Recipe: Chocolate-Matcha Layer Cake “Madjarica”
So…you probably read the title thinking, “ok, ok, yeah, yeah…wait, did someone just pass out on the keyboard and this was what came out when they hit their head?” Well, folks, “Madjarica” is actually a real word–it literally translates to “Hungarian Girl”; however, it’s also the name of a popular Croatian layer cake.
Now, if you’ve been following the blog at all, you might have caught on to the fact that I’m Serbian; so why am I writing about a Croatian cake that’s referring to Hungarians (honestly, I feel like this cake is getting too complicated now…I say we just call it the yummy-looking cake that makes me happy)? Without getting too political, Serbia and Croatia used to be part of one country: Yugoslavia; civil war occurred in the 1990s, but the countries still have similar languages and cultures (Croatian and Serbian are mutually understandable).
My mother actually made this cake (rarely) when I was little; it was a special treat since she never really liked baking or cooking (I don’t know where I got this interest from…both my parents are scientists!). Since I’m not a huge fan of walnuts, and every Serbian dessert seems to made of about 1.235 tons of walnuts, this cake was always a welcome surprise–it doesn’t have any nuts in it!
The traditional madjarica is pretty simple, actually. It’s just vanilla “cake” layers (I put cake in quotations since it’s really more a cookie-cake hybrid) with chocolate custard in between them, finished off with a chocolate glaze. Essentially, it’s programmed to be delicious…I mean how can chocolate and vanilla be bad? Wait…don’t answer that…I’m scared you’ll ruin one of the few pure things left in this world…
The original “madjarica” 
My chocolate-matcha version
This recipe is a cosmopolitan spin on this Balkan classic. I knew I wanted to do a matcha variation, to pair with Poeme’s matcha macarons. Then I realized chocolate exists (like I could forget for more than a second…) and decided that matcha and chocolate sounded like all my dreams (and more) come true. I wanted to use dark chocolate not only because the contrast in color would be beautiful, but also because it would provide a more complex flavor to match matcha’s earthy depth.
The process to making this recipe is a bit simpler than the Zerbo kocke, but it still requires a little bit more grunt work. It’s absolutely worth it, though! I’m not kidding–you might get some proposals and maybe even have random cute animals start following you (I’m not saying it’ll turn you into a Disney princess…but I’m also not denying it…everyone will love you and think you’re the most pure thing in the entire world!).
So, enough rambling! Here’s the magical recipe:
Chocolate-Matcha Madjarica (Croatian Layer Cake)
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 1 stick plus 5 tbsp butter, softened
- 180 g granulated sugar
- 2 egg whites at room temperature
- 180 g sour cream
- 500 g AP flour
- 100 g dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the matcha filling:
- 1,000 g whole milk
- 2 tbsp matcha
- 12 egg yolks
- 160 g granulated sugar
- 80 g cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the chocolate glaze:
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp butter, softened
Instructions
To make the filling:
- Place milk and matcha into a large pot and let steep for 10-15 minutes.
- In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
- Heat the matcha-milk mixture on medium heat until it’s just about to boil (it will start steaming a little). Pour about half the mixture into the egg yolk blend, whisking continuously while doing this. Then, pour the egg yolk and matcha-milk mixture back into the large pot. The purpose of doing this is to avoid overcooking the egg yolks (your pastry cream will turn out lumpy and curdled…that’s a bad time, folks).
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and, stirring constantly, wait for the mixture to thicken. This will take about 5-10 minutes; it should look like a very thick pudding and coat the back of the spoon.
- Place pastry cream into a shallow container and refrigerate until later use. You will want the cream at least room-temperature before using it further.
To make the cake layers:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, matcha, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed (using a stand mixer or a hand mixer) until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add egg whites and beat on high until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add sour cream and beat until combined (it’s okay if it looks slightly lumpy, this will smooth out later).
- Now add the flour mixture you’ve already made, mixing on low (we don’t want flour flying everywhere…trust me, that is NOT fun…and now I’m reliving traumatic flour memories…). Mix until the dough starts to come together. It will look a little rough, but that’s okay.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and gently press it together to form a long shape (it will be slightly stiff). Cut the dough into six equal pieces. I like to use a scale for this (the pieces will come out to about 200 grams each).
- Take one of the pieces and roll it out between two sheets of parchment to a rectangle about 9 in x 13 in. This is a technique we’ve used before (if you’ve been following the blog); take a look at the Zerbo recipe or the Orange-Pistachio Tart for a refresher! The rectangle doesn’t have to look perfect; uneven edges will be cut off later on.
- Carefully peel off the top parchment sheet and move the dough (on the bottom parchment sheet) onto a sheet pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the dough looks set (it might have some small bubbles and look slightly browner on the edges…this is hard to see, though, because it’s already brown from the chocolate!).
- Continue rolling and baking until all six sheets have been baked (multiple racks in the oven or a double oven helps A LOT here…all praise the double oven…).
- Let all the cake layers cool completely before assembling.
To assemble cake:
- Get a large sheet pan out and line it with parchment; this will be your “assembly station.”
- Take one of the cake layers and place it on the sheet pan. Then with a spatula, spread an even layer of the cooled matcha pastry cream over the entire layer. You’ll want to use about a cup (it should be about 1/4 inch thick).
- Continue this layering process, ending with a cake layer (with no matcha on top).
Now prepare the chocolate glaze:
- Place chocolate, oil, and butter into a small saucepan on medium-low heat; stirring occasionally, let melt completely until it looks smooth and slightly runny.
- Pull off the heat and immediately pour over the cooled cake. You can use a spatula to gently push the glaze to the outer edges.
- Put cake in the fridge until the glaze sets, at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When glaze is set, pull the cake out of the fridge and cut off the uneven edges to make a clean-looking rectangle (those uneven edges are what I like to call the “baker’s tax”; do scraps always seem to taste the best, or is that just me?).
- Cut cake into small squares or rectangles and serve. If you would like, you can dust some matcha mixed with powdered sugar over the top of the cake.
- Eat entire cake within two hours and then promise yourself next time you’ll actually share…
Notes
Feel free to experiment with your own variations too; this cake is ripe for innovation! You can choose to flavor the cake layer differntly, or swap out the matcha custard for another pudding flavor. It’s really a free-for-all, so get those creative juices flowing and make your own signature Croatian layer cake!
Okay, Promo time: You know what makes this cake even better? Matcha macarons from Poeme! Enjoy creamy matcha macarons with this equally creamy cake and thank me later 🙂 Fill out the form here to order!
Happy baking everyone!
2 Comments
Soph
Ooh I’ve not tried any matcha desserts yet but this looks divine- it’s made my mouth water just looking at the photos haha
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
admin
Thank you! I love matcha desserts, and chocolate has a habit of making everything even better 😁