János Rigó was born in 1858 in Pákozd with a great talent of playing the violin, which brought him to Pest and later travelled all around the world. In 1896 he performed in Restaurant Payard in Paris – which was frequented by a number of Belgian Aristocrats.  Here he met Clara Ward and the fell in love. (She was the daughter of an American millionaire named Eber Brock Ward and the wife of Belgian Prince de Caraman-Chimay.)  Legend has it that Clara was instantly fascinated by Rigó’s music, but even more so mesmerized by his passionate black eyes.

They both got divorced so that they could remarry. One time he wanted to impress her woman with a creamy chocolate cake. While watching the couple, the confectioner who created the cake named it after him with a great sense for marketing. His hopes were right; the cake became popular and spread quickly.

This classic Hungarian cake consists of two layers of chocolate sponge held together by a luscious, mousse-like cocoa cream filling which is sometimes flavored with a splash of dark rum, while the cake itself is typically covered in a rich dark chocolate ganache.

Most, hogy ezt a sok érdekes információt megtudtuk, jön a kérdés: hogyan hívják ezt a sütit angolul? Johnny Blackbird?
Nem, nem így! Szokták esetleg gypsy cake-nek hívni, de a legjobb talán a chocolate mousse cake elnevezés, hiszen ebből rögtön ki is derül, hogy milyen sütiről van szó. 

And now … let’s see the recipe!

Ingredients

for the chocolate sponge

• 6 eggs, separated
• 120 g sugar
• 80 g flour
• 40 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar (optional)

for the chocolate mousse filling

• 300 ml heavy cream (well chilled)
• 200 g dark chocolate (50–60%)
• 50 g powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp rum or rum aroma (optional but traditional)

for the chocolate glaze

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 50 g butter

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Instructions

1. Make the sponge

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Line a rectangular baking tray (approx. 30×40 cm) with parchment.
• Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks
• In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy.
• Sift in the flour + cocoa powder, fold gently.
• Add the beaten egg whites in two batches, folding carefully to keep the batter airy.
• Spread the mixture evenly on the tray and bake for 12–15 minutes.
• Let it cool completely, then cut it into two equal rectangles.

2. Prepare the chocolate mousse

• Melt the chocolate gently and let it cool slightly.
• Whip the cold heavy cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
• Add vanilla and rum.
• Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped cream — slowly, to keep it fluffy.
• Chill for 10–15 minutes so it firms up slightly.

3. Assemble the cake

• Place one sponge layer on a tray.
• Spread the chocolate mousse evenly and generously.
• Place the second sponge layer on top.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally 4.

4. Make the glaze

• Melt chocolate and butter together until smooth.
• Let it cool until it thickens slightly but is still pourable.
• Pour over the top layer and spread quickly for a shiny finish.
• Chill again until set.

5. Serving

• Cut into neat squares with a hot knife (wipe between cuts).
• Rigó Jancsi should be light, creamy, and intensely chocolatey — never heavy.

We eat them, we enjoy them but we don’t know who we can thank them for. Listed below are some of our most famous desserts and the stories behind them.

Dobos Cake

József Dobos was already a well-known confectioner when, in 1884, he came up with a brand new idea and created the dessert named after him. He wanted something that could be consumed after a longer period of time despite the undeveloped refrigerating techniques of his era. It started out with a mistake when his man accidentally added sugar to the butter instead of salt. Master Dobos liked how it tasted and created the butter cream, which is now very popular around the world. The cake quickly became famous, but the recipe remained secret until 1906 when he gave out the original recipe to the public. He retired the same year, but was always proud to have created such a cake.

Gundel Pancake

Not many people know that the famous pancake actually wasn’t created by the historic Gundel family. The recipe belongs to the wife of Sándor Márai, Lola. She introduced Károly Gundel to the recipe at a banquet held in the restaurant after one of the premiers of his husband. Károly Gundel liked it so much that he put it on his menu under the name Márai pancake. It became Gundel pancake during the communist regime when the Márai family had to emigrate and the use of his name was prohibited.

Rigó Jancsi Cake

János Rigó was born in 1858 in Pákozd with a great talent of playing the violin, which brought him to Pest and later travelled all around the world. In 1896 he performed in Restaurant Payard when he met Clara Ward and the fell in love. They both got divorced so that they could remarry. One time he wanted to impress her woman with a creamy chocolate cake. While watching the couple, the confectioner who created the cake named it after him with a great sense for marketing. His hopes were right; the cake became popular and spread quickly.

Rákóczi’s cake with cottage cheese

The name can be deceiving, because it was not named after the monarch, but a confectioner named János Rákóczi. He was a unique master chef who worked all around Europe’s best restaurants. His dessert debuted in 1956 at the world exhibition in Brussels. It brought the Hungarian pies to a whole new level. What made it so special is that Rákóczi covered the cottage cheese layer with meringue instead of pastry. The dessert instantly became popular and still remains one of Hungary’s specialties.

Kossuth’s cake

The dessert, named after Lajos Kossuth, started its way towards recognition from Bratislava in the beginning of the 1840s. A restaurant called Vasforrás was the favourite place of the representatives of the Parliament to dine in. The owner, Jakab Palugyai, was the one who created the famous dessert and named it after the revolutionary. Different versions exist, for instance with walnut or poppy seeds, but it is said that the one made with almonds was Kossuth’s favourite.

source: Daily News Hungary

érvényes: 2025. január 31.