Rózsa szelet

Ingredients

• 15¾ ozflourfor the dough
• 7¾ ozmargarinefor the dough, rubbed into the flour
• 5¼ ozsugarfor the dough
• 1eggfor the dough
• ⅓ ozbaking powderabout one sachet, mixed with the flour
• 1lemonjuice and grated zest for the dough
• ⅔ ozcocoa powderunsweetened, worked into one third of the dough
• 5¼ ozapricot jamfor spreading on the dough layers
• 5¼ ozwalnutsground, for the filling
• sugarto taste, mixed with the ground walnuts
• 3egg yolkfor the glaze
• ¼ ozvanilla sugarone sachet, for the glaze
• 5¼ ozpowdered sugarfor the glaze

Method

1. Rub in the margarineMix the flour with the baking powder, then rub in the margarine with your fingertips until the mixture looks like crumbs.
2. Knead a smooth doughAdd the sugar, the egg and the juice and grated zest of the lemon, and knead everything into a smooth dough.
3. Divide dough and add cocoaDivide the dough into three equal pieces and work the cocoa powder thoroughly into one of them. Mix the ground walnuts with sugar to taste.
4. Layer the first plain sheetPreheat the oven to a moderate heat and line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out one of the plain pieces of dough, lay it on the tray, spread it with apricot jam and scatter over half the walnut mixture.
5. Add the cocoa layerRoll out the cocoa dough, lay it on top, spread it with apricot jam as well and scatter over the rest of the walnut mixture.
6. Top with the plain lidRoll out the second plain piece of dough, lay it on top as a lid and prick the surface all over with a fork.
7. Bake and mix the glazeBake in the preheated oven at a moderate heat for about 25 to 35 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the egg yolks, vanilla sugar and icing sugar together until smooth.
8. Glaze and dry in the ovenSpread the glaze straight onto the hot cake, switch off the oven and leave the cake inside until the glaze has dried.
9. Cool and cut into slicesLet the cake cool completely, then cut it into slices.

Tips and variations

As a variation, add some lard to the dough as well and use three eggs instead of one. For its sibling, Rózsi szelet, three layers are baked separately; instead of walnuts, a vanilla custard cream made with margarine goes between the cocoa layer and the lid, and it's finished with a meringue made with lemon juice and decorated with chocolate. Fekete rózsa szelet sandwiches four poppy seed rolls, made like bejgli, in vanilla custard cream between two baked sheets, with a chocolate glaze instead of the egg-yolk one. Be patient when cutting: only once the cake is completely cold will you get clean slices with nicely defined layers.