Csusztatott Palacsinta (Hungarian Layer Cake With Pecans and Vanilla)
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 2 cups (7 ounces) raw whole pecans
- 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar*
For the Pancakes:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Csusztatott Palacsinta (Hungarian Layer Cake With Pecans and Vanilla)
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 2 cups (7 ounces) raw whole pecans
- 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar*
For the Pancakes:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Disguised as a gentile, Martha Roth survived the Holocaust as a teenager by escaping from Slovakia to Hungary. Found out, she was sent to a prison (the same one where Hannah Senesh was held). After the war, she made her way to Israel with no physical tokens of her past, but strong recollections of her mother’s cooking. She settled in Nahariya and became a farmer, as well as a skilled cook and baker for her family.
It was her grandson’s wife, Hean Zeidner Kaspi, though, who became most enamored with Martha’s recipes, particularly with this classic Hungarian cake, which stacks large pancakes atop one another with fillings like chocolate and sugar, or in this case, pecans and vanilla sugar. Martha was always secretive about her recipes, never sharing the exact one with anyone. After her death, Hean tested numerous versions until she recreated the family original, which is the recipe shared below.
