The Gerbeaud cake (Hungarian: Zserbó szelet) is a beloved Hungarian dessert named after Émile Gerbeaud, a Swiss-born confectioner who worked in Budapest. It’s a rich, layered cake made with a yeasted dough, filled with ground walnuts and apricot jam, and topped with a chocolate glaze. It’s a classic for holidays like Christmas or Easter in Hungary.
Here’s the traditional Gerbeaud cake recipe:
🇭🇺 Gerbeaud Cake (Zserbó szelet)
🧈 Dough Ingredients:
- 500 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
- 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 20 g fresh yeast or 7 g (2¼ tsp) instant dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 100 ml (approx. ½ cup) warm milk
- Pinch of salt
🍑 Filling:
- 200–250 g (1–1¼ cups) apricot jam (best if slightly tart)
- 200 g (2 cups) finely ground walnuts
- 150 g (3/4 cup) powdered sugar
- Optional: zest of 1 lemon or 1 tsp vanilla sugar
🍫 Chocolate glaze:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp oil or butter (to give shine)
Leave a Reply