Friday 28 September 2012

Prince Regent's Torte



I used vanilla and chocolate, so the layers aren't as clear. Was still tasty though.
I've wanted to make this cake for a while, and now that I'm in Germany, I thought I would! It's a Bavarian cake that has to have at least 6 - I went for 8 layers - of very thin sponge, filled with butter icing and then covered in dark chocolate. It's named after the guy it was baked for; Prince Regent Luitpold who was PR of Bavaria from 1886. Apparently it has all the layers because of the 8 regions of Bavaria during his reign...hence the 8. It was supposed to have sickly sweet icing-sugar-butter-icing, but I opted for a French Buttercream instead. It's biscuity and cakey at the same time.
Basically it's just another reason to eat a lot of butter.

Ingredients:
for the cake
-250g soft butter
-250g sugar
-4 medium eggs
-200g plain flour
-50g cornflour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp vanilla extract
for the filling
-4 egg yolks
-150g sugar
-100ml water
-300g softened butter, cut in to chunks
-3 tblsp cocoa
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
for the covering
-150g really dark chocolate (85%)
-40g butter

Method: 
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 5. Using a 20cm loose bottomed round tin, cut out 8 cartouches (circles of baking paper). Weigh the bowl you are going to use for the batter and make a note.
-For the cakes cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flours and the baking powder over the top and then gently fold in with a large metal spoon. Try not to over mix.
- weigh the mix and less the weight of the bowl. Divide in to 8 and then spoon the correct amount on to the first circle of paper, smooth it out evenly then gently place it in to the tin. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Set up the next lot of batter whilst the former is cooking. Remember to lay the baking paper in between the cooling sponges! Repeat until all the mixture is gone and you have 8 sponges.
-Make the butter cream! Pour the water over the sugar in a small pan and set over the lowest heat until it dossolves (you don't want too much water to evaporate). Once dissolved, whack up high and get your thermometer ready. Once the syrup reaches 110C, start beating (using an electric whisk/mixer) the egg yolks till they thicken. When the syrup is bubbling and at 116C, carefully pour on to the eggs, whilst still whisking. Keep at it. Eventually they will cool and will be a thickened yolky meringue-type substance. 
- once cool, continue beating and add in the butter. It should thicken in to tasty icing.
- divide in to two and flavour one with the cocoa and one with vanilla.
- Once the cakes are cool, build the torte by layering the sponges with alternating buttercream. 
-melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly, then spread over the top and sides of the cake.

-slice and then drown in butter.



2 comments:

  1. Hello! Sorry, I seem to have missed that part out! 4 medium eggs for the actual cake. I will fix the recipe. Thank you for spotting the mistake! And thank you for reading :)

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