This old fashioned cake keeps the memory of a Hungarian-Belgian romantic story. It was named after Rigó Jancsi (1858-1927), who was a famous Hungarian gypsy violinist and toured with his orchestra all around Europe. Jancsi was already married and had a family when he met his fate. He was playing in a restaurant in Paris in 1896 when he set eyes on Clara Ward, the beautiful and opulent wife of the Belgian duke of Chimay, daughter of an American millionaire. His music and charm enchanted the duchess, they immediately fell in love, Jancsi eloped with Clara (who put on a gypsy disguise), and later both got divorced from their partners.

They lived together for 10 years in different countries, during their trips they squandered 8 million dollars. This cake was born in a café in Budapest when Jancsi ordered a chocolate-creamy cake for his love and the confectioner decided to name the cake after Jancsi. Their relationship didn’t have a happy end, since the ungrateful duchess left Jancsi to an Italian waiter.

Making Rigó Jancsi is quite labor intensive, but don’t let yourself be dissuaded. I used the recipe of Károly Gundel as a starting point, the process is the same, I only modified the quantities. The chocolate whipped cream doesn’t require any gelatine, sugar and melted chocolate make the cream stable enough that it won’t collapse. But if you have your doubts, you may use some gelatine. Apricot jam is an ingredient in the recipe people tend to forget when Rigó Jancsi comes up. The thin jam layer under the chocolate glaze must not be omitted, that makes the cake complete.