Learn to make the Romanian Greta Garbo cake, an old-fashioned recipe featuring layers of yeast dough, jam, and ground walnuts.
Greta Garbo cake is an easy-to-make yeast and jam cake, also known as Zserbo (Hungarian) or Gerbeaud after the famous Cafe Gerbeaud in Budapest. I have never visited this Cafe, but this cake is one of its most appreciated cakes, alongside Dobos Torte and the Esterhazy cake.
Vintage cake recipes, many of which made their way into Romanian kitchens, were influenced by the large Hungarian community in Transylvania. Their cooking and baking traditions had a big influence on the way people in Transylvania made food.
Check out more of these recipes, such as Langos, Chicken Paprikash with Nokedli, or Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles.
I baked this cake using Silvia Jurcovan's vintage cookbook and mostly followed the recipe, except for reducing the sugar. The recipe called for 500 g (1.1 lbs) of sugar to sprinkle between the layers, but I used only 150 g (5.3 oz) because the cake was already sweet enough. I think the higher amount must have been a printing mistake.
Instead of the original cocoa glaze, I topped the cake with white chocolate ganache since I didn't like the cocoa glaze when I tried it before. I used homemade sweet cherry butter, but you can use any jam you like. Less sweet jams like Rhubarb Raspberry Jam, Rhubarb Strawberry Jam, or Apricot Jam would work great.
I highly recommend Silvia Jurcovan's cookbook for Romanian speakers reading this blog. It's a must-have for anyone in Romania who loves cooking.
I have a few more recipes on Where Is My Spoon cooked out or inspired by Silvia Jurcovan, for example, Chicken Meatballs in Cream Sauce or Cauliflower in Tomato Sauce. You might want to check those out; they are all delicious. ๐
Romanian Greta Garbo Cake
Equipment
- Baking dish approximately 23x33 cm/ 9x13 inches
- Stand mixer or electric mixer with dough attachments
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
Yeast dough:
- 30 g fresh yeast 1 oz or 10 g/ 0.4 oz of active dry or instant dry yeast
- 100 g granulated sugar ยฝ cup
- 200 g unsalted butter very soft, ยพ cup + 1 tablespoon
- 2 eggs large
- 200 g smetana or sour cream, 1 โ cup
- ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 lemon the zest
- 550 g all-purpose flour 4 โ cups
Filling:
- 450 g jam of your choice, 1 lb
- 250 g ground walnuts 9 oz/ 2 cups
- 150 g granulated sugar ยพ cup
Ganache:
- 80 ml heavy cream โ cup
- 170 g white chocolate 6 oz
Instructions
Yeast dough (Note 1):
- Proof yeast: Crumble the fresh yeast and mix it with the sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer or another mixing bowl. Stir well and leave to stand for about 5 minutes or until the yeast is liquid (Note 2). If using instant yeast, mix it with the flour and combine all ingredients for the dough. Proceed with the recipe as instructed above.30 g fresh yeast / 1 oz + 100 g granulated sugar/ ยฝ cup
- Add wet ingredients: Add the soft butter and stir well. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition. Add the smetana, salt, and lemon zest and mix well.200 g unsalted butter/ ยพ cup + 1 tablespoon + 2 eggs + 200 g smetana / 1 โ cup + ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt + zest of 1 lemon
- Knead dough: Add almost all the flour, setting about 2 tablespoons aside. Knead briefly until the mixture is smooth, but don't overdo it; this dough is not supposed to be kneaded too long.550 g all-purpose flour/ 4 โ cups
- Form a dough ball: Sprinkle the working surface with a little bit of the flour you set aside and turn the dough onto it. Knead shortly and form a ball of dough. If the dough sticks too much to your hands, add another tablespoon or so of flour, but not too much. Whether you have to add more flour or not depends on the size of the eggs.
- Let the dough rise: Place it in a bowl, cover it with a cloth, and let it rise in a warm place for about 15-20 minutes.
Assemble:
- Roll the dough: Sprinkle the working surface with a little flour. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Take one part and shape it into a rectangle with your hands. Roll it to fit into the baking dish. Place it in the dish (you don't have to butter the dish).
- Layer cake: Spread โ of the jam on top of the first dough layer. Sprinkle it evenly with โ of the ground walnuts and โ of the sugar.450 g jam / 1 lb + โ of 250 g ground walnuts/ 2 cups + โ of 150 g granulated sugar/ ยพ cup
- Repeat with the remaining dough balls, jam, and sugar, closing with the last layer of dough.
- Let rise: Cover the dish with a kitchen cloth and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Bake:
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200ยฐC/ 400ยฐF.
- Bake: Place the cake in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 180ยฐC/ 360ยฐF and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked through.
- Check the cake after 30 minutes or so and cover it loosely with aluminum foil if the top is already too deeply colored.
- Cool cake: Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the baking dish. When cool, prepare the ganache.
Ganache:
- Chop the white chocolate very finely or process it to fine crumbs in the food processor. It is important that the chocolate is finely chopped; this way it will melt quicker and better when mixed with the hot heavy cream. Place it in a small bowl.170 g white chocolate/ 6 oz
- Heat the heavy cream in a small pan until it comes to a boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir well with a spoon until the mixture is smooth. Pour and spread over the cake. Let it set well.80 ml heavy cream/ โ cup
- Cut Greta Garbo cake into small rectangles and serve.
Notes
- Measurements:ย Always use aย digital kitchen scaleย in baking (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab); it guarantees the best results.
- Yeast: If using active dry yeast, activate it in the same way. If using instant dry yeast, mix it well with the flour and the sugar before adding any wet ingredients.ย
grace says
another gorgeous layer cake! i want to eat everything you make. ๐
Chris Scheuer says
What a fun story and an amazing looking cake!
KR says
I so understand you ๐ ๐ I would add one more problem " take one package/ jar" something. How I should know how big was jar/ package of cream, quark... whatever in 1960??? ๐ ๐
But in the same time, it make this process more interesting, to test and improvise ๐ And I do not know (nowone to ask, anymore :(... ), maybe our cakes are absolutely different from originale.
Shashi at Savory Spin says
Oh My Word! Look at those layers! Thanks so much Adina, for sharing this recipe from Silvia Jurcovan cookbook - I am mesmerized by those layers! I understand your frustration when it comes to "grandma's" measurements - my mom does the same thing too! ๐
Anca says
I know exactly what you mean. This is one of reasons I don't bake Romanian recipes. Faina cat cuprinde is the most annoying thing in a recipe. Even 50g can make a difference and with baking it has to precise. I hate the cup measurements too.
The cake looks fab, I didn't know it. x
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
This one kinda looks like tiramisu to me! Sounds delicious and love that it's customizable by switching out the variety of jam! YUM!
Nammi says
yummm..... I love this cake!! and its interesting recipe too its got yeast!