Gerbeaud balls
Gerbeaud is a traditional Hungarian cake first made in the famous Gerbeaud Cafe in Budapest by a Swiss
confectioner. It is usually made and eaten around Christmas time. The cake has a few layers of pastry, ground
walnut, apricot jam and melted dark chocolate on the top. These Gerbeaud balls are easier to make than the
original and you can involve your little ones in the cake-making process.
Ingredients (approx, 12-15 balls):
70 g ground walnut
100 g digestive biscuits
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tsp rum essence
handful of raisins or dried apricots
pinch of cinnamon
1 lemon zest
2 tbsp orange juice
100 g good quality chocolate (dark or milk chocolate for the kiddies)
crushed walnut to decorate
1. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin and then mix with the ground walnuts, add a
pinch of cinnamon and then add the lemon zest to it. Mix in the apricot jam.
2. Soak the raisins or the dried apricots in the rum essence for half an hour then add this to the mixture. Add some
orange juice to get a smoother consistency but enough so that it is not too sticky so you can shape the mixture.
3. Shape small balls (the size of a walnut) with your hands and put them in the fridge for an hour.
4. In a glass bowl melt the chocolate over simmering water. Dip the gerbeaud balls in the chocolate, sprinkle some
crushed walnuts on the top of them and let them cool completely. You can keep them in the fridge for a few days
and they will mature really well as the flavours come together.
Ready in 15 minutes!