Dobos torte with chocolate buttercream and caramel

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1. Prepare the parchment

   10 min

   Trace a 24 cm circle in pencil on each of 6 sheets of parchment paper, then turn the sheets pencil-side down. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F).

2. Make the batter

   15 min

   Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks with half the powdered sugar and the vanilla sugar until thick and foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture, then gently fold in the sifted flour and remaining whites alternately. Finally, fold in the lukewarm melted butter.

3. Bake the layers

   40 min

   Divide the batter into 6 equal portions and spread each in a thin layer within a traced circle on the parchment. Bake the layers one or two at a time for 5–6 minutes, until light golden. While still warm, trim them with a knife using a 24 cm plate as a guide, peel off the parchment, and let cool on a flat board for about 15 minutes.

4. Make the buttercream

   15 min

   Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water and let cool until just lukewarm, about 10 minutes. Beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes, then gradually beat in the lukewarm chocolate and cocoa powder.

5. Make the caramel

   10 min

   Place the best-looking cake layer on parchment paper and oil a sharp knife. Melt the superfine sugar in a dry, heavy-bottomed saucepan, swirling the pan until the sugar turns golden. Stir in the butter and lemon juice, immediately pour the caramel over the cake layer, and quickly spread it out. Before it hardens, cut the caramel-topped layer into 12 wedges with the oiled knife.

6. Assemble the cake

   2 hr 10 min

   Reserve about 3 tbsp of buttercream for decorating. Place the first cake layer on a cake stand and spread with a thin layer of buttercream, then repeat with the next four layers. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Arrange the caramel-topped wedges on top, either flat or tilted against small dollops of the reserved buttercream. Refrigerate the cake for 2 hours to set.

Tip: The layers bake in just a few minutes, so remove them as soon as the edges turn golden; overbaked layers will break. Cut the caramel while it is still warm, as it will crack under the knife once hardened.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Dobošova torta s čokoládovým krémom a karamelom