Somlói Galuska
Ingredients
- 9 large eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar and 1½ cups all-purpose flour, in total, for the three sponges (plus ⅓ cup ground walnuts for one and 2 tbsp cocoa for another)
- ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup water, a strip each of orange and lemon zest and ⅓ cup golden rum, for the syrup
- 4 cups milk, ⅓ cup cornstarch, 6 egg yolks, ⅔ cup sugar and 1½ tsp vanilla extract, for the pastry cream
- ½ cup raisins and ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup apricot preserves
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder, for dusting
- 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar and ½ tsp vanilla, for the whipped cream
- 230 ml water, 180 g bittersweet chocolate, ¾ cup sugar and 30 ml golden rum, for the chocolate sauce
Somlói galuska was devised at Budapest's Gundel restaurant by its head waiter Károly Gollerits and pastry chef József Béla Szőcs, and won a prize at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Three thin sponges — plain, walnut and cocoa — are baked in the same tray one after another, then stacked with rum syrup scented with orange and lemon zest, warm apricot jam, vanilla pastry cream and a scatter of raisins and chopped walnuts. After a night in the fridge the layers are scooped out in irregular 'dumplings' (galuska), piled into bowls and finished with whipped cream and a warm rum chocolate sauce.
Method
Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and butter and line a 33 x 23 cm tray. For each sponge, warm 3 eggs with ⅓ cup sugar over a water bath to about 30°C, whip until tripled in volume, and fold in ½ cup flour (or ⅓ cup flour with the walnuts, or ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour with the cocoa). Spread in the tray and bake for 15 minutes; cool and repeat for the other two.
For the syrup, boil the sugar, water and zests for 5 minutes, cool, remove the zests and stir in the rum.
For the pastry cream, heat 3 cups of the milk. Whisk the cornstarch into the remaining cold milk, whisk in the sugar and yolks, then gradually whisk in the hot milk and cook, whisking, until it boils and thickens. Stir in the vanilla and cool over ice.
Assemble in the clean tray: lay the walnut sponge on the bottom, brush with a third of the syrup, spread with the warmed apricot jam and a third of the pastry cream, and scatter with half the raisins and walnuts.
Add the cocoa sponge, brush with half the remaining syrup, spread with half the remaining cream and the rest of the raisins and walnuts. Top with the plain sponge, the last of the syrup and cream, and sift cocoa over the surface. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. For the sauce, boil the water, chocolate, sugar and rum together, whisking, then cool and warm gently before serving.
Scoop two or three rough dumplings from the tray into each bowl, pipe whipped cream on top and drizzle with the warm rum chocolate sauce.
