Esterhazytorte Tart

Ingredients

8 eggs (egg white only)
250 g of grated hazelnuts
300 g of sugar
Some butter
Some flour
Apricot jam
500 mL of cream
Some gelatine
Some vanilla sugar
200 g of icing sugar
100 g dark chocolate

What Esterhazytorte is

Esterhazytorte is a classic 19th century recipe from Vienna. It was named after the Princes of Esterhazy, Hungarian nobility that proved to be loyal to the Habsburgs at times when the rest of Hungary was urging to launch a revolution. The Esterhazys benefited hugely from their loyalty, receiving vast amounts of land (often retrieved from revolutionary and disowned noblemen) as well as many privileges.

Even today, the descendants of the Esterhazy family are among the richest people in Austria, owning castles in Eisenstadt and Forchtenstein as well as other places. The tart is a bit tricky to make, but worth the hassle. A cake of the same name is a quicker and easier "flat" version of the tart.

How to make Esterhazytorte Tart

Whip the egg white with the sugar until it is foamy and quite stiff. Mix it with the hazelnuts. Now the laborious part: Grease a baking sheet (or typically three) and outline six rings of the final tart using a shape. Into these shapes, pour the dough to make six thin sheets. Bake them briefly at 200 degrees Celsius until they are lightly brown. Cut off excessive parts.

Soak the gelatine in water and warm it up until it becomes liquid. Mix it with vanilla sugar and the cream. Use this as a filling and the apricot jam to glue the six base-sheets together. Finally, the icing: Esterhazytorte Tart has a very characteristic icing, so take good care to get it right. Melt the chocolate in water steam and mix it with a bit of butter. Mix the icing sugar with water and a bit of rum and ice the tart properly.

Whilst the icing is still liquid, fill the liquid chocolate into a plastic bad with a tiny hole in one corner. Use the leaking chocolate to "draw" rings around the top of the tart, with a distance of approximately two centimetres to each other. Use a fork to "smear" lines across the top of the tart, in alternating direction: in and out. The result should resemble a spider′s web. Eventually, cover the flanks of the tart: Use whipped cream to seal the sides and cover them with roasted almond flakes or almond brittle.

More Austrian Recipes

Desserts & Sweet Meals: Kaiserschmarrn - Topfenpalatschinken pancakes - Topfengrießknödel - Potato dough for Mohn- and Nussnudeln - Pofesen - Apple Strudel - Topfenschmarrn - Topfenstrudel - Wuchteln - Germknödel - Reisauflauf - Salzburger Nockerl

Cakes & Tarts: Altwiener Topfentorte - Biscuit Dough - Brandteigkrapferl - Marmorgugelhupf - Linzertorte - Malakowtorte - Metternichtorte - Sachertorte - Zwetschkenkuchen

Christmas Cookies: Hamburger Schnitten - Haselnuss Makronen - Ploberger Schnitten - Lebkuchen - Mürbe Doppelte - Früchtelebkuchen - Rumkugeln - Vanillekipferl - Kokosbusserl

Converting Kitchen Measures: US vs. Metric

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