Daring Bakers: Dobos Torte

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of 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.

I completely forgot that today was DB day, until I starting seeing the posts pop up this morning. In fact, my first thought was, "Cheaters, why are they posting today?" And then, "Ohhhh.... crap." I did do the challenge, I just forgot all about it. It's been that kind of month. :p

This cake, however, is NOT to be forgotten. This is probably my second favorite DB challenge ever (after the Yule Log). It is a pain (but that's why it's fun!), and it didn't come out perfect (how do you get the caramel to not just sink into the cake wedges?), but the spongy vanilla cake with the subtle chocolate buttercream was perfect. I don't like vanilla cake as a rule, especially with chocolate buttercream, but the torte is not only an exception, it is a rule unto itself. Mmm mmm.

Recipes found here.