ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Hungarian Desserts - Palacsinták, Meleg Tészták, Rétesek and Torták, The Four Capstones

Updated on October 18, 2012
Palacsintak Gundel Modra (Pancakes a la Gundel)
Palacsintak Gundel Modra (Pancakes a la Gundel)
Hungarian Desserts
Hungarian Desserts
Meleg Tesztak (Warm Noodles and Dumplings) Shown here are plum filled dumplings)
Meleg Tesztak (Warm Noodles and Dumplings) Shown here are plum filled dumplings)
Retesek (Strudel)
Retesek (Strudel)
Tortak  (Cakes)  (Dobos Torte shown here)
Tortak (Cakes) (Dobos Torte shown here)

Hungarian Desserts

4 stars from 1 rating of The Four Capstones

=====================

Palacsinták, Meleg Tészták, Rétesek and Torták – The Four Capstones of Hungarian Cooking

=====================

Webster’s Dictionary defines a capstone as "a high point or crowning achievement". Influenced by France (crepes), Austria (torte) and the Turks (phyllo pastry/strudel), the desserts of Hungary are indeed its crowning achievement. It should be noted, however, that the warm noodle dishes (Meleg Teszták) are uniquely Hungarian and usually show up at the end of the meal but could also be served during the meal.

----------------------------------

I have therefore selected Crepes, Hot Noodle Dishes, Strudel and Cakes/Torte as the "four capstones" of Hungarian cooking and each of them are discussed below.

===================== 

1. Palacsinták (Crêpes)

The name for one crêpe is a palacsinta and for more than one crépe it is palacsinták. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the plural of a Hungarian noun is formed by adding a harmonizing vowel and a k to the end of the word.

-------------------------------

Known as palatschinken in Austria.and palacinky in Csechoslovakia, their precise origin is unknown, but the pancake itself is very similar to a French crêpe. However, that is where the similarity ends. In Hungary, palacsinták can de served as either a dessert (topped with chocolate-rum sauce, walnuts, raisins, etc.) or as an appetizer or light lunch (stuffed with meat and sour cream). The meat filled versions will be covered in a future hub on Hungarian appetizers.

--------------------------------

Perhaps the best known of the Hungarian dessert palacsinták is Palacsinta Gundel módra (crêpes a la Károly Gundel). These crepes are filled with a walnut, raisin and rum mixture and covered with a chocolate-rum sauce. Today they are frequently flambed but that was not always the case.

===================== 

2. Meleg Tészták (Hot Noodle Desserts)

This term does not translate well into English, It includes noodle/dumpling dishes, which are usually sweet but are always served hot. They are normally served at the end of a meal, but Károly Gundel insisted that they should be served just before the roast course in his restaurant. Examples of these dishes are:

Silvás Gombóc - (plum filled dumplings that are rolled in buttered, toasted breadcrumbs or ground walnuts)

Rakott Metélt - ( noodles layered with walnuts and apricot jam and then baked in an oven)

==================== 

3. Rétesek (Strudels)

In the sixteenth century, the Turks invaded Hungary and brought their phyllo pastry with them. The Hungarians then improved upon it and made it even thinner so that an 11 x14 inch sheet of it can literally be blown away by a puff of air. Making strudel in Hungary is a village specialty and even luxury restaurants often hire country girls to make their strudel. If you choose to make your own strudel, I would suggest that you start with Greek Phyllo pastry, which is available in many super markets.

The most common strudels in Hungary are filled with apples, cottage cheese, poppyseeds, ground walnuts or a mixture of ground almonds and raspberry jam.

==================== 

4. Torták (Tortes)

After the Turkish Army was defeated in1686, the Hapsburgs took over and gradually Germanized all walks of life in Hungary. Restaurants and pastry shops soon opened up. Then, after Emperor Franz Joseph I established the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy in 1867, luxurious hotels began to appear in Budapest. Soon János Gundel, the father of Károly Gundel opened his famous restaurant and Gerbeauds patisserie was the Taj Mahal of pastry shops.

It was during this era that the famous Hungarian Torták were born. The following is just a partial listing of the more famous ones:

--------------------------------

1. Dobos Torte – six layers of cake, separated by chocolate-espresso filling.

2. Beatrix Torte - two layers of a baked, beaten egg white - granulated sugar and almond mixture, covered with a rum-chocolate frosting and sprinkled with crushed almond caramel.

3. Stefania Torte - three layers of a 7-egg cake cake, separated by chocolate-cream filling and sprinkled with a cocoa-powder / sugar mixture.

4. Chocolate Poppyseed Torte â la Kugler – Created by the famed Hungarian pastry chef, Henrik Kuglar, the addition of poppyseeds to the batter was innovative. The two layers are then filled with currant jam and covered with a rich chocolate glaze.

5. Rigó Janci – named after the famed Gypsy violinist, Rigo Janci, who seduced the wife of a Belgium prince. It consists of two layers of sponge cake, separated by a thick layer of chocolate cream and a thin layer of apricot jam and covered with a chocolate glaze.

===================== 

In future hubs, I intend to present more detailed recipes for many of the desserts listed in this article as well as for a few that aren’t listed here.

========================================== 

Dobos Torte

Gundel Restaurant
Gundel Restaurant
Cafe Gerbeaud
Cafe Gerbeaud

George Lang’s Cuisine of Hungary

If you only plan to buy one cookbook this year and if you enjoyed my recipes on Hungarian food,I highly recommend this cookbook. Owner of Café des Artistes in New York and the magnificent Gundel restaurant in Budapest, George Lang not only provides authentic recipes from the various regions of Hungary, he also provides historical information and anecdotes on their origin.

This is one of my very favorite cookbooks of all time.

======================================== 

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)