Rigó Jancsi

A thick layer of chocolate whipped cream sits between two thin layers of cocoa sponge. Hungary’s Rigó Jancsi is a square pastry made with a generous amount of whipped cream. The cream is sandwiched between thin layers of sponge, and the top is covered with chocolate or a similar coating. The pastry is named after a musician, and its sponge, cream and topping all contain cacao. Each layer also has a different firmness, which adds to the pleasure of eating it.

Thin cocoa sponge and thick chocolate cream

In this pastry, the cream stands out more than the sponge because of its thickness. In some examples, the filling takes up three-quarters of a total height of about 7–8 centimeters. Thin sponges above and below enclose the thick layer of cream.

One way to make the sponge is to whip the egg yolks with sugar, whip the egg whites separately, combine the two, and then mix in cocoa and flour. Some methods also add melted butter to the yolks. If the yolks are first loosened with a small amount of the egg-white foam, and the rest of the foam and the flour are then folded in gently, ingredients of different densities blend together. The batter is spread into a rectangle on a baking sheet, baked and cooled to give two sheets of sponge of the same size.

Bringing the chocolate to the right temperature and mixing it into whipped cream

The heart of the pastry is whipped cream combined with melted chocolate. In one method, powdered sugar is added, the chocolate is loosened with a small amount of the whipped cream, and the rest of the whipped cream is then mixed in.

If the chocolate is too hot, the cream slackens and has trouble holding its shape. If it is too cool, it seizes into grains in the cold foam. A survey of regional traditional foods gives 38–40°C as a guideline, and one published recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method) by a pastry chef gives 40–45°C. When the melted chocolate is dispersed smoothly and then cools and sets, the cream becomes firm enough to cut.

Some recipes instead add cocoa and sugar to the whipped cream. Some versions are flavored with rum or vanilla and use gelatin to help the cream set. These differ from the melted-chocolate method in both ingredients and procedure.

Cutting the glazed top sponge first and placing it on the cream

A square frame is set on the bottom sponge and filled with a thick, level layer of cream. Chocolate is poured thinly over the other sponge. Once the surface begins to set, it is marked into individual portions with a warmed knife. This sponge is placed on top of the cream, and the pastry is cut along the marks on the top.

If the hard topping and the thick cream of the finished pastry are forced through in a single cut, the sides get crushed. If the top sponge is cut first, or scored to about half its thickness, the pastry can be cut straight without squashing the cream. Squares of about 5 centimeters are typical, but the pastry is also made as a large torte, with the cream sandwiched between the sponges in the same way.

The topping also varies. Besides melted dark chocolate, some recipes use a spread made of powdered sugar, egg white, cocoa and a small amount of butter and rum. The whipped cream visible at the sides and the thin topping on the surface have different textures.

Trieste’s rigojanci, made with apricot jam

The rigojanci described in the City of Trieste’s food culture guide also uses apricot jam. The jam is spread thinly on the sponge that will become the top layer. Chocolate is poured over it, and the sponge is cut into 5-centimeter squares in advance. The other sponge is spread with chocolate whipped cream, and the prepared squares are arranged on top. Some versions use no jam, but in the Trieste method the tartness of apricot is added to the flavors of cacao and dairy.

The legend of a musician’s romance with a princess

The pastry is named after Rigó Jancsi, a Roma violinist who performed from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. Clara Ward, an American, was the wife of the Belgian Prince de Chimay, but her relationship with the musician caused a sensation at the time. Stories about the pastry have long connected it with their romance.

According to the version given by the Hungarian National Digital Archive, Jancsi was playing the violin in 1896 while Clara was dining with her husband, the Prince de Chimay, at the Restaurant Paillard in Paris. When their relationship became widely talked about, Jancsi is said to have had a Budapest pastry shop make a chocolate pastry for his lover, and the pastry chef named it after him. In another version, the musician himself is said to have devised the pastry together with the pastry chef. Both are legends about the couple’s romance. It is not clear what proportions were used when the pastry was first made, or when it first went on sale. The pastry that bears his name became established in Budapest’s pastry shops and hotel cafés, and people took it home for weekend and celebration meals.

A pastry loved at a hotel in Rijeka

The pastry is also remembered in Rijeka, a port city on the Adriatic Sea. An exhibition at the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Hospitality presented the connection between the café of the Hotel Continental and Rigó Jancsi. The musician’s name lives on in a café culture that crosses national borders.

Glossary