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 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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Serving
- Cut into neat squares with a hot knife (wipe between cuts).
- Rigó Jancsi should be light, creamy, and intensely chocolatey — never heavy.
Vocabulary
| talent | tehetség |
| to perform | előadni |
| to be mesmerized by | elbűvölve lenni valamitől |
| to impress somebody | lenyűgözni valakit |
| confectioner | cukrász |
| to spread | kenni, teríteni |
| to consist of | állni vmiből |
| sponge | piskóta |
| to be held together by | össze tartva lenni valami által |
| luscious | omlós, ínycsiklandó |
| mousse-like | mousse-szerű |
| flavoured with | ízesítve lenni valamivel |
| a splash of | egy kevés, egy löttyintésnyi |
| ganache | ganache (csokimáz) |
| unsweetened cocoa powder | cukrozatlan kakaópor |
| a pinch of | egy csipetnyi |
| heavy cream | tejszín |
| glaze | máz |
| rectangular baking tray | téglalap alakú tepsi |
| parchment | sütőpapír |
| stiff peaks | kemény hab |
| to sift | átszitálni |
| to fold gently | óvatosan beleforgatni |
| batch | adag |
| batter | tészta (folyékony) |
| airy | levegős |
| to melt | megolvasztani |
| to whip | felverni |
| fluffy | habos, könnyű |
| layer | réteg |
| to thicken | besűrűsödni |
| pourable | önthető állagú |





