Hungarian Decadent Chocolate Cake- Rigo Jancsi

Featured image of Rigo Janci Chocolate Cake.

4.53 from 53 votes

Hungarian Decadent Chocolate Cake- Rigo Jancsi

Hungarian Decadent Chocolate Cake- inspired from the original recipe of Rigo Jancsi Cake, an elegant dessert from the 19th century in the Austro Hungarian Empire.

Prep Time2

Cook Time18

Total Time2 18

Course: Cakes And Entremets

Cuisine: Hungarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 559kcal

Author: Gabriela

Equipment

Measuring Cups And Spoons Set

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Chocolate Ganache and Topping

4 cups heavy cream
¼ cup unsalted butter (or ½ stick butter)
¼ cup sugar
20 ounces semisweet chocolate finely chopped (do not use chocolate chips)
2 ounces semisweet chocolate (we will use it for glazing the cake)
⅓ cup dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Syrup

¼ cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum or 1 teaspoon rum extract

Ingredients for the Cake:

1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoons instant coffee powder
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs (separated)
¾ cup granulated sugar divided into ½ cup and ¼ cup
¼ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Chocolate Ganache:

Stir the heavy cream, butter, and sugar together in a saucepan.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and heat it until the sugar dissolves and the heavy cream comes to a simmer. Do not boil.
Remove from heat.
Add 20 ounces of chocolate. Whisk until melted and smooth.
Whisk in rum and vanilla.
Transfer one cup of the warm mixture to a small bowl and add the 2 ounces of chocolate to it. This will be the final glaze. Mix until smooth. Set aside.
Transfer the rest of the chocolate mixture into a larger bowl to use as a filling.
Chill until cold and thick, at least 6 hours or overnight.
Make the Syrup:
It will be used to flavor and make the cake moist)
Bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove and let cool. Mix in the rum.

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Line the bottom of a 9x9" pan with parchment paper and then butter the paper.
Dissolve the instant coffee powder in the vanilla extract so the coffee mixes properly inside the batter.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda, into a bowl.
Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form in another bowl.
Add remaining ¼ cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry.
Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and ½ cup sugar in a medium bowl until they get very thick and light in color.
Beat in the vanilla coffee mixture.
Fold ½ of the egg whites into a yolk mixture. Fold in half of the flour mixture. Fold the remaining whites, then the remaining flour mixture.
Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread gently to an even thickness.
Bake cake for about 18 minutes until it puffs up and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on rack. It might shrink a little bit.

Assemble the cake:

Cut around the pan to loosen up the cake.
Turn it out onto the work surface and peel off the parchment paper.
Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally in half.
Place one half, cut side up, on a platter.
Use a pastry brush to brush syrup over the cake surface.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cold chocolate ganache until thick and lighter in color for about a minute. Do not overbeat, as you might transform the ganache into butter.
Spread all the filling evenly over the cake layer, aligning with the sides of the cake.
Brush with syrup the other half of the cake, the cut side one.
Place the layer of cake side down on top of the chocolate ganache.
Rewarm the reserved cup of ganache over low heat until pourable.
Pour it over the top of the cake, starting in the center.
Use a spatula and spread topping to edges, trying not to spill over.
Chill the cake overnight, covering loosely with foil or with a cake dome after two hours.
Keep refrigerated but serve it at room temperature.

Notes

Why we do not use chocolate chips in this recipe: Chocolate chips are designed to retain their shape when heated, which is ideal for applications like chocolate chip cookies. They contain stabilizers and sometimes wax, so they don't melt as smoothly or evenly as high-quality chocolate. For a ganache or a cake where a smooth melt is required, high-quality chocolate is better.

Nutrition