Madjarica is Queen of the cakes in Croatia. Soft, thin, and moist cake layers in between extremely delicious chocolate filling, topped with chocolate glaze – showstopper on every cake platter.
Update. Recipe originally published on December, 21st 2016.
Layers of chocolate filling alternate with a thin, moist cake to build this classic continental Croatian cake – madjarica, or Hungarian Cake.
The literal translation for Madjarica (Mah-dia-ree-tsah) is “Hungarian girl”. Don’t ask me about the name though, since it is a traditional Croatian cake.
This is not an easy cake and can be very tricky to make, and requires a lot of time and patience, but if you are a chocolate lover – you will fall in love with it from the first bite. And believe me, with the first bite, you’ll see that every minute spent on making this cake was totally worth it. Every household has its own recipe, usually written in old grandma’s textbooks and passed on from one generation to another.
The recipe produces a large amount of cake. It is cut into small rectangles, so it’s the perfect cake for holiday celebrations, especially for the Christmas holidays (actually it is the only time of year when I make it). And usually, I make 5 cake layers, this time was 4 (only because the last crust burned in the oven :(, while I was handling with my baby girl). I was disappointed because I thought I wouldn’t be able to publish an update, but when I cut the cake, I changed my mind, it looked perfect.
This are photos from December 2016. I’m proud of how I advanced in food photography through last 2 years. It’s far from perfect but I’m satisfied!
For this cake, you will need a large baking tray around 39×27 cm (15×10inch), or you can use 33×23 cm but you will have to make 6 crusts (and divide filling in 5 equal parts), or otherwise, the crusts will be too thick.
What do you need? For the cake layers: all-purpose flour, egg whites, sour cream, baking powder, granulated sugar, and butter or lard (cake layers made with lard are even more delicious). And for chocolate filling: whole milk, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, dark chocolate (60-70% of cocoa), butter, chocolate spread (Nutella, Hershey’s), vanilla extract and an optional tablespoon of dark rum or a teaspoon of instant coffee granules.
For cake layers with electric mixer beat butter with sugar, until fluffy, add egg whites and sour cream and keep beating until you get a foamy mixture. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder and lightly mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and with your hand knead into a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.
Now we are going to bake 5 crusts. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts (use a kitchen scale). Reverse your baking tray (dimensions around 39×27 cm (15×10 inch) or similar), so the bottom side is up.
Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
Between two sheets of parchment paper roll one part of the dough to the size of the pan you are using. Roll it out as thin as possible and transfer, together with the bottom parchment paper onto a large rectangle baking tray.
Bake layers one by one, each for 5-8 minutes. They must stay pale (don’t let them turn brown on the edges). Let them cool. You can press them with something (put another baking tray with some weight on) in order to flatten them out as they cool. Crusts will harden as they cool. And when assembling the cake the can easily break so be gentle when handling.
For the filling, chop or break the chocolate into smaller pieces. Separate one part of milk (around 150-200 ml) and whisk it with cocoa powder, flour and cornstarch until lump-free. The rest of the milk pour in a large saucepan along with sugar and vanilla (and instant coffee if using) and cook until light boil. Add the mixture of milk, cocoa, and flour into hot milk and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens, around 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate, butter, Nutella, and dark rum (if using) immediately. Spread hot mixture into bowls in 4 equal portions. Filling still needs to be warm while spreading onto the crusts.
To assemble the cake, place the first cake layer into a baking tray and spread one part of the warm filling evenly over it. Cover with the second layer and alternate until you finish. You need to end with the cake layer. Lightly press the cake so the filling inside spread evenly. Pour hot chocolate glaze over it and leave the cake to stand (in the fridge or some cool room) overnight. It is essential to leave a cake to stand overnight so the crusts can soak the liquid from the filling. Cut into rectangles.
For the glaze: melt chocolate, butter, and oil in water bath or in the microwave.
Happy baking 🙂
Mihaela
Madjarica (Hungarian Cake) - Croatian Classic ♥
Ingredients
Cake layers:
- 600 grams all-purpose flour (4 3/4 cups; 21.1 oz)
- 2 egg whites
- 180 grams sour cream (3/4 cups; 6.3 oz)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 180 grams granulated sugar (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp; 6.3 oz)
- 180 grams butter (6.3 oz) room temperature
Filling:
- 1 Liter milk (4 cups+ 2 Tablespoons)
- 100 grams all-purpose flour (3/4 cup, 3.5 oz)
- 30 grams cornstarch (1/4 cup, 1.05 oz)
- 50 grams cocoa powder (1/3 cup+1 Tbsp, 1.8 oz)
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup; 7 oz)
- 100 grams dark chocolate (3.5 oz) broken into pieces
- 180 grams unsalted butter (3/4 cup, 6.3 oz)
- 50 grams Nutella or any other chocolate spread (1.8 oz)
- 1 Tablespoon dark rum optional
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules optional
Glaze:
- 100 grams dark chocolate 3.5 oz
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 50 grams butter 3 1/2 Tbsp, 1.7 oz
Instructions
For cake layers:
- With electric mixer beat butter with sugar, until fluffy, add egg whites and sour cream and keep beating until you get a foamy mixture. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder and lightly mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and with your hand knead into a smooth dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 5 equal parts (use a kitchen scale). Reverse your baking tray (dimensions around 39x27 cm (15x10 inch) or similar) *see note 1, so the bottom side is up.
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
- Between two sheets of parchment paper roll one part of the dough to the size of the pan you are using. Roll it out as thin as possible and transfer, together with the bottom parchment paper onto a large rectangle baking tray.
- Bake layers one by one, each for 5-8 minutes. They must stay pale (don't let them turn brown on the edges). Let them cool. You can press them with something heavy (put another baking tray with some weight on) in order to flatten them out as they cool. Crusts will harden as they cool. And when assembling the cake the can easily break so be gentle when handling.
For the filling:
- Chop or break the chocolate into smaller pieces.
- Separate one part of milk (around 150-200 ml) and whisk it with cocoa powder, flour and cornstarch until lump-free.
- The rest of the milk pour in a large saucepan along with sugar and vanilla (and instant coffee if using) and cook until light boil.
- Add the mixture of milk, cocoa, and flour into hot milk and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens, around 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate, butter, Nutella, and dark rum (if using) immediately.
- Spread hot mixture into bowls in 4 equal portions. Filling still needs to be warm while spreading onto the crusts.
To assemble the cake:
- Place the first cake layer into a baking tray and spread one part of the warm filling evenly over it. Cover with the second layer and alternate until you finish. You need to end with the cake layer. Pour hot chocolate glaze over it and leave the cake to stand (in the fridge or some cool room) overnight. It is essential to leave a cake to stand overnight so the crusts can soak the liquid form the filling. Cut into rectangles.
For the glaze:
- Melt chocolate, butter, and oil in water bath or in the microwave.
Notes
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Note 2: In Croatia, we are using grams and milliliters. Every recipe has a measuring in grams (milliliter), cups, and ounces. I own cups and spoons measure utensils and I try to be exact when I convert weight into volume (cups), but there is a slight possibility of deviation from the exact amount. Due to differences in measurement, I recommend that you use a KITCHEN SCALE if you have one.
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Note 3: Recipe is developed for the large baking tray and 5 cake layers and this time was 4 crust layers (only because the last crust burned in the oven :(, while I was handling with my baby girl). I was disappointed because I thought I wouldn't be able to publish the update, but when I cut the cake, I changed my mind, it looked perfect.
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