Boeske’s Hazelnut Cake:
A Recipe with a Story
Boeske’s Hazelnut Cake is more than a dessert. It is a recipe that carries a story of family, resilience, and culture— a recipe that traveled more than 10,300 kilometers, from Hungary and Serbia all the way to Mexico.
It is a recipe that survived war, displacement, and the devastating attempt to erase Boeske, her family, her people, and her Jewish culture.
You can watch the video telling Boeske’s story here:
A Journey through Generations
Boeske
Blanca
Boeske's daughter in law
Sandra
Blanca's daughter
Boeske Span was born in Halmaj, Hungary, in 1905. Together with her sister, Aranka, she later moved to Subotica, Serbia, where both sisters married the Rosenfeld brothers.
Aranka's legacy
Aranka was known as a wonderful cook, celebrated for her exceptional culinary skills. She shared her knowledge and passion for cooking with Boeske, passing down recipes and traditions that would eventually travel far beyond Europe.
In the 1920s, Aranka published her own cookbook. It became remarkably successful and continued to be printed for more than 80 years, until 1993.
By 1944, Boeske had built a beautiful family with her husband and their three children. But the Second World War brought unimaginable hardship.
A Family Torn Apart by War
The deportation of Jewish people to concentration and extermination camps had begun, and Boeske and her family were among those who were forcibly deported.
Boeske and her children were eventually taken to the Urickskirchen camp in Austria, where she was forced to perform labor alongside her 12-year-old son. Her sister, Aranka, worked as a cook in the camp.
Despite the horrors they endured, their story did not end there.
From Survival to a New Beginning
After surviving the Second World War, Boeske took her children and began a new chapter of their lives. In July 1947, they moved to Mexico.
There, Boeske opened cooking classes and established her bakery, “Elizabeth.” Through her cooking, she brought the flavors and traditions of Hungarian cuisine to Mexico.
