- Yield: 1 Cake
Somló Sponge Cake
This dessert was dreamt up by an employee of the Gundel restaurant, Károly Gollerits, who was the chief waiter of the restaurant for 16 years. He offered this desert as a surprise to his wife who was born in the region of Somló Mountain. In a large scale survey of the Hungarian population the Somló sponge cake was voted desert of the year in 2010. The wines from Somló also have a good reputation. In 1010 a Benedictine convent was set up near Somló Mountain by Saint Stephen I, the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary, and ever since it has been a wine-making region. Medical historian József Antall, the first prime minister of Hungary after the political changes, was also very fond of wines from Somló. He used to say that “Somlo wine is to be consumed in small but regular doses to maintain good health.”
Ingredients
- Rum - 1 dl
- Raisins - 80 grams
- Walnuts - 100 grams
- Sponge cake
- Eggs - 8
- Sugar - 160 grams
- Cocoa - 20 grams
- Vanilla custard
- Milk - 0.5 l
- Vanilla Pods - 1
- Egg Yolks - 4
- Sugar - 100 grams
- Flour - 30 grams
- Syrup
- Sugar - 200 grams
- Water - 3 dl
- Orange Zest
- Lemon Zest
- Cocoa - 20 grams
- Whipped cream with sugar - 300 grams
- Chocolate Sauce - 3 portions
Instructions
Soak the raisins in rum one day ahead if possible. Grind the walnuts. To make the sponge cake beat the egg whites while gradually adding the sugar until the mixture thickens and becomes a fluffy and white, then stir in the yolks, and finally the flour. Divide the batter into 3 parts, mix walnut into the first part, 20 g of cocoa into the second part and keep the third part as it is. Make sponge sheets out of each and bake in the oven over medium heat.
To make the vanilla custard boil the milk with the vanilla, add the egg yolks, the sugar, the flour and perhaps some gelatin.
To make the syrup dissolve the sugar in water, flavor it with orange and lemon zest, and boil for fifteen minutes. When it cools down add the rum.
Assembling the cake:
Place the walnut sponge sheet on the bottom, pour 1/3 of the syrup on it, spread 1/3 of the remaining walnuts and raisins on top and then cover it with 1/3 of the vanilla custard. Place the cocoa-flavored sponge sheet on top of this and repeat the previous steps. Finally place on top the unflavored sponge sheet, a layer of vanilla custard and sprinkle it with cocoa powder. Refrigerate the whole layered cake for a few hours.
To serve scoop dumplings from the layered cake using a big spoon, and heap them in the centre of a plate. Cover with sweetened whipped cream and drizzle some thick chocolate sauce on top.
