Few Romanian desserts have a story as elegant and surprising as the Joffre cake, the symbolic creation of Casa Capșa, the place where important chapters of Romanian gastronomic and diplomatic history were written. Everything begins in the year 1920, when the famous French marshal Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, also called “Papa Joffre,” arrived in Bucharest at the invitation of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. His visit was not an ordinary one, but one filled with political and military significance, since the marshal came to Romania in order to decorate the Romanian monarch with the prestigious “French Military Medal.”

The visit of a legendary marshal who inspired a unique Romanian dessert

The official ceremony took place at the Palace of Arts in Carol Park, in a solemn setting meant to strengthen the ties between Romania and France after the First World War. As a sign of recognition for the sacrifices of the Romanians, Marshal Joffre awarded the cities of Bucharest and Mărășești the “War Cross,” a gesture that deeply moved the authorities of the time. 

As a result, the city hall of Mărășești decided that on the coat of arms of the city should appear the Archangel Michael together with the famous inscription “One does not pass here,” which became a symbol of heroic resistance.

This solemn atmosphere, worthy of a great military power, was about to generate, however, a moment surprisingly gentle and refined: the birth of a cake.

How Grigore Capșa created the dessert that would become famous all over the world

To honor the visit of the marshal, the great confectioner Grigore Capșa, official supplier of the Royal House of Romania and one of the most renowned masters of sweets at the beginning of the twentieth century, decided to create a special dessert. 

He did not want just an elegant cake, but one that would speak through form, taste, and symbolism about the personality of the French guest. Thus appeared the Joffre cake, a small culinary jewel inspired by the military cap worn by officers of the French Army, represented through the cylindrical shape of the dessert.

But Grigore Capșa knew an essential detail: Marshal Joffre suffered from diabetes. Therefore, the dessert had to be small enough not to represent a risk, but also tasty enough to honor his prestige. The confectioner, trained in Paris, succeeded in creating a dessert refined, balanced, and spectacular.

The composition of the cake was a delicate mixture of butter, sugar, eggs, flour, natural aromas, and cocoa of the highest quality, all wrapped in an intense chocolate glaze. The preparation was done in two stages: first, biscuits were baked from egg whites beaten with sugar, to which the yolks, flour, and salt were added. 

Once baked and cooled, the biscuits were joined with a rich chocolate cream made from soft butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla, rum, water, egg yolks, and whipped cream. The resulting tower was then passed through a glossy dark chocolate glaze.

The result? A fine cake, strongly flavored, that melted instantly in the mouth — a small work of art that combined French tradition with Romanian craftsmanship.

From royal dessert to international gastronomic symbol

Once served at Capșa in honor of the French marshal, the cake quickly became a sensation among the elite of interwar Bucharest. Soon, the Joffre dessert was adopted by restaurants and confectioneries in France, the country that had originally inspired it. In a short time, the Joffre cake became one of the most elegant desserts of the era.

In Romania, the dessert entered permanently into the repertoire of traditional confectioneries. In fact, it is almost impossible to find an authentic Romanian confectionery where the Joffre cake is not present, now prepared in dozens of variants but preserving the same essential taste markers.

Interestingly, for the Romanian public, the original cake seemed too small. Therefore, responding to consumers’ preferences, Casa Capșa created a larger version — the Joffre cake (tort), prepared according to the same recipe but adapted to be served at special occasions.

Who Marshal Joffre actually was — the man who inspired the dessert

To fully understand the importance of the Joffre cake, one must look also at the portrait of the man whose name it bears. Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (1852–1931) was born in the commune of Rivesaltes, in the Roussillon region, into a family of winegrowers. In 1870 he enrolled at the Polytechnic School and oriented himself toward a military career during a very tense period for France.

His first military mission took place during the siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. However, his career was consolidated in the colonies, where Joffre worked as a military engineer, gaining strategic and technical experience. In 1911, returning to the metropolis, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the French army, a position that gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his military genius.

His name remains forever linked to the First Battle of the Marne (September 1914), a decisive moment in which the German offensive was stopped, saving France from a rapid defeat. His calm, discipline, and strategy transformed his image into a symbol of national salvation.

In 1917, the marshal was appointed head of the French Military Mission in Romania, having a crucial role in restructuring the Romanian army after the defeats of 1916. His support contributed to the reorganization of the troops and to Romania’s ability to return to the war in 1918.

In 1919, Joffre became a member of the French Academy, and international recognition did not delay: mountains, squares, and boulevards in France, Canada, the USA, and Australia bear his name, as homage to a life dedicated to military service.

The legacy of the Joffre dessert in Romanian culture

Paradoxically, Marshal Joffre was not a man devoted to desserts, but a man of military discipline and geostrategy. Nevertheless, his name remained inscribed on one of the most refined creations of Romanian pastry. The Joffre cake is not just a dessert, but a story of elegance, diplomatic respect, and Romanian culinary ingenuity.

Casa Capșa, the place where kings, diplomats, generals, artists, and writers met, transformed the visit of a French marshal into an opportunity to create a gastronomic legend. Throughout a century, the dessert remained synonymous with refinement and with the authentic taste of Romanian history.

Today, the Joffre cake is a symbol that continues to traverse generations, a dessert that reminds us that sometimes history is not written only in treaties, battles, and medals, but also in recipes that bring emotion, flavor, and identity.

We also recommend: Zamfirescu, the first chocolate factory in Romania, supplier of Casa Capșa. From here, Iuliu Maniu bought candies for Queen Marie