I failed. Miserably. Two failures in a row, people are going to stop visiting this blog pretty soon. Well, I shouldn’t say it was  a complete failure. The cakes turned out beautifully, the buttercream was exquisitly delicious, and the caramel was caramely. What killed me was the assembly and pretty much everything else surrounding this whole situation. It took me three days to make this cake. One day to bake, another day to make the buttercream and then find out that both of the batteries for my camera were dead, and another to finally assemble this monstrosity.

I thought I would be different and not stack mine like everyone else. As you can tell in the picture above that did not go over so well. I have a recipe for a Dobos Torte that is stacked like this, so I thought that if it worked for one it should work for another. But, upon further examination, said recipe had a firmer, sturdier cake base and was covered in pure chocolate, which stopped it from becoming a slumpy mess.

I would definetly say that you should not let my failure stop you from making this cake because the recipe as is, is actually pretty simple and well worth the effort because it was finger licking good. I am pretty positive that I will make this again but I will stick to the regular assembly, and I am going to find ways to work this buttercream into more of my cakes.

I am posting the assembly of this cake as it supposed to be not as I did it. (Although the pictures below are of how I assembled it in case anyone is curious)

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.

Dobos Torte

* recipes to follow

• sponge cake rounds
• chocolate buttercream
• caramel topped sponge cake wedges
• 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
• 1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts (optional)

1. Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2. Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a serving platter and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3. Press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake, if desired.
4. Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours.

Serves: 12

Sponge Cake Layers

• 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups icing sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (or 95g plain flour + 17g cornstarch sifted together)
• pinch of salt

1. Position one oven rack at the top and  the second in the center of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2. Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9″ pan as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn’t touch the cake batter.)
3. Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup of the icing sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes.
4. In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup of icing sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5. Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4 cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on another baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8″ pan or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round.

* This can be made in advance and stored in the fridge, tightly wrapped with parchment between the layers.

Chocolate Buttercream

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes.
3. Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4. Leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5. When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons) at a time. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

* This also can be made in advance and stored covered in the fridge.

Caramel Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 12 tablespoons water
• 8 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (i.e. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

1. Choose the best looking cake layer for the caramel top. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Cute the cake into 12 equal wedges and place back together. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2. Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Use any extra caramel to make decorations. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

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