When I saw this month's challenge, I thought about my (paternal) grandparents. This is just their type of cake. More so, my grandma. She'd hide certain fancy cake (chocolate especially) to the back of the fridge, just so she can devour it on her own during her high tea moment. Between 18 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren who constantly dropping by unannounced, I can't say I blame her, it's safer for her just to 'hide' 'em, you know? Cake, chocolate and good cheese - she is not sharing. So, I thought next time around when I visit home, I'd whip this up for her.
That said, I don't have the sweet tooth like my grandparents do. Neither my dear husband. And with all these layers of chocolate buttercream and caramel - it ought to be sweet! I was toying with the idea of different flavor of buttercream, it's endless. Fruity, or plain vanilla buttercream, rum buttercream, praline, etc. But my mind kept going back to the finished torte photos posted in DB forum. The delicate layers - pale color of sponge cake and dark chocolate buttercream - it's stunning!
In the end, I toned down the chocolate flavor by using less chocolate with shots of espresso in it. It's not very creative pairing. But I simply can't think of any better combination of flavor - rich and deep flavor of Sumatra coffee paired with bitter sweet chocolate.
It's pretty straight forward recipe to follow, in my opinion. Looks complicated, but once breaks down to stages. Oh fun! The sponge cake comes out perfect - light and airy.The butter cream does not hold very well for me, which is very surprising. Far from expert in butter cream making, but I am not a stranger of it either. So, it was quite perplexing on how or where did I go wrong on this part. I wished I toss in more chocolate though, as it did not turn out as dark as I would like either. Thoroughly enjoy the caramel part.
All said and done, this torte is simply delightful!! Absolutely a keeper! Maybe does not look as enticing as what I had in my mind, but the flavor and taste - divine! Can't wait to make it for my o-ma!
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: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
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