Esterházy torte
One of Central Europe's most famous tortes, named in honour of the Esterházy family. It is credited to Budapest confectioners of the late 19th century. Instead of sponge it has thin layers of meringue with ground nuts, filled with a vanilla custard buttercream laced with a little cognac, and on top a white glaze with the signature chocolate “spiderweb”. It is time-consuming but not difficult. What matters most is a whole night in the fridge — only then do the layers soften, the cream seeps in and the torte cuts into neat slices.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Layer mixture 20 min
- Baking the layers 40 min
- Custard 20 min
- Cooling 60 min
- Assembly and glaze 30 min
- Overnight in the fridge 720 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePrepare paper with circles
Heat the oven to 170°C (conventional). On tray-sized sheets of baking paper draw five 20 cm circles in pencil (two fit on one sheet) and turn the paper drawing side down. Meringue layers are baked without a tin, spread thinly inside the circles.
Ingredients: 6 pcs egg whites · 150 g caster sugar · 180 g walnuts or almonds, ground · 20 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Whisk the whites and fold in the nuts
Whisk the whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks, adding the sugar a spoonful at a time, until glossy. Mix the ground nuts with the flour and fold gently with a spatula into the meringue in two batches — fold from the bottom so it does not deflate.
Ingredients: 6 pcs egg whites · 150 g caster sugar · 180 g walnuts or almonds, ground · 20 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Spread and bake 5 thin layers
Divide the mixture into 5 equal portions and spread each thinly inside a drawn circle. Bake two at a time on one tray 10–12 minutes, until pale golden and dry to the touch; the three batches take about 40 minutes in total. Slide them off the tray at once and trim neatly to the circle while warm — once cold they crumble.
Ingredients: 6 pcs egg whites · 150 g caster sugar · 180 g walnuts or almonds, ground · 20 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Thin inside the circle — trim at once, while warm.Cook a vanilla custard
Bring 350 ml milk to the boil with the split vanilla pod. Beat the yolks with the sugar, cornflour and remaining cold milk. Pour in the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring, return to the pan and cook, stirring, until thick and bubbling, plus a minute. Remove the vanilla.
Ingredients: 450 ml milk · 6 pcs egg yolks · 120 g sugar · 40 g cornflour · 1 pcs vanilla pod · 250 g butter, soft · 2 tbsp cognac or brandy
Cool the custard to room temperature
Transfer the custard to a bowl, press film onto the surface and cool to room temperature, about an hour. Custard and butter must be at similar temperatures — otherwise the cream splits.
Ingredients: 450 ml milk · 6 pcs egg yolks · 120 g sugar · 40 g cornflour · 1 pcs vanilla pod · 250 g butter, soft · 2 tbsp cognac or brandy
Beat the buttercream
Beat the soft butter until pale and fluffy, then add the custard a spoonful at a time, beating constantly. Finally add the cognac. If the cream splits, warm the side of the bowl briefly over steam and keep beating.
Ingredients: 450 ml milk · 6 pcs egg yolks · 120 g sugar · 40 g cornflour · 1 pcs vanilla pod · 250 g butter, soft · 2 tbsp cognac or brandy
Custard by the spoonful, both at the same temperature.Layer and make the spiderweb glaze
Stack the layers with cream, keeping the neat flat side of a layer for the top. Spread the rest of the cream over the sides. Mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice and a little water into a thick glaze and pour it over the top. Pipe concentric circles of melted chocolate and at once drag a toothpick from the centre to the edge — a spiderweb appears.
Ingredients: 200 g icing sugar · ½ pcs lemon juice · 30 g dark chocolate · 60 g flaked almonds, toasted
A toothpick from centre to edge — and the web is done.Coat the sides and chill overnight
Press toasted flaked almonds onto the sides of the torte. Put it in the fridge overnight. Take it out 20 minutes before serving and slice with a knife dipped in hot water.
Ingredients: 200 g icing sugar · ½ pcs lemon juice · 30 g dark chocolate · 60 g flaked almonds, toasted
Before you start
Walnuts or almonds
Hungarian home recipes often use walnuts for the layers, while patisseries and Austrian recipes usually use almonds. Both versions are classic. Grind the nuts finely but not to a paste: pulse them with the flour so they do not release their oil.
Layers ahead
Baked layers keep 3 days in an airtight tin, separated by paper. The cream is best made on the day you assemble the torte.
Storage
A torte with butter and egg-yolk cream belongs in the fridge; it keeps 3 days. It should not stand out of the fridge for more than 2 hours.
