Dobos Torte ( Daring Bakers )

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
These ladies chose a dessert that puts the word 'challenge' into the Daring Bakers title. But their choice was also extremely fun for just that reason. :) Please visit their blogs. They both have wonderful talent and their writing/photos will inspire you to keep on baking!

The first thing that went through my head when I saw the challenge would have required censorship had it been a live broadcast. As an amateur baker, this was quite daunting at first glace. I am by no means lazy when it comes to baking, I love spending all day at the helm of my oven and stove. But even for me this sounded incredibly labor intensive. However, I did not allow my neurotic tendency to over think situations deter me from attempting this torte.

I actually read through the recipe several times. I'm terrible at reading through recipes. Normally I just plunge head first into things and dodge any mishaps as they come like a sleek ninja during a dagger attack. I do this so I won't psych myself out before even trying something. With this recipe though, reading through it actually made it less intimidating. It really was not as difficult as I had initially thought!
It took me almost a full day to prepare but I enjoyed every minute of it. Each step was a labor of love and a few frayed nerves. Would the cake layers be too thin and uneven? Would the buttercream be too runny and not hold together? And my greatest fear...the caramel layer. Caramelizing sugar is my kryptonite of the baking world. It almost never works out for me and I'm usually left with a dark, burned messy blob at the bottom of a pan. Washing the gunk off is like a walk of shame. This time I cleared the hurdle! It is interesting how once you conquer a certain fear you wonder why you ever had issues with it in the first place. Don't worry though, I'm not going to get overly confident. I'm sure I'll still have some run- ins with a worn out sponge and a sore scrubbing wrist. :)

As far as taste is concerned, this was not my favourite dessert. It would have been much better had I used dark chocolate for the buttercream frosting. I was too into the baking process to stop and run to the grocery store so I made do with semi-sweet. The cake was similar to a very thin sponge cake. I zested a lemon which made it a little bit less sweet. I did like the sensation of eating the layers. I'm a sucker for a great texture and it was a nice balance between cake and frosting. This would be the perfect dessert for a special birthday or anniversary!
Click here for the Recipe . I'm already looking forward to the next challenge. :)