Potato Starch or Sugar for
-pan
-BATTER-
[may be doubled for 2
-layers] 6 lg Eggs, 5 of them separated
1 pn Salt
2 ts Lemon juice, preferabley
-fresh
3/4 c Sugar, divided
2 ts Grated lemon rind
3 oz Very finely grated semisweet
-(or “dark”) Chocolate
2 1/2 c Very finely ground unblanced
-hazelnuts (approx 8 oz)
-TORTE-
1/4 c Sweet Pesach wine, sherry or
-flavored brandy [I’ve
-always used Keyem’s
-raspberry syrup. Yum!] 1/2 c Apricot (or other) jam,
-about
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1/3 c Water
3 tb Vegetable oil
1 c Sugar
1/2 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
GARNISH [IF YOU MUST
1 c Ground nuts for sides of
-torte, about
12 Whole hazelnuts
1 oz Chocolate for curls
Reprinted without permission from _The Jewish Holiday Cookbook_ by Gloria
Kaufer Greene [editorial comments will be in square brackets. IMHO this is
a truly great cookbook]
Notes: The grated chocolate and ground nuts in this torte replace flour
and, thus, must be very fine and powdery. You can use a rotary grater or a
food processor to accomplish this, however, if the latter is used, be sure
not to over-grind the nuts or they may get oily and pasty. For the best
results, have nuts at room temperature and process them in pulses.
Finely ground unblanched almonds, pecans, or walnuts may be substituted for
the hazelnuts (which are sometimes called filberts).
[Often at this time of year stores that carry Kosher foods sell very finely
ground hazelnuts and almonds, which makes life simpler.]
If preffered, the glaze can be omitted, and the torte topped instead with a
thick layer of chocolate mousse.
Grease a 9 inch springform pan well and coat it with potato starch or
sugar, tapping out excess.
For the batter, in a large mixing bowl, beat the 5 egg whites with the salt
and lemon juice until foamy. Very gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and continue
beating the whites until they form stiff, but not dry, peaks.
Use the same beaters and another bowl to beat the 5 egg yolks and
additional egg with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon rind until very
light and fluffy. Gently but thouroughly fold the beaten whites into yolks.
Fold in chocolate and nuts, and pour batter into pan.
Bake torte in a preheated 325 degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until top
springs back when gently pressed.
[this will not rise as much as you think it ought. Don’t worry about it]
Leave the torte in the oven, turn off the heat, and open the door slightly.
After 10 minutes remove torte from oven. Run a knife around the edge of the
torte to release it from the pan rim. Cool it for another 30 minutes in the
pan. Remove the pan rim and cool the torte completely on the bottom.
[This next part is for icing the Torte. What I’ve done in the past is make
2 layers, following the above directions, doubled the amount of raspberry
syrup and dribbled half over each torte as per the directions and skipped
the jam. I’ve then used the chocolate glaze as an icing for between the
layers, and the “Instant” Chocolate Mousse recipe for the outside icing of
the whole thing.]
Cover a 9 or 10 inch cardboard circle with heavy duty aluminum foil or
freezer paper or use a cake plate. Invert torte onto base and remove pan
bottom. Sprinkle wine [or whatever] evenly over torte. Heat jam until
thinned; then bruch or spread it all over the torte. (this adds flavor and
smooths the surface).
For the glaze, combine the water, oil, sugar, and cocoa in a small suacepan
and mix very well. Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for
10-14 minutes, or until the glaze thickens slightly and is very smooth and
shiney. For the best flavor and texture it should not boil. Remove glaze
from heat and stir 3-4 minutes longer until it cools slightly and gets a
bit thicker. Pour all the glaze in the center of the torte and immediately
use a metal or rubber spatula to evenly spread it all over top and sides.
Wipe up
continued in part 2
Yields
1 Servings