Zserbo Szelet A Hungarian Dessert
I found this old Zserbo Szelet Recipe in one of the vintage recipe binders I own. This traditional Hungarian dessert recipe was written on a lovely piece of parchment paper.
The name of the recipe was not written in English (and I doubt there is an English translation for it because I never came across one) but I am sure if you or your grandmother are from Hungary you know this recipe very well.
Traditional Hungarian Cake recipes
At the time I made and shared this Zsbero Szelet recipe in 2011 I searched high and low for another recipe like it.
I could not find anything resembling this Hungarian dessert. But today with a quick search on Google I see it is also called Gerbeaud Cake named after Emil Gerbeaud a Swiss-born Hungarian confectioner who is famous for creating several traditional Hungarian cakes.
Check out all the lovely comments from readers who have enjoyed Zserbo Szelet baked by their grandmothers.
Sad as it makes me English is the only language I speak. I wish I knew how to speak German like my ancestors did but I grew up in a home where only English was spoken.
I often wonder why if my grandmother's parents immigrated from Germany to the US and German was the language they spoke why didn't they teach it to my grandmother. I wish she was still around so I could ask her.
After searching the internet so I could figure out what this vinatge recipe was all about I found out that it is a Hungarian dessert recipe.
I am not sure if it would be considered a cookie or a cake like confection. Maybe one of you will have my answer.
Updating old family recipes
There was a bit of confusion on my part since the handwritten recipe called for what looks like 1 ¼ cubes of butter. Again as I researched the recipe I paid attention to the amounts listed in the recipes I found.
Some Zserbo Szelet recipes included sour cream. Others didn't. Some recipes called for baking soda and no yeast.
Others called for baking powder and yeast. Some called for eggs and egg yolk. Others did not list egg as an ingredient.
I used this vintage recipe as my inspiration but I made some slight changes. The vintage recipe used a much smaller amount of flour for a smaller batch compared to the ones I found online.
Most of the recipes made a huge batch which contained 3 or 4 cups of flour.
I would have ended up with tons of this confection so I made my changes based partly on the vintage recipe I had and partly on the recipes I found on the internet.
I also watched a video on youtube of a Hungarian Grandmother making a batch. Since I couldn't understand a word she said or read the recipe that flashed on the video I am not sure if this dessert is supposed to be cake like or cookie like.
Mine turned out cookie like and I am very happy with it. Matter of fact I couldn't stop eating the Zserbo Szelet while I was taking my photos. So if you see a smudge of chocolate where it isn't supposed to accept my apology for being messy.
It also reinforces my thoughts that vintage recipes our grandmothers made were simple but always delicious.
Zserbo Szelet Recipe
- 1 ½ cups of walnuts
- ½ cup sugar
- Apricot Jam or any jam of your choosing (Apricot jam is the traditional filling for Zserbo Szelet .
- ¼ cup of warm milk
- 1 tsp yeast
- 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened and cut into little pieces plus 1 tablespoon to grease the baking pan.
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 12 oz bag of bittersweet chocolate chips.
- Grind 1 ½ cup of walnuts in a food processor until they have the consistency of a nut meal.
- Put the walnut nut meal into a bowl and mix with ½ a cup sugar, set aside for the filling.
- In a small bowl mix the warmed milk and yeast. Stir and set aside until needed.
- In a separate large bowl sift the all purpose flour, ¼ cup of sugar, baking soda and salt together.
- Stir the softened butter pieces into the flour mixture. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the softened butter into the dry ingredients until small crumbs have formed.
- Pour the yeast and warm milk into the bowl with the flour crumbs. Add the ¼ cup of sour cream to the bowl mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and you can form a ball.
- Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Separate the dough into 3 equal sized pieces by cutting it into thirds.
- Butter the bottom of an 8 ½ by 13-inch baking sheet pan with one tablespoon of butter.
- Roll out one piece of dough at a time until the piece of dough is large enough to fit into the bottom of your sheet pan.
- Stretching and adjusting the dough as needed so it completely covers the bottom.
- Spread a generous layer of Apricot jam all over the top of the first layer of the dough.
- Sprinkle half the walnut and sugar mixture over the jam. Use a spatula or back of a spoon to spread the filling into all corners with the pan.
- Roll out the second piece of dough and repeat step by layering the fillings over the top of the dough piece.
- Roll out the third piece of dough and carefully lay it on top of the second filling layer.
- Stretch the dough if needed so it covers the second layer completely.
- Cover the pan with a clean dish towel and let it rise for one hour in a warm spot. After 30 minutes preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees then increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 10 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Remove the baking pan from the oven and immediately scatter the 12-ounce bag of bittersweet chocolate chips over the hot top.
- Once the chocolate chips begin to melt after about 8 minutes use a spatula to spread the chocolate over the top.
- Allow to cool completely and for the chocolate to harden before cutting into squares with a sharp knife.
- You can refrigerate to speed up the cooling process.
- Makes about 36 one and a half inch pieces.
Helpful Tip for the Zserbo Szelet Recipe
- ¾ of the bag of chips would probably have been enough.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting so the chocolate and the filling can set up or the squares will crush while cutting.
- I put mine in the fridge overnight because the chocolate just wasn't getting hard quick enough.
- Once the chocolate is hard you can cut it into 1 ½ or 2-inch square pieces.
I wasn't sure whether this dessert is supposed to be cake like or cookie like but I have to tell you the recipe turned out cookie like and it tastes so good!
I can't get enough of it really. I am going to have to share it with family and neighbors because I will eat the entire tray if it stays in my house.
Let me know if you try it out this Zserbo Szelet recipe and what flavor of jam you used for the filling.
This would be a great dessert to make for any family get together, baby shower or birthday party you might be going to. This recipe makes a bunch.
I, of course, ate a bunch but I measured my tray and I figure I cut at least 36 or more 1 ½ to 2-inch square pieces.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the second recipe in my new Vintage Recipe Project.
Zserbo Szelet Recipe A Hungarian Dessert
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 ½ cups walnuts
- ½ cup sugar
- Apricot jam or any jam of your choosing (Apricot jam is the traditional filling for Zserbo Szelet)
Dough
- ¼ cup warm milk
- 1 tsp yeast
- 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter (softened and cut into little pieces plus 1 tablespoon to grease the baking pan.)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Grind 1 ½ cup of walnuts in a food processor until they have the consistency of a nut meal.
- Put the walnut nut meal into a bowl and mix with ½ a cup sugar, set aside for the filling.
- In a small bowl mix the warmed milk and yeast. Stir and set aside until needed.
- In a separate large bowl sift the all purpose flour, ¼ cup of sugar, baking soda and salt together.
- Stir the softened butter pieces into the flour mixture. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the softened butter into the dry ingredients until small crumbs have formed.
- Pour the yeast and warm milk into the bowl with the flour crumbs. Add the ¼ cup of sour cream to the bowl mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and you can form a ball.
- Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Separate the dough into 3 equal sized pieces by cutting it into thirds.
- Butter the bottom of an 8 ½ by 13-inch baking sheet pan with one tablespoon of butter.
- Roll out one piece of dough at a time until the piece of dough is large enough to fit into the bottom of your sheet pan.
- Stretching and adjusting the dough as needed so it completely covers the bottom.
- Spread a generous layer of Apricot jam all over the top of the first layer of the dough.
- Sprinkle half the walnut and sugar mixture over the jam. Use a spatula or back of a spoon to spread the filling into all corners with the pan.
- Roll out the second piece of dough and repeat step by layering the fillings over the top of the dough piece.
- Roll out the third piece of dough and carefully lay it on top of the second filling layer.
- Stretch the dough if needed so it covers the second layer completely.
- Cover the pan with a clean dish towel and let it rise for one hour in a warm spot. After 30 minutes preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees then increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 10 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Remove the baking pan from the oven and immediately scatter the 12-ounce bag of bittersweet chocolate chips over the hot top.
- Once the chocolate chips begin to melt after about 8 minutes use a spatula to spread the chocolate over the top.
- Allow to cool completely and for the chocolate to harden before cutting into squares with a sharp knife. You can refrigerate to speed up the cooling process.
Madilynn
I loved it 😀 though i did substitute the apricot for pineapple jam and it was AMAZING!!!