Beulah Levy Ledner (January 5, 1894 – March 30, 1988) was a dessert and

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, who was most noted for her invention of Doberge cakes, which were an adaptation for Louisiana tastes of the Hungarian/Austrian dish

dobos torte Dobos torte ( hu, Dobos torta ), also known as Dobosh, is a Hungarian sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel. The layered pastry is named after its inventor, Hungarian chef József C. Dobos, a delicatessen own ...

.New Orleans Times-Picayune obituary, April 1, 1988. Ledner was born in St. Rose, Louisiana, to a family of

Hungarian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

immigrant bakers. She started her own bakery business in New Orleans in 1931. The Ledner bakery was initially known as "Mrs. Charles Ledner's Superior Home Baking," operating out of the family's home. The bakery relocated several times subsequently as it grew. She sold her bakery business to Gambino's Bakery as a result of the hardships of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but subsequently opened a new bakery in

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...

, following the war's end.Leanne Myers Boone
Country Roads Magazine
31 July 2013. Ledner's recipes reflected the German and Jewish influence on New Orleans cuisine in the mid-20th century. Ledner's recipes have been collected and published, and various versions of the Doberge recipe are available on-line, including a photograph of the traditional multiple thin layers used in the authentic Doberge recipe. A video narrative of the preparation of Doberge cakes in the tradition of Ledner is available on-line.Ryan McNamara
Country Roads Magazine
24 July 2013. Ledner has at times been referred to as the "Doberge Queen of New Orleans". Ledner's son Albert C. Ledner was a noted architect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledner, Beulah Levy Pastry chefs American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent 1894 births 1988 deaths Jews and Judaism in New Orleans People from St. Rose, Louisiana Chefs from New Orleans American women chefs