Stefánia torta looks like a variation of Dobos torta without the caramel glaze but it's unclear whether the recipe is actually Hungarian because there is a cake with as many layers and melted cocoa topping in Polish cuisine by the name of ciasto Stefanka. Štefánek is a male Czech name, however, so any guess at the lady who might have inspired the pastry chef is in vain. Perhaps ciasto Stefanka was named after the pastry chef himself and while the recipe travelled from one cuisine to another, the genders were mixed. Or perhaps a successor of Josef Dobos named a variation of the Hungarian best-seller after his ladyfriend.
There is a debate about the number of layers because ciasto Stefanka (the Polish version that flourished among US immigrants) consists of seven layers and is alternatively called Seven Sisters cake - which means, goodbye Stefánia and Štefánek. Furthermore, Jewish cuisine to which Hungarian, Polish & American cuisines are indebted for several recipes also features a cake that's made up of seven layers. While the Hungarian, Polish and other versions of this multilayered dessert we shall explore in a minute are round, Jewish seven-layer cake is oblong. Another difference lies in the frosting: both Polish and Jewish versions are topped with melted chocolate while the Hungarian version is dusted with cocoa powder. Last but not least, both Dobos and Stefánia cakes are made up of six layers. There is also the issue of how you count layers: most versions refer to cake layers but the Polish version counts in the filling layers so it's not as tall as the others.
To complicated matters, there is a Danish Seven Sisters cake which is made up of seven individual rolls, each of them filled with almond custard. It was named after the constellation of the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades) that guides seafaring men. Although the name Pleiades is Greek, meaning the seven sisters who followed Artemis, the goddess of hunting, among other nymphs, the Danes believe the constellation was named after Freyja's hens and we don't know for sure if the Norse goddess of beauty and love was followed by sister hens.
Elizabeth of Austria by F. X. Winterhalter, in 1864
Back to seven-layer cake, there is a Bavarian version of well-known origin that looks like ciasto Stefanka because it's topped with melted chocolate. The frosting sometimes rests over a thin layer of apricot jam, as in Sachertorte, but the interesting detail here is that Prinzregententorte was named after Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, and originally consisted of as many as eight layers, one for each district of the Bavarian kingdom. When the Palatinate was attached to Rheinland, the eighth layer became redundant so the cake is now made up of seven layers or fewer. Incidentally, 'Sissy' the Empress of Austria & Queen of Hungary until her assassination in 1898, was Bavarian in origin. Although she was constantly on a diet, she had expressed positive views on Dobos cake. Stefánia torte, which is similar though not so extravagant, was probably launched in Budapest during her reign.
125g flour
M e t h o d
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 22cm round baking tin with parchment paper. Grease the bottom, not the sides. 2. To make the sponge cake: Beat half the sugar with the egg yolks. vanilla and lemon zest until very light. Beat the egg whites into stiff meringue, gradually adding the rest of the sugar. Combine the mixtures, incorporating the flour with a spoon. 3. Pour into the baking tin. Bake for an hour or so, then leave to cool on a wire rack. 4. To make the buttercream: Boil the sugar with 2-3tbsp water. Stir in the butter and cocoa, remove from the stove. When cold, add the rum and vanilla sugar. 5. To assemble: Divide the sponge cake into six layers of equal width. Arrange the first on a serving plate. Cover with 1/5 of the buttercream. Repeat four times. 6. Dust the uppermost layer with cocoa powder.
N o t e
Alternatively, divide the cake batter among 6 individual tins you will place on two baking sheets. Bake in the middle of the oven at 200C for 10 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and continue baking for another 5 minutes.
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