Somlói galuska

Ingredients

The sponge

• 6eggs, separated
• 180 gcaster sugar
• 150 gplain flour
• 3 tablespoonscocoa powder
• for one third of the batter
• 50 gground walnuts
• for another third

The vanilla cream

• 500 mlmilk
• 4egg yolks
• 100 gsugar
• 40 gcornflour
• 1vanilla pod
• or 2 teaspoons extract

The rum syrup

• 150 gsugar
• 200 mlwater
• 80 mldark rum
• strip of orange peel
• 80 graisins
• soaked in the rum

The chocolate sauce

• 200 mlmilk
• 150 gdark chocolate
• or 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 50 gsugar
• 500 mldouble cream
• whipped, to serve
• chopped walnuts, to scatter

Directions

1. Whisk the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. The bowl and whisk must be scrupulously clean. Whisk the sugar into the whites gradually. Add it a spoonful at a time while whisking. The whites become thick, glossy and stiff.
2. Take a minute or two over that addition. Fold the beaten yolks gently into the whites. Fold rather than stir or whisk at this point. Use a large metal spoon and cut through the middle.
3. Turn the bowl as you fold to combine evenly. Stop as soon as no streaks of yolk remain. Sift the flour over and fold it in gently. Sift it in two or three additions rather than one. Fold each one in before adding the next. The batter should stay light and airy. Divide the batter into three equal portions. Fold cocoa into one portion gently.
4. Fold ground walnuts into the second portion. Leave the third portion entirely plain. Work quickly so the batter does not deflate. Bake each sponge in a lined tin until set. About one hundred and eighty degrees works well. Use tins of the same size for all three. Bake them one after another if you have one tin. Turn the sponges out and cool them completely. Warm sponge falls apart when you layer it.
5. Let them cool entirely on a wire rack. They can be made a day ahead if you prefer. Heat the milk with the vanilla until steaming. Add the pod itself to the milk as well. Let it infuse for ten minutes off the heat. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together. Whisk them to a smooth pale paste first. Lumps of cornflour never disappear later.
6. Add the hot milk gradually rather than all at once. Whisk constantly as you pour it in. Return the mixture to the pan and cook it gently. Whisk it constantly over a moderate heat. Keep whisking hard right through that change. That is where lumps form if you stop.
7. Let it bubble once or twice to cook the cornflour. Then take it straight off the heat. Press cling film onto the surface of the cream. That stops a skin forming as it cools.
8. Let it cool to room temperature completely. Whisk it smooth again before you use it. Boil the sugar, water and orange peel together. Boil it for about five minutes to combine. Then take it off the heat entirely. Let it cool for a few minutes before the rum.
9. Stir the rum into the cooled syrup. That keeps the alcohol and the rum flavour. Add them and their soaking rum together. Lay the first sponge in a deep serving dish. Use a glass dish so the layers show. Trim the sponge to fit if it is too large. Lay it flat across the base of the dish. Brush or spoon rum syrup over the sponge. The sponge should be genuinely soaked through.
10. Divide the syrup evenly between the three layers. Spread a third of the vanilla cream over it. Spread it right to the edges of the dish. Use the back of a spoon to level it.
11. Scatter some of the soaked raisins over it. Add a few chopped walnuts as well. Add the second sponge and repeat the layers. Press each sponge down gently onto the cream. That helps the layers hold together. Soak it, cream it and scatter as before.
12. Cover the dish and refrigerate it overnight. The layers settle and firm up considerably. Heat the milk, chocolate and sugar together. Warm them gently until the chocolate melts.
13. Stir it until it is smooth and glossy. Do not let it boil at any point. Let it cool to just warm before serving. It should pour rather than sit thick. Whip the double cream to soft peaks. Stop at soft peaks rather than stiff ones. Scoop the dessert into bowls with two spoons.
14. Dip the spoons in hot water between scoops. It does not need to be a neat quenelle. Pour chocolate sauce generously over each scoop. It should run down over the whole scoop. Scatter chopped walnuts over the top. The assembled base keeps three days refrigerated. Add the sauce and cream only at serving.

Technique

• This contains a genuine quantity of rum that is not cooked off — it goes into the syrup off the heat, so the alcohol is a real and noticeable presence rather than a background flavouring. Say clearly that it contains rum, which matters for children and for many adults.
• Ground walnuts are invisible in one of the sponges and more are scattered over each serving; nut allergy can be severe, so say so clearly. It also contains a great many eggs and much dairy throughout.
• It must rest overnight — six hours absolute minimum, better after a full day — for the syrup to soak evenly and the layers to settle into one dessert. Eaten immediately it is loose and disjointed.

Substitutions

• Orange juice replaces the rum in the syrup for a genuinely good non-alcoholic version; rum essence is used by some households too. Both are reasonable if alcohol is a problem.
• Four tablespoons of cocoa replace the dark chocolate in the sauce. The order of the three sponges does not matter — some cooks alternate them for the look and others put the cocoa one in the middle; both are genuinely done.

Variations

• Whisk the egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl, since any trace of fat or yolk stops them whipping, and add the sugar a spoonful at a time — adding it all at once collapses the foam. Fold the yolks and then the sifted flour in gently rather than stirring, since overmixing knocks all the air out.
• Temper the custard: whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour to a smooth paste, then pour hot milk in gradually while whisking constantly. Adding it all at once cooks the yolks instantly and gives sweet scrambled egg. Let it bubble once or twice to cook the cornflour out, then press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming.
• Be genuinely generous with the syrup on each sponge layer, since a dry layer spoils the whole dessert, and divide it evenly between the three. Serve it scooped with two spoons dipped in hot water rather than cut into slices — those scoops are the galuska of the name, and a rough scoop is entirely authentic.

History

Sponge, walnut, chocolate and cream trifle created in the 1950s by the Budapest head waiter Károly Gollerits with a pastry chef.

Frequently asked questions

What is Somlói galuska?

Somlói galuska is a dessert from Hungary: rum-soaked sponge with walnuts, chocolate sauce, whipped cream. Sponge, walnut, chocolate and cream trifle created in the 1950s by the Budapest head waiter Károly Gollerits with a pastry chef.

How long does Somlói galuska take to make?

Somlói galuska takes 1 hour plus chilling of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Somlói galuska?

Yes, within limits. Orange juice replaces the rum in the syrup for a genuinely good non-alcoholic version; rum essence is used by some households too. Both are reasonable if alcohol is a problem. Four tablespoons of cocoa replace the dark chocolate in the sauce. The order of the three sponges does not matter — some cooks alternate them for the look and others put the cocoa one in the middle; both are genuinely done.

What is the most important thing to get right in Somlói galuska?

Whisk the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. The bowl and whisk must be scrupulously clean. Whisk the sugar into the whites gradually. Add it a spoonful at a time while whisking. The whites become thick, glossy and stiff.