Hungarian Cottage Cheese Cake – Rákóczi Túrós

I love to travel through the gastronomy of each place, surely you have already noticed this… Nothing makes me happier than to take you by the hand and take you to discover gastronomic and cultural gems, accompanied by their history and traditions. Today’s recipe comes to us from Hungary, a corner of the world that treasures true wonders in its pastry, like the recipe I leave you with today. Hungarian Cottage Cheese Cake – Rákóczi Túrós.

I know it looks a bit old-fashioned, vintage, for me this has never been and never will be an impediment, but for those of you who might be put off by it, please don’t let it. This recipe, even though it may not look like it, is incredibly easy to make and the result is formidable. As if that were not enough, it is also ideal to leave it made in advance. Something that takes it to the first places in desserts to have in mind when we visit or when we go to family or friends’ house.

I like Hungarian gastronomy very much, in fact I have already left you several of their preparations because I find them absolutely fascinating. Nobody can deny that the Dobos Cake is fabulous, or the impressive Eszterházy Torta, Zserbo Torta without forgetting the famous Trdloor the delicious Goulash with Knedliky, among others. Today’s recipe comes to expand the Hungarian recipe book and, I hope and wish, you like it as much as we liked it at home.

Rákóczi Túrós – Hungarian Cottage Cheese Cake origin.

When we hear the classic word “hungaricum“, a concept that encompasses everything traditional and classic Hungarian, all those relics that belong to this country come to mind, such as this cottage cheese cake. Mistakenly, it is believed that it was created by Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II several centuries ago due to the coincidence between the name of the cake and the surname of the national hero. However, this is a mistake. The dessert originated in the 20th century, and its namesake was another Rákóczi.

János Rákócz was born in Felsőleperd puszta, Dalmand, in the year 1897. He was a pastry chef, master and head chef of the famous Gundel restaurant in Budapest, one of the most exclusive restaurants in Europe and one that has best consolidated its fame since the 1990s. He was also one of the most important representatives of classical Hungarian cuisine. It achieved success not only on Hungarian territory, but also made Hungarian cuisine famous on the international scene.

In 1912 he was already working in the kitchen of the Mágnás casino and, after serving in the army during the First World War, he returned to his original profession in 1920, working as sous chef with Nándor Kedvessy.

His career took him to Nándor Horváth’s downtown buffet, where he served as head chef.

• In 1924, he paid a visit to Paris and worked in a restaurant called Laure.
• In 1926, he returned to Horváth’s restaurant, but this time as head chef.
• From 1930, he worked at the Palota Hotel in Lillafüred, from 1933 at the Gellert, and from 1953 until his retirement he was responsible for the kitchen of the Duna Hotel.

In addition to running the hotel kitchens, Rákóczi also published a cookbook and even won numerous awards at culinary art demonstrations and exhibitions.

After retiring in the year 1961, János Rákóczi exchanged the wooden spoon for a pen and in 1964 published his cookbook Konychművészt – Kitchen Art which already included the recipe for the famous Rákóczi cottage cheese cake.

In 1924 he undertook a master’s journey where he ended up working in the kitchen of the Laure restaurant in Paris, mentioned a few lines above. During his stay, he learned the culinary tricks and procedures of French cuisine, which he wrote down in a small notebook along with the recipes and taste experiences that were of greatest interest to him. Many of these recipes passed from this small notebook to his cookbook.

In his book he also revives several forgotten recipes and presents numerous new dishes to the reader. It could be said that his work is an encyclopedia of Hungarian and French food.

One of the most significant moments in his life was when he led the Hungarian cooking team at the 1958 World Exposition in Brussels. Event to which the recipe for the aforementioned Rákóczi cottage cheese cake is also connected.

However, Rákóczi túrós was not a product of the 1960s; the recipe was already known in the 1930s and was published in the specialized magazine for chefs Magyar Szakács in December 1937.

Making the famous Rákóczi Túrós.

This cake consists of a base made with a dough similar to linzer, on which rests a cream flavored with lemon, vanilla and made with cheese. It is usual to find in the filling the addition of raisins soaked in liquor, sometimes replaced by dried apricots, although it is not an indispensable ingredient. Finally, it is covered with a layer of apricot jam and decorated with meringue.

Linzer dough, a dough created by Johann Konrad Vogel in the 19th century and used to prepare the famous Linzer Cake. The dough for this preparation is not exactly the same as that of the famous Linzer cake, it could be said that it is an adaptation of this dough being very similar to a shortcrust pastry.

It is made with a mixture of flour, baking powder, butter, egg yolk and a little sour cream, which gives it an incredibly wonderful texture. Shortcrust pastry made with sour cream is much easier to work with, without forgetting the wonderful texture and flavor it has.

When it comes to the filling, there are many variations. The original recipe called for three egg yolks and two egg whites for half a kilo of túró cheese, but in the many reworked versions you will find different amounts of egg and sour cream, always depending on the variety of cheese used, as well as the addition of breadcrumbs, semolina or cracker crumbs.

Finally, the top is decorated with meringue and apricot jam. Traditionally, once these two elements have been placed on the cake, they must be baked, although nowadays there are many versions that omit this step.

What is túró cheese?

In Hungary, the most common varieties of cheese are young and fresh. In this category, túró is undoubtedly the most popular, accounting for half of all cheese consumed in the country.

Túró is usually translated as cottage cheese. But this Hungarian cheese variety is far from cottage cheese. Túró is a fresh, soft cottage cheese, similar to farmhouse cheese or quark that is usually made from cow’s milk, although sheep’s milk is tastier.

This variety of cheese is the main ingredient in many classic Hungarian dishes. One of the most common is körözött(better known as Liptauer), a spicy cream cheese spread made from túró seasoned with sweet paprika, onion, salt and caraway seeds.

In my case I used cottage cheese made with cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk, its consistency was quite dense and its flavor very mild and delicate. It is a pity not to be able to enjoy it with authentic cheese túró, but we will have to adapt to the varieties of cheese that we have where we live. I do advise you, whenever possible, to use a variety of ricotta or ricotta of good quality and high fat content (no 0% or similar)