August 2009 Daring Baker's Challenge: Dobos Torte

It is that time once again when Daring Bakers across the world participate in a baking challenge and then blog about it. This month's 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.

The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

Now that administrative part is done, let's cut to the chase on this one. My challenge of creating the Dobos Torte did not end up in a positive manner. I had never made sponge cake or buttercream frosting before, though I had made caramel. The sponge cake and caramel came out fine, but I failed beyond belief at the buttercream frosting. Well, actually, I failed at it twice! As you see in my photos, my buttercream became extremely soft which led to the caramel sliding, the frosting on the side looking like I had never decorated a cake before, and lastly a completely pathetic outcome. As I went to slice it, everything just shifted to the right in a leaning way. I wish I could tell you what it tasted like, but I cannot. I can only tell you that my version of buttercream frosting tasted like dipping my finger in butter. After the cake slid sideways on the plate, I calmly grabbed a trash bag and placed said cake in it. I picked up the kitchen and called it a day. My ego is still bruised, but I will be o.k. and keep working on this baking thing. I will share my experience and tips on this Challenge and then maybe someone can help me understand what I did so terribly wrong to create a melted buttercream disaster! It was 90 degrees and very humid the day I attempted this Challenge. Perhaps that played a role in it. Have you had any baking or cooking fiascos? Does is bruise your ego??? Do you try to make the best of it or just get through it and move on?

The recipe is really long so instead of adding notes and tips along the way I have included a link to the PDF here (it includes links to resources and photos) and tips/lessons learned below. I also posted some photos on flickr. For a slide show click here, for the set click here.

Tips/Lessons Learned:

Sponge Layers:

• I used 9" disposable cake tins for the sponge layers. I used the tin as a template and traced the bottom on parchment paper. I cut out 6 circles and placed each one (pencil trace side down) in the cake tins and then sprayed with Baking Pam. I just knew that if I used the tins I would be guaranteed better consistency and shape vs. me doing it freehand.
• Having never made a sponge cake before I was not familiar with the batter. Guess what? It's spongy!
• The folding in of flour into the cake batter was not your typical folding exercise. I found that folding in flour took much longer than folding in egg whites for example. You want to ensure your flour is all mixed.
• When the cake comes out of the oven let it cool for a few minutes and then go around the edge with a knife. For me, once cool, they popped right out. Note that they did shrink a little in size once cool.
• I would not recommend cooling them on a rack as they get an imprint on them. For a few, I removed the parchment and then placed back on another sheet of parchment. They stuck a little. For the others, I let them totally cool in the cake tin and did not remove the parchment until assembly.
  

Buttercream:

• I need tips here! On my first batch I used superfine sugar and no eggs. Substituted milk and corn starch for the eggs which I did based upon another Daring Baker's trial. The problem with this batch was the sugar was crunchy in the frosting. The second batch I used confectioners sugar and followed the recipe. Maybe I should have let it chill more in the fridge. It was in there about an hour. It seemed to be o.k. as I started to assemble and then as I added layers it got softer and softer.
  

Caramel Top:

• Be organized and patient. Have your tool of what you will spread the caramel with greased and ready to go. The sugar will take a while to caramelize and you will notice the color changing slowly and then all of a sudden it will be amber in a blink of an eye.
  
• Make sure you scrape out all of the caramel from your pan. It will harden and it will be a pain to get out afterwords. You can always add a little water and reheat. I, on the other hand, forgot about the pan and ended up throwing it out!

Be sure to check out my fellow Daring Bakers blogs and their Dobos Torte. This group is extremely talented, dedicated, and creative! Lastly, if you want to learn more about Daring Bakers or Daring Cooks, visit The Daring Kitchen.