Chateau Gateau

Roopa

An Esterházy cake is a Hungarian cake that was one of the most famous cakes in the Austrian-Hungarian empire.

SPONGE CAKE (1)

INGREDIENTS

• 110 g sponge crumbs
• 100 g hazelnut powder
• 45 g cake flour
• 150 g egg whites
• 120 g sugar
• 25 g butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to ~340 F and prepare a baking pan with a Silpat mat
2. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl
3. Combine the egg whites and sugar to create a medium peak meringue, ideally in a copper bowl
4. Add the dry ingredients into the meringue all at once and fold together gently
5. When the mixture is almost combined, add in butter and fold it in
6. Pipe lines onto a Silpat mat – spreading the batter with a spatula would deflate the batter too much
7. Bake until golden brown and dust with icing sugar

Notes:

• Well aged egg whites (2 – 3 weeks) are better since the proteins are relaxed
• If egg whites are fresh, then salt can untangle the albumin to get a similar effect
• They should be at least room temperature
• You need to establish volume in the meringue BEFORE you add the sugar. Sugar is a heavy stabilizer, so the volume should be established first. Once you have the volume and the egg white is somewhat stiff, gradually start adding the sugar and whip until a medium peak is formed

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SPONGE CAKE (2)

INGREDIENTS

• 120 g soft butter
• 40 g granulated sugar
• orange zest
• 5 egg yolks
• 150 g egg whites
• 70 g granulated sugar
• 95 g cake flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with a silpat mat
2. Cream together the soft butter and sugar until white and fluffy; add orange zest
3. Once light and fluffy, add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until incorporated
4. In a copper bowl, mix the egg whites and granulated sugar until they form a medium peak meringue
5. Add 1/3 of meringue into butter mixture and combine. Note that this will be streaky.
6. Add the rest of meringue to butter mixture and combine (don’t overwork it)
7. Fold in the sifted flour
8. Gently spread the batter onto a silpat to at least the length of the first sponge, and level the whole thing out
9. Bake until the cake is a light golden brown

Notes:

• When the meringue first gets added to the butter mixture, it will never be fully incorporated because of the proportion of egg:butter. It will deflate if you overwork it, so it’s fine for it to be streaky looking
• This sponge can break quite easily

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BUTTERCREAM

INGREDIENTS

• 150 g soft butter
• 30 g granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 egg
• 30 g granulated sugar
• 60 g dark chocolate
• 60 g praline paste

DIRECTIONS

1. Set the chocolate on a bain marie to melt, being careful not to overheat it
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until white and creamy
3. Mix the chocolate into the creamed butter and mix well
4. Add the praline paste and mix
5. Whisk the eggs and sugar (sabayon) over a bain marie until you get a “little ouch”
6. Put the sabayon into a stand mixer and whisk vigorously until it reaches ribbon stage
7. When the sabayon is done, mix it well into the butter mixture

 

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ASSEMBLY

• Prepare a syrup and jam of choice for layering
• Flip sponge 1 onto a cutting board, and trim edges
• Cut it exactly in half to make 2 matching pieces
• Cut sponge 2 into 2 matching pieces
• Layer as follows: sponge 1, buttercream, sponge 2, soak in syrup, jam, sponge 1, buttercream, sponge 2, soak in syrup, jam
• Temper fondant to pour over top (should be a “little ouch” or 50 – 60 C)
  • Some lemon juice can cut the sweetness
  • Can be thinned with some water as needed
  • Brush on the fondant, pipe thin lines of chocolate, and then swipe with toothpick or skewer to create design
  • All must be done quickly (within ~20 seconds) before fondant sets