Esterhazy Cake – Gluten and Dairy Free

Esterhazy is a Hungarian dessert consisting of alternating layers of hazelnut meringue and custard buttercream. This rich cake requires many steps but is well worth the preparation.

I made this cake a few days ago for my birthday. I had my boyfriend and his parents over for games and dinner and of course, birthday cake. Since my boyfriend and his mom are gluten and dairy free, I made the cake so that they could also enjoy it. Everyone really loved it, even my dad who is not a big cake person.

The cake layers of the Esterhazy are made of a crunchy hazelnut meringue that softens when the cake is left to sit. The recipe makes 10 layers but I messed up one so my cake only had nine.

Before I started making the meringue layers, I roasted about a cup of almonds so that they were done when I needed to bake the layers.

The meringue layer is just made of egg whites, sugar, and hazelnut flour. Once everything is combined you divide it evenly onto 10-inch parchment circles and then spread the meringue into 8-inch circles.

The dough should take around 12-15 minutes to cook. I ended up cooking mine for around 20-25 minutes but my oven tends to cook things slowly. You will know they are done when most of not all of the layer is golden brown. When you poke the meringue after just taking it out of the oven, the edges should be firm and the center give ever so slightly. It will completely firm up after cooling.

Since the meringue does not take long to cool, I started making the custard on the stove when most of the layers were done baking. Once the custard had cooled, I combined it with margarine and vanilla extract.

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Once all of the meringue layers were baked and the frosting was done, the assembly could begin. I alternated layers of meringue and custard and above the third layer and the sixth layer, I added in a layer of mini chocolate chips. Since I only had nine layers this placed them evenly but you could add in chocolate chips in wherever you want. Make sure to add a small amount of frosting (not more than a tablespoon) on top of the chocolate chips so that the next meringue layer will stick and not slide around on you.

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Once I finished layering the cake, I frosted the sides and added the roasted almonds. Then I could move on to make the lemon glaze for the top.

I separated part of the glaze and added cocoa powder to make the flower-like design for the top.

Finally, I added two circles of raspberries and used more mini chocolate chips to fill in some of the holes between the berries.

Recipe: Esterhazy Cake

Ingredients

Hazelnut Meringue

• 10 egg whites
• 2 1/2 cups hazelnut flour
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Custard Buttercream

• 10 egg yolks
• 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 5 1/3 Tbsp. gluten free flour mix
• 1 1/4 cup boiling almond milk
• 1 1/4 cups margarine
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Glaze

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4-5 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extact
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

Decoration

• 1 cup of raspberries
• 1 cups almond slices
• 1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Place 1 cup of almonds on a baking sheet and roast for 7-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. Be careful to not let the almonds burn.
3. Using a 9 inch baking pan, trace circles on 10 sheets of parchment. Cut the circles 1/2 to 1 inch extra.
4. Once almonds are removed from oven, change temperature to 300F.

Hazelnut Meringue

1. Whip 10 egg whites on high in an electric mixer until frothy. Very slowly, add in the sugar. Once completely added, whip the meringue on high for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form.
2. Turn off the mixer and fold in the hazelnut flour in 3 additions. Be careful not to deflate the meringue too much as it will change how the meringue bakes.
3. Divide the batter evenly among your 10 parchment circles. Spread each one out so that there is about an inch of extra parchment around the batter.
4. Place two of the layers on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. When done, the layers will be golden brown and firm.*
5. Allow the layers to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then place the parchment and the meringue on the counter to cool completely.

*Note: There are a lot of factors that can affect how your hazelnut meringue bakes including your oven type, humidity, and how much you whipped the egg whites. The meringue layers are done when the edges are firm and the middle gives slightly but will firm up when cool. Most of the layer should be golden brown.

Custard Buttercream

1. Combine egg yolks with the powdered sugar and whisk until combined. Add in gluten free flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly add in boiling almond milk while whisking. Be careful to not curdle the egg yolks.
2. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and cook over medium heat while continuously stirring. Once mixture starts to bubble and thicken considerably, cook for 2-3 more minutes. Allow custard to cool.
3. Whip softened margarine on high until very fluffy. Add half of the cooled custard to the butter and whip then add the remaining custard and the vanilla extract. Whip just until fully combined.

Cake Assembly

1. Place a small amount of frosting on your cake plate or platter and place the first layer on top. Add two to three tablespoons of frosting and spread on to of the meringue layer. Be careful not to use to much or you will not have enough to spread around the edges.
2. Add in layers of mini chocolate chips where desired. I did two layers above the third and above the sixth meringue layers. Add a small spoon of frosting on top of the chocolate chips so that the next meringue layer will not slide around.
3. Once all of the meringue layers have been added, frost the sides as well. (Do not frost the top of the cake).
4. Cover the sides with the almonds you roasted earlier.

Glaze Instructions and Decoration

1. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 4 teaspoons of lemon juice in a medium bowl. If it is too thick to spread then add more lemon juice. The glaze should be thin enough to spread but not so thin that it will run down the sides of the cake. If you made it too thin, add more powered sugar.
2. Take 2 tablespoons of the glaze and place in a small separate bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. (Add a little more lemon juice if needed to combine but this should be thicker than the glaze) Place the chocolate icing in a ziplock bag and cut off a small corner.
3. Spread the lemon glaze on top of the cake but don’t let it run down the sides.
4. Take the chocolate and draw a spiral on the top of the cake. Then using a knife draw 8 lines dragging from the middle of the cake to the edge. Now in between those lines draw 8 more going from the outside to the center.
5. Take raspberries and place them on the top outside of the cake. Then take mini chocolate chips and fill in any gaps between the raspberries.
6. Place the cake in the refrigerator. It is best if it sits for at least 6 hours, if not overnight so that the custard can soak into the meringue layers.

Enjoy!