Yes! The Esterházy Torta 🇭🇺 is one of the most famous Hungarian cakes — an elegant layered dessert named after the Hungarian diplomat Prince Paul III Anton Esterházy in the 19th century.
It’s not a fluffy sponge cake, but rather a nut meringue layer cake filled with a luscious buttercream enriched with ground nuts and flavored with cognac or vanilla, then topped with the classic white fondant and chocolate web pattern.
🇭🇺 Esterházy Torta (Hungarian Meringue Cake)
Ingredients
For the nut meringue layers:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 2 cups (200 g) finely ground walnuts (or almonds, traditional in some regions)
- 2 tbsp flour
For the filling (buttercream):
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (50 g) finely ground walnuts
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 tbsp cognac/brandy)
For the glaze & decoration:
- ½ cup (100 g) apricot jam (optional, for a thin layer under the glaze)
- 5 oz (150 g) white fondant or melted white chocolate
- 2 oz (60 g) dark chocolate (for the web design)
- ½ cup sliced almonds (for decorating the sides)