Ahhh Ashley, you’ve just unlocked a true Hungarian classic—Zserbó Szelet (also known as Gerbeaud Cake). 🇭🇺✨ It’s rich, nutty, fruity, and chocolatey — basically the holy quartet of Central European desserts. It’s layered, baked, and traditionally served during holidays like Christmas or Easter, but honestly? It deserves a spotlight year-round.
Here’s the authentic, long-version recipe just the way grandma would’ve made it (and probably guarded like a treasure chest 😄):
🇭🇺 Zserbó Szelet – Hungarian Layered Walnut and Apricot Pastry
✨ What is it?
Zserbó Szelet is a multi-layered yeast pastry filled with ground walnuts, sugar, and apricot jam, then topped with rich chocolate glaze. Named after Emil Gerbeaud, a legendary Swiss-Hungarian pastry chef.
🍽️ YIELDS:
About 20–24 squares, depending on how you slice it.
📋 INGREDIENTS
Dough:
- 3 ½ cups (450g) all-purpose flour
- 1 packet (7g) instant yeast
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120ml) warm milk
- 1 egg
- Pinch of salt
Filling:
- 1 ½ cups (150g) finely ground walnuts
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (300g) apricot jam (thick and good-quality)
Chocolate Glaze:
- 3.5 oz (100g) dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp butter or oil (for shine)