Eszterházy-torta

Ingredients

• 10egg whitefor the nut layers, beaten stiff
• 8¾ ozsugaradded spoon by spoon to the meringue
• 8¾ ozwalnutsground, for the layers
• 1⅓ ozflourmixed with the nuts; cornstarch works too
• 1⅔ cupsmilkfor the custard
• 4Egg yolkto thicken the custard
• 4¼ ozsugarfor the cream
• 8¾ ozbuttersoft, beaten into the cooled custard
• 1Vanillascraped pod; vanilla sugar or vanilla custard powder as substitute
• 4¼ ozWhite chocolatemelted, for the glaze
• 1¾ ozdark chocolatemelted, for the spiderweb pattern
• 3½ ozwalnutschopped, for the sides
• 1 tbspruminto the cream; rum flavouring as substitute (optional)
• 1 pinchcinnamonwith the nut mixture (optional)
• 1 pinchsaltwith the egg whites (optional)

Method

1. Draw five circles, 18 to 23 cm across, on sheets of baking paper and heat the oven to 150–355 °F.
2. Beat the egg whites, with a pinch of salt if you like, until stiff, then add the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is firm and glossy.
3. Mix the ground walnuts with the flour or cornstarch, along with a pinch of cinnamon if you like, and fold the mixture gently into the meringue.
4. Divide the batter into five equal portions and spread each one thinly inside a drawn circle. Bake the layers for 10 to 25 minutes, until the surface looks matt and feels set, then cool them on a rack.
5. Bring the milk to the boil with the scraped vanilla. Whisk the egg yolks smooth with the sugar and cornstarch or vanilla custard powder, pour in the hot milk and cook it all into a thick custard. Cover and let it cool to room temperature.
6. Beat the soft butter until light and work in the cooled custard a spoonful at a time. Add the rum if you're using it.
7. Trim the layers to neat rounds and stack them with the cream, leaving the top layer bare. Spread cream around the side of the cake.
8. Spread the melted white chocolate over the top layer, pipe the dark chocolate on in spirals or stripes, then drag a toothpick through it alternately inwards and outwards to pull the web into shape. Press the chopped walnuts onto the side.
9. Chill the cake for at least an hour, ideally overnight, and slice it with a knife rinsed in hot water.

Tips and variations

Instead of white chocolate you can finish the top with a fondant glaze — icing sugar stirred smooth with hot water. Almonds work in place of walnuts in the layers, with flaked almonds around the side. For a quicker cream, use ready-made vanilla custard powder as the base; for a nuttier one, stir extra ground walnuts into the filling. There's also a more ambitious version built in a cake ring with a mousse of white chocolate, cream, egg and leaf gelatine, coated with a mirror glaze. To serve, a spoonful of whipped cream and a whole walnut on each slice is all it needs.