Dobos torte

Dobos torte

One slice of Dobos from Café Gerbeaud
Alternative names	Dobosh, Dobos-torta, Dobostorta
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Hungary
Created by	József C. Dobos
Main ingredients	sponge cake, buttercream, caramel

Dobos torte or Dobosh (pronounced [ˈdoboʃ], Hungarian: Dobos torta) is a Hungarian sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel. The five-layer pastry is named after its inventor, Hungarian confectioner József C. Dobos, who aimed to create a cake that would last longer than other pastries in an age when cooling techniques were limited. The round sides of the cake are coated with ground hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, or almonds, and the caramel topping helps to prevent drying out.

The name is also sometimes spelled Dobos-torta or Dobostorta.

Dobosh or Dobos torte was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885; King Franz Joseph I and Queen Elisabeth were among the first to taste it. The cake soon became popular throughout Europe, both for its durability through shipping and for its unique appearance. With its flat, shiny, caramel top, it was simple but elegant, as opposed to the more intricate cakes of the age.

It was notable for its use of fine buttercream, which was very little known at the time; cake fillings and frostings were usually made with cooked pastry cream or whipped cream. The chocolate buttercream and the batter of the cake were both invented by Jozsef C. Dobos. Notably, the buttercream incorporated cocoa butter for extra smoothness. During his lifetime, the cake was often imitated, but never reproduced. Near the end of his career, in 1906, Dobos donated his recipe to the Pastry and Honey-Makers' Guild.