50 grams granulated sugar
In another bowl for the stand mixer (OR move the egg whites to a separate bowl and use that one again - no need to clean in), beat the 6 egg yolks with the remaining 50 grams of sugar at full speed. It will get thick, pale and ribbon off once it's done.
6 large egg yolks, 50 grams granulated sugar
Sift the flour over the beaten yolks and drizzle the melted butter along the edge of the bowl. Mix just until it's well combined.
100 grams all-purpose flour, 35 grams unsalted butter melted
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, just until it's all combined.
Divide the batter into six pans, I did roughly 75-80 grams of batter per pan. Bake them for about 6-7 minutes (8-10 minutes for 8" pans), until they're set and lightly start to get some color.

Assemble

Use only 5 out of the 6 layers to assemble the cake. I used roughly 100 grams of buttercream per layer. It felt like a bit much for me so I recommend closer to 75 grams of buttercream per layer.
Refrigerate the cake for a little before frosting the outside of cake.
Use the rest of the buttercream to frost the outside of the cake and pipe little poofs on top! Refrigerate the cake while you make the the caramel.

Caramelized Sugar

Place the sugar into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Do not stir it, just swirl the pan every so often to make the sugar melt evenly.
200 grams granulated sugar
It will start to brown, swirl the pan to make it brown evenly. Once it's all dissolved and a medium amber color, remove it from the heat and let it rest for just 30 seconds or so.
Place the last layer of sponge cake on a cutting board lined with a sheet of parchment paper.
Then pour the sugar onto the remaining cake layer and use a spoon to spread it out.
Before it's completely set, swipe a large knife through a stick of butter (or grease it with spray or oil) and score the caramel so it's easier to slice once it's set. Grease the knife between every slice. The original cake was sliced
Once it's set, use the knife to slice them completely through and place them on top of the cake at an angle.

Notes

Buttercream: I’ve included the full amount to stay close to the original recipe and because I used it to frost and decorate the cake as pictured. Personally, if I made it again, I’d skip the extra piping since most of that buttercream went uneaten lol. For less decoration, I’d make ¾ of the buttercream recipe:

3 large whole eggs
150 g granulated sugar
13 g vanilla sugar
11.25 g unsweetened cocoa powder
150 g dark chocolate
212 g unsalted butter (15 Tbsp)

The original recipe from Joseph C Dobos uses cocoa mass and cocoa butter in the buttercream. I replaced those with cocoa powder and extra butter but if you want the original proportions here they are:

4 large whole eggs
200 grams sugar
235 grams unsalted butter
35 grams cocoa mass
17 grams vanilla sugar
35 grams cocoa butter
200 grams chocolate, melted