What is Mađarica?
Mađarica literally means a Hungarian girl. But despite its name, this exquisite chocolate cake is the quintessential Croatian dessert.
A queen of Croatian sweets, mađarica has a VIP invite to all our celebrations. And once you try it, you’ll know why.
Mađarica kolač didn’t come from Hungary, but the Hungarian Dobos torte may have inspired it. With their immaculate layers of pastry and chocolate cream, slices of madjarica and Dobos torte do look alike.
But let’s set aside the story of mađarica’s name and focus on why this Croatian cake is so famous.
Every major feast in Croatia, from births, marriages, and anniversaries, is crowned with mađarica. This is the Christmas dessert that disappears first and the birthday sweet that no mother can refuse to make for her child.
When you master the mađarica recipe, this dessert will become your biggest pride. I’ll teach you how to produce the flawless-looking madjarica with the neatest pastry and cream layers.
And because everyone knows how much effort goes into producing this divine cake, expect to be showered with appreciation and compliments.
Ingredients You'll Need for Mađarica Cake
Mađarica recipe calls for pretty basic ingredients. We are talking sweet shortcrust pastry and chocolate cream. It’s surprising how a few elemental items deliver a masterful dessert.
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For the Cake Layers
Mađarica pastry layers are a variation of the sweet shortcrust dough. You will need all-purpose (plain) flour, room-temperature butter, and granulated sugar.
We also add eggs and sour cream to make the dough easier to work with.
Please read the detailed instructions in the recipe itself. Here, I only point out the most important steps.
Preparing the Dough
The first step in making the dough is rubbing the butter into flour to create a crumbly mixture. You can do it by hand or use a food processor.
The next stage is adding sugar, eggs, and sour cream. Knead all the ingredients into a relatively soft dough ball. It may feel sticky, but this is the right texture to produce thin pastry layers later on.
Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes, wrapped in cling film.
Rolling and Baking the Layers
Divide the dough ball into five equal parts. Next, choose the cake pan for baking: you will bake the layers on the reverse side. This will determine the dimensions of the pastry sheets.
Before you begin the rolling, have one goal in mind: to keep the pastry sheet rectangular at all times. As you thin it out, keep adjusting the edges so they fall back into a rectangle. This way, you will end up with fewer scraps.
You might need to dust your working surface, but keep the flour to a minimum. The more you dust, the harder the pastry will become. We want soft, melt-in-the-mouth pastry sheets.
When the pastry sheet is rolled out, use a rolling pin to transfer it to the reverse side of the cake pan. Wrap it gently around the rolling pin and unroll it onto the cake pan.
Mađarica pastry layers take only 12-13 minutes to bake. They should remain mostly pale, with a golden color on the edges. I suggest you keep a close eye while the first sheet is baking to get a sense of how your oven is performing.
The final challenge is to transfer the baked pastry sheet to a baking paper to rest. When it’s still warm, the sheet is brittle. So use two long spatulas to grab it underneath and slide it off the cake pan.
Repeat until you have five mađarica pastry sheets ready and resting.
For the Chocolate Filling
Compared to the pastry, mađarica filling is less daunting to do. We need milk, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and butter.
As you weigh the filling ingredients, it’s helpful to prepare those for the glaze, too. This means more dark chocolate, some vegetable oil, and whipping cream in the liquid form.
Cooking the Milk Mixture and Finishing the Filling
While your pastry sheets are cooling off, it’s time to make the filling. You’ll see, it’s a no-fuss chocolate cream.
Take time to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients: cocoa, flour, cornstarch, and sugar. There shouldn’t be any lumps left. Add some milk from the overall amount and whisk into a smooth, runny paste.
At the same time, bring the rest of the milk to a boil. Slowly pour the cocoa-flour paste into the boiling milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring for about 3 minutes. This is how long it takes for the cornstarch to activate and thicken the mixture.
The filling is done when the whisk leaves a trail as you stir.
As soon as you remove the filling from the stove, add chocolate and butter. Stir some more until you get a silky cream.
Working with hot chocolate cream is the trick that makes this classic, starinska mađarica so delicious.
Tips and Tricks for a Perfect-Looking Mađarica
If you want your mađarica kolač to look as fabulous as it tastes, check out the tricks below. Only then start with the mađarica recipe.
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Mađarica recipe calls for precision. Decide in advance on the pastry sheets' dimensions. To make it even easier, cut out a parchment paper of that size and use it as a guide.
Now, the geeky bit. Weigh the dough ball and divide this number by five. It's how much each pastry sheet should weigh. When you portion them, weigh each piece and adjust to get the precise number of grams. This technique produces a stunning, pro-level mađarica.
As you roll out the sheets, always start from the center. The sheets won't be even if you thin out the ends to get to your desired size. Their ends will over-bake and crumble off. Worse, once you assemble the cake, it will end up with a dome in the middle.
Before baking the sheets, prick them all over with a fork to prevent the dough from inflating and creating bubbles.
Always slide pastry sheets off the cake pan with two long spatulas. Don’t touch the sheets while they are warm. They will firm up once they cool to room temperature.
Layering Techniques for a Flawless Mađarica Cake
By now, you’ve noticed that weighing and geometry are crucial to mađarica recipe.
We weighed the pastry layers to make them even. It's time to do the same with the chocolate cream. When the cream is cooked and thickened, take note of how much it weighs. Divide it by four to get the weight of each cream layer.
Pour equal amounts of chocolate cream into four dishes. Remember, the last pastry sheet has a chocolate glaze, so we only need four parts of cream.
How to Assemble and Slice Mađarica to Make It Perfect-Looking
Use the same cake pan to assemble madjarica but turn it the right way up.
Now you face the challenge of layering the cake evenly with pastry sheets and cream. If you weighed everything as I suggested, this step is easy-peasy.
Here’s what to watch for.
Place the first pastry layer on the bottom of the cake pan. Pour a portion of the chocolate cream and spread it with a spatula. Cover with the next pastry sheet. Gently run your hands over it to distribute the cream into every corner.
Let your touch be soft but thorough. You don’t want to break the pastry sheets. The goal is to push the cream from the center out to the corners.
When you’ve assembled all the sheets and cream, let the cake cool completely. Only then, cover it with chocolate glaze (see full details in the recipe).
One final pro tip: how to cut perfect-looking mađarica slices. The answer: with a utility knife!
I always use a ruler to mark the points where I will run the knife. Again, decide how big you want the mađarica kolač to be.
Leave the marks along two perpendicular sides. This will determine the width and the length of your mađarica slice.
First, cut off as much as you need to get rid of the rugged cake ends. Steady your hand, keep the utility knife straight, and begin slicing.
Voila, your heavenly mađarica is ready to wow your guests.
Step-by-Step Guide to Mađarica Perfection
Mađarica - Croatian Chocolate Layer Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the pastry layers:
- 600 g all-purpose flour ([4 ¾ cup])
- 200 g butter, unsalted, room temperature ([¾ cup])
- 200 g granulated sugar ([1 cup])
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 180 ml sour cream ([¾ cup])
For the filling:
- 1.2 l milk ([5 ⅛ cup])
- 200 g granulated sugar ([1 cup])
- 70 g all-purpose flour ([½ cup])
- 60 g cornstarch ([½ cup])
- 20 g cocoa powder ([¼ cup])
- 100 g dark chocolate, 60-65% ([3 ½ oz])
- 250 g butter, room temperature ([1 ⅛ cup])
For the glaze:
- 200 g dark chocolate, 60-65% ([7 oz])
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil ((or any vegetable oil))
- 3 tbsp whipping cream, liquid, not whipped
Instructions
Make the pastry
- Layers of mađarica are a variation of the sweet shortcrust pastry. However, the butter should be at room temperature, and the pastry needs little rest.
- It is also a bit softer and easier to work with because it needs to be rolled out very thinly.
- Whisk baking powder into the flour to distribute it evenly. Then rub in the butter until you get a crumbly mixture.
- Add sugar, eggs, and sour cream. If the pastry seems too soft (because the eggs might be bigger), add a bit more flour.
- Bring the dough together, give it a few kneads, and then cover it with cling film. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
Roll the layers
- Divide the dough into five equal parts. I always use a scale to be super precise. One of the distinguishing features of mađarica are those beautiful even layers of pastry and cream.
- To achieve this, weigh the whole dough and divide that number by five – this is how much each piece should weigh. Cut the dough into five pieces and check if you have that number. If you don’t use a scale, you will have to trust your eye.
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C [340 °F].
- Knead the first ball a few times. You can add a bit more flour. Flatten it into a disk, then shape it into a rectangular with your hands.
- It’s essential to roll out the pastry into a rectangular to avoid losing too much of the cake at the corners.
- Pastry layers are blind-baked on the reverse side of the cake pan. For example, my cake pan is 40x30 cm, and I aim to roll the layers into 35x27 cm.
- Be precise with your measures. If the layers differ too much in size, you will have less of the cake that can be cut into neat slices. I use a ruler to stick to my dimensions.
- Roll out the pastry, making sure it’s evenly thin. Don’t thin out the ends to meet your dimensions. The final cake ends up like a dome when the center is thicker. If you need to stretch the pastry more, roll it from the center out.
Bake the layers
- To transfer the pastry layer onto the cake pan, wrap it around the rolling pin. Use a knife to help lift its edge.
- Gently roll up the whole layer without pressing it too much.
- Then, unroll it onto the cake pan. The pan doesn’t need to be greased because the pastry has enough butter.
- Prick the pastry with a fork all over to avoid it from puffing up and breaking.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the corners turn slightly golden. The pastry should otherwise remain pale.
- Loosen the pastry layer with a long knife or spatula and transfer it to a sheet of baking paper. Be very gentle – the pastry is brittle!
- Repeat until you have five layers.
- To speed up the process, use two identical cake pans. While one layer is in, roll out the next on the second pan.
- Some bakers push for more than five layers, thinking this makes mađarica better. The number matters less than the texture of the pastry. The layers need to be soft and flaky, which you’ll achieve if you use as little flour as possible when rolling them out.
Make the filling
- While the pastry is cooling off, make the filling.
- Bring milk to a boil. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugar and cocoa. Add some milk (from the overall amount) and blend to break up the lumps. Pour the mixture into the boiling milk and keep stirring.
- Once the cream thickens (in about 3 minutes), continue for another 2 minutes to activate the cornstarch.
- The cream is cooked when the whisk leaves trails as you stir.
- Remove the cream from the stove, and while it’s still hot, add chocolate and butter.
- Mađarica filling is not chilled. Spreading it hot on the pastry is what makes the cake so soft later on.
- The trick to get a perfect-looking mađarica is to measure everything – including the filling. Weigh the overall amount of the filling and divide this number by four. Aim to spread that much on each layer. The last layer has a glaze.
Assemble the cake
- Use the same cake pan for assembling mađarica, but now turn it the right way up.
- Place the first pastry layer inside, then spread the filling. Cover with another pastry layer. Press down with your hands to distribute the filling evenly.
- Let the cake cool completely before glazing it.
Make the glaze
- Melt chocolate, oil, and cream in a double boiler. We use the cream (liquid, not whipped) to make the glaze more pliable and easier to cut.
- Spread the glaze on the last layer.
Rest the cake before slicing and serving
- Chill for at least 2 hours, but best overnight.
- Use a utility knife for cutting. This will give you a neat and geometrically even-looking piece of mađarica. It may sound funny, but it does the trick!
What do you mean by a utility knife? Can you show a picture?
A scalpel knife.