Mađarica – Croatia’s Heavenly Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe

Layers of mađarica are a variation of the sweet shortcrust pastry. However, the butter should be at room temperature, and the pastry needs little rest.

It is also a bit softer and easier to work with because it needs to be rolled out very thinly.

Whisk baking powder into the flour to distribute it evenly. Then rub in the butter until you get a crumbly mixture.

Add sugar, eggs, and sour cream. If the pastry seems too soft (because the eggs might be bigger), add a bit more flour.

Bring the dough together, give it a few kneads, and then cover it with cling film. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

Divide the dough into five equal parts. I always use a scale to be super precise. One of the distinguishing features of mađarica are those beautiful even layers of pastry and cream.

To achieve this, weigh the whole dough and divide that number by five – this is how much each piece should weigh. Cut the dough into five pieces and check if you have that number. If you don’t use a scale, you will have to trust your eye.

Preheat the oven to 170 °C [340 °F].

Knead the first ball a few times. You can add a bit more flour. Flatten it into a disk, then shape it into a rectangular with your hands.

It’s essential to roll out the pastry into a rectangular to avoid losing too much of the cake at the corners.

Pastry layers are blind-baked on the reverse side of the cake pan. For example, my cake pan is 40×30 cm, and I aim to roll the layers into 35×27 cm.

Be precise with your measures. If the layers differ too much in size, you will have less of the cake that can be cut into neat slices. I use a ruler to stick to my dimensions.

Roll out the pastry, making sure it’s evenly thin. Don’t thin out the ends to meet your dimensions. The final cake ends up like a dome when the center is thicker. If you need to stretch the pastry more, roll it from the center out.

To transfer the pastry layer onto the cake pan, wrap it around the rolling pin. Use a knife to help lift its edge.

Then, unroll it onto the cake pan. The pan doesn’t need to be greased because the pastry has enough butter.

Prick the pastry with a fork all over to avoid it from puffing up and breaking.

Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the corners turn slightly golden. The pastry should otherwise remain pale.

Loosen the pastry layer with a long knife or spatula and transfer it to a sheet of baking paper. Be very gentle – the pastry is brittle!

Repeat until you have five layers.

To speed up the process, use two identical cake pans. While one layer is in, roll out the next on the second pan.

Some bakers push for more than five layers, thinking this makes mađarica better. The number matters less than the texture of the pastry. The layers need to be soft and flaky, which you’ll achieve if you use as little flour as possible when rolling them out.

While the pastry is cooling off, make the filling.

Bring milk to a boil. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugar and cocoa. Add some milk (from the overall amount) and blend to break up the lumps. Pour the mixture into the boiling milk and keep stirring.

Once the cream thickens (in about 3 minutes), continue for another 2 minutes to activate the cornstarch.

The cream is cooked when the whisk leaves trails as you stir.

Remove the cream from the stove, and while it’s still hot, add chocolate and butter.

Mađarica filling is not chilled. Spreading it hot on the pastry is what makes the cake so soft later on.

The trick to get a perfect-looking mađarica is to measure everything – including the filling. Weigh the overall amount of the filling and divide this number by four. Aim to spread that much on each layer. The last layer has a glaze.

Use the same cake pan for assembling mađarica, but now turn it the right way up.

Place the first pastry layer inside, then spread the filling. Cover with another pastry layer. Press down with your hands to distribute the filling evenly.

Melt chocolate, oil, and cream in a double boiler. We use the cream (liquid, not whipped) to make the glaze more pliable and easier to cut.

Spread the glaze on the last layer.

Chill for at least 2 hours, but best overnight.

Use a utility knife for cutting. This will give you a neat and geometrically even-looking piece of mađarica. It may sound funny, but it does the trick!