Cardamom Almond Torte
My creation inspired by my hazelnut torte. I often made this for special occasions. It is often easier to get almonds or ground almonds than to get hazelnuts
My creation inspired by my hazelnut torte. I often made this for special occasions. It is often easier to get almonds or ground almonds than to get hazelnuts
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 3 cups almonds ground (1/2 pound)
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom ground
- 1/2 cup flour sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon cocoa
- 6 large eggs separated
- 1 cup sugar divided into 2, 1/2 portions
- 1 teaspoon orange zest finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon orange liqueur
- 2 tablespoons sugar or to taste
- 1 tablespoon cocoa to taste and for dusting
- Carbohydrate 15.4796367639828 g
- Cholesterol 293.661666643865 mg
- Fat 25.3926975275683 g
- Fiber 3.36466873013574 g
- Protein 13.4741938057966 g
- Saturated Fat 7.42397626954282 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (131g)
- Sodium 98.751616660263 mg
- Sugar 12.1149680338471 g
- Trans Fat 2.09606600154437 g
- Calories 332 calories
Step-by-step
- Prepare 2 or 3 9" cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment, and greasing and flouring the pans.
- Combine the ground nuts, the cocoa powder, flour and cardamom. Set aside
- In a clean mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, orange zest, and orange liqueur. Beat until light and lemon yellow. Gently fold in the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a very clean and oil free bowl combine the remaining 1/2 c sugar, and the egg whites. Beat until it forms stiff but not dry peaks.
- Temper the egg yolk mixture with about 1/3 of the egg whites then gently fold the mixture into the remaining egg whites until just combined.
- Bake the layers at 350° for 25-30 mins. (golden) Cool the layers on a rack. If using only two pans, split the layers in half.
- Brush the cut side of the layers with melted orange marmalade thinned slightly with water.
- Whip the cream with the sugar and cocoa powder. It should be lightly sweet, and just tasting of chocolate. Layer with the whipped cream, dusting the top layers cream with cocoa power.
Nut-based tortes require strict attention to mechanical aeration because they lack gluten to trap expansion gases. When whipping egg whites for this cake, ensure the bowl is completely grease-free or the proteins will fail to build adequate surface tension. Ground almonds introduce substantial weight to the batter, meaning the folded structure relies entirely on those suspended air bubbles to rise without a chemical leavening agent.
Managing Pans and Scaling
Standard home ovens rarely hold three nine-inch pans simultaneously on a single rack without blocking heat circulation. Baking the layers sequentially works well if the batter rests gently at room temperature, though dividing the recipe into halves or thirds requires recalculating egg quantities by weight rather than count to maintain structural integrity. Parchment lining is mandatory here, as the high protein and sugar content makes sticking inevitable.
- Whip whites until peaks hold shape without looking dry or curdled.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the layers turn golden and spring back slightly.
- Cool completely on wire racks before applying the whipped cream filling.
