This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

One slice of Dobos from Café Gerbeaud

Homemade Dobos cake

Dobos torte or Dobosh (pronounced [ˈdoboʃ], Hungarian: Dobos torta) is a Hungarian cake named after its inventor, a well-known Hungarian confectioner, József C. Dobos (1847–1924) in 1884.^[1] It is a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices. The sides of the cake are sometimes coated with ground hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts or almonds but the original cake is without coat, since it was a slice of a big cake. Dobos' aim was to make a cake that would last longer than other pastries, in an age when cooling techniques were limited. The caramel topping helps keep the cake from drying out. The cake is also often called 'Dobos-torta' or 'Dobostorta'.

History[link]

Dobosh or Dobos Torte (type of cake) was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885; Franz Joseph I and his Empress Elisabeth were among the first to taste it. The cake soon became popular throughout Europe as it was different from all others. It was simple but elegant, as opposed to the multi-layer, flaming cakes of the age. Its other secret was its use of fine buttercream, which was very little known at the time; cake fillings and frostings were usually made with cooked pastry cream or whipped cream. The chocolate buttercream and the batter of the cake were both invented by Jozsef C. Dobos.

Dobos travelled around Europe and introduced the cake wherever he went. For a long time he kept the exact recipe confidential, until 1906 when he retired and gave the original recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

Dobos Torte is known everywhere in the world and there are more than one hundred recipe variations. It is a commonly made torte in the upscale hotels, restaurants and pastry shops of the world. Another famous Hungarian dessert created in the same era is Rigo Jancsi.

See also[link]

• National symbols of Hungary
• Prinzregententorte, a similar multi-layered cake
• Spekkoek, a Dutch layered cake

References[link]

1. ^ Dobos Torta at about.com

External links[link]

• The History of Tortes at Caroline's Cakes
• Dobos Torte recipe at Food Network
• Hungarian Dobosh Torte Recipe - Dobos Torta at About.com
• (Hungarian)The Hungarian Dobos Torta recipe from the Gerbeaud Cafe, Budapest

v t e Cakes Butter cakes Devil's food cake Gooey butter cake Pound cake Cheesecakes Ostkaka Chocolate cakes Black Forest cake Flourless chocolate cake Fudge cake Garash cake German chocolate cake Joffre cake Kladdkaka Molten chocolate cake Sachertorte Fruitcakes Black bun Bolo rei Dundee Cake Panforte Layer cakes Angel cake Buckwheat gateau Dobos torte Esterhazy torte Hot milk cake Kiev cake Mille-feuille Princess Cake Prinzregententorte Rainbow cake Spekkoek Kuih Lapis Spit cakes Baumkuchen Kürtőskalács (Chimney cake) Šakotis Spettekaka Trdelník Sponge cakes Angel food cake Battenberg cake Boston cream pie Castella Chiffon cake Frankfurter Kranz French Fancy Frog cake Génoise cake Lamington Madeira cake Madeleine Mantecadas Marble cake Opera cake Pandan cake Paper wrapped cake Red velvet cake Rum cake Shortcake Spice cake Swiss roll Tres leches cake Upside-down cake Yeast cakes Babka Banana bread Banbury cake Chorley cake Date and walnut loaf Eccles cake Flies graveyard Rum baba Streuselkuchen Sweetheart cake Welsh cake Special occasions Birthday cake Buccellato Bûche de Noël (Christmas) Christmas cake Doberge cake Groom's cake King cake (Mardi Gras) Lekach (Rosh Hashanah) Marry girl cake Mooncake (Mid-Autumn Festival) Pan de Pascua (Christmas) Simnel cake (Easter) Soul cake (All Saints Day) Stack cake (Wedding) Stollen Wedding cake Others Apple cake Bizcocho Bulla cake Bundt cake Carrot cake Coconut cake Coffee cake Croquenbouche Cupcake Dacquoise Erotic cake Game cake Gingerbread Gugelhupf Heavy cake Ice cream cake Jaffa Cakes Lolly cake Muffin Pain d'épices Parkin Pavlova Petit four Punschkrapfen Ruske kape Šampita Krempita Teacake Tompouce