The Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan has presented a cake made on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Baku and Budapest, Report informs.
Hungarian confectioners Gabor Meszaros and Adam Varga are the authors of the culinary work “Bal-Nar-Dost” (Honey-Pomegranate-Friendship).
According to Gabor, the idea of creating a cake appeared back in 2019, when they first visited Baku and tasted local sweets: “We immediately noticed that desserts and pastries in Azerbaijan are sweeter than in Hungary. Therefore, when we began to work on a common dessert and identify the recipe, we thought for a long time how to combine the taste preferences of both countries. It was necessary to create a balance so that the Azerbaijanis, who like sweeter pastries, and the Hungarians, who prefer not so sweet confectionery, would like the dessert.”
He added that the sweetness of the Hungarian Zserbo biscuits resembles the national Azerbaijani pastries, namely pakhlava, which won the heart of the pastry chef.
Gabor said that for the cake symbolizing friendship between the two countries, it was decided to choose the ingredients inherent in the national cuisine of Azerbaijan and Hungary. So, from the Hungarian side it was decided to add honey, and from the Azerbaijani side, the national fruit – pomegranate, was added.
Adam Varga said the pastry chefs had to experiment with honey to create a mixture called ‘Turkish honey,’ which is made by mixing honey with baking soda.
The cake itself consists of a layer of brownie-like chocolate dough soaked in a mixture of pomegranate juice and Hungarian Unicum (bitter liquor), followed by dark chocolate ganache with cocoa butter with the addition of ‘Turkish honey.’ In the middle is a layer of honey mousse. The top layer is crispy thanks to the caramelized icing sugar.
Confectioners hope that this dessert will appear in Baku restaurants and will be available to visitors.
Gabor and Adam also introduced local pastry chefs to national Hungarian desserts, including “Rakoczi turos” (curd cheesecake), “Flodni” (a dessert with a dense dough and a mixture of nuts, poppy and apples), world-famous Esterhazy torta (almond-chocolate), as well as Dobos cake.