Café Luitpold and the Munich Konditoreien · Since the 1880s
The Prinzregententorte
The Prinzregententorte is Munich’s torte: eight thin sponge layers with chocolate buttercream under a dark chocolate glaze, one layer for each district of the old Kingdom of Bavaria, created in the 1880s for Prince Regent Luitpold and sliced under the glass dome of the café that bears his name.
Taste profile
Pair it with
A coffee, or a glass of Bavarian sweet wine from the Franconian vineyards.
Several Munich confectioners claim the torte, all in the reign of Luitpold, who governed Bavaria from 1886 after Ludwig II; the layers were said to stand for the eight administrative districts of the kingdom. The recipe is exact: thin sponge discs baked one by one, a chocolate buttercream spread thinly, a glaze of dark chocolate, a rest overnight so the layers marry.
Café Luitpold on the Brienner Strasse, founded in 1888, is the reference; Rottenhöfer near the Residenz has made it since the court; the Bayerischer Hof keeps it on its trolley.
The home version · serves 6
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 180 g sugar
- 150 g flour
- 50 g cornflour
- 80 g butter, melted
- Buttercream: 250 g butter, 100 g icing sugar, 150 g dark chocolate, 2 yolks, 1 tsp vanilla
- Glaze: 200 g dark chocolate, 30 g butter
- Apricot jam, thin
Method
- Whisk eggs and sugar to a thick ribbon, fold in flour, cornflour and melted butter.
- Spread the batter in eight thin 24 cm circles on paper, bake each at 200 °C for 6 minutes until pale gold.
- Beat butter and icing sugar until pale, add the melted cooled chocolate, the yolks and vanilla.
- Layer the discs with a thin spread of buttercream; brush the top with warm apricot jam.
- Melt chocolate and butter, pour over the torte for a smooth glaze, rest overnight and cut with a hot knife.
