This year, the Hungarian Confectionery Industry Corporation announced the Hungary’s Cake of the Year competition for the twentieth time, on the occasion of the August 20 national holiday, with Hungarian Cottage Cheese and Sour Cream as its theme. These dairy products are not only exciting and popular ingredients, but also an especially important part of Hungarian gastronomic culture: Hungarian-style curd cheese, known as rögös túró, has been one of the staple foods of Hungarian cuisine for nearly 500 years, and is not produced anywhere else outside the Carpathian Basin. In 2019, the European Union itself recognized rögös túró and officially registered it as a traditional and distinctive food product. The consumption of sour cream increased in Hungary alongside the spread of Christianity, and today it has become one of the indispensable ingredients of Hungarian cuisine.
This year’s concept attracted a record 60 entries in total, from which this year’s winner emerged through a four-round judging process. In 2026, master confectioners László Balogh, Zoltán Balogh and Roland Kis defended their title: the team from Kézműves Confectionery in Gyula won last year with a cake named DCJ Stílusgyakorlat, and this year, with Bíborfehér, they once again claimed the title of Hungary’s Cake of the Year.
Bíborfehér: silky sour cream mousse and blackcurrant wine enclosed in layers
The winning cake is based on a combination of silky sour cream mousse, rögös túró and berries, complemented by exciting flavors and textures such as toasted almonds and freeze-dried raspberries. The berries also appear in a truly special form: sweet blackcurrant wine has also been incorporated into the Gyula team’s creation.
Bíborfehér is at once pleasantly tart and softly sweet, respectful of tradition and modern – in other words, a true festive dessert. The complex taste experience enclosed within its layers is presented in a clean, refined design, demonstrating how our national heritage can be presented through a contemporary interpretation.
Kézműves Confectionery’s creation had to meet strict requirements during the judging process: the competition entries had to contain a significant proportion – at least 40 percent – of whipped mixtures or other cake layers, in order to ensure that the cakes genuinely represented the traditions of Hungarian confectionery. In terms of ingredients, contestants could use only high-quality, natural and healthy ingredients, and another requirement was that rögös túró and/or sour cream should have a distinctive presence.
The competition also featured plenty of exciting pairings: fruits traditionally paired with dairy products, such as apricots, strawberries and raspberries, appeared frequently, but there were also more unusual ingredients – including kaffir lime, kumquat, yuzu and tonka bean, as well as even kapia peppers and roasted bacon.
Second place went to Rétegek tánca (Dance of the Layers), created by Krisztián Füredi (Hisztéria Confectionery, Tápiószecső), while third place went to Eprek hercege (Prince of Strawberries), a creation by Tamás Lázár (Dinasztia Confectionery, Siófok).
Hungary’s Cake of the Year also announced in the sugar-free category
Alongside Hungary’s Cake of the Year, the Hungary’s Sugar-Free Cake competition is also held every year with the support of the One Drop Attention Foundation, which works to prevent diabetes. This year’s winner was Szilvafácska, from Promenád Café in Balatongyörök. Created by Alena Puchovszki, Gábor Pethő and Jenő Vadócz, the cake is made without added sugar and complements the fruitiness of plums with walnuts and milk chocolate. The flavors are brought together by a light cinnamon mousse, while a touch of green tea adds freshness to the dessert creation.
The winning cakes can be tasted from August 20 at Magyar Ízek Utcája at Várkert Bazár and at nearly 500 confectioneries across the country. From August 18, confectioneries selling the winning cakes can also be found on the renewed www.cukraszat.net website, where a map allows visitors to immediately find the confectionery closest to them.