Fran Mcgoverns Torte Recipes

CARROT ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8 inch round cake pan with parchment, butter and lightly dust the sides with flour.
• Beat yolks, lemon rind and sugar until light and creamy looking. Blend in carrots, almonds and flour. Whip egg whites until glossy and stiff but not cottony looking. Fold them into the batter and transfer to the cake pan. Sprinkle with pine nuts and bake for 45 minutes.
• Cool on a cake rack and remove from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

HAZELNUT LINZER TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roast the hazelnuts until they smell toasty. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Rub off the skins and cool the nuts another 15 minutes.
• In a food processor grind the nuts with the sugar until finely ground but not pasty. With your hands work in the butter, flour and chocolate together. Add the eggs, one at a time. You just need the egg to hold the dough together; you may need only 1.
• Butter a 13 1/2 x 5 x 2 1/2 inch deep meatloaf pan. Spread about 2/3 of dough in the bottom and up the sides of the pan, spread the jam in the middle and top with more dough. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 5 minutes more, then reduce heat to 300 and bake for 1 hour longer or 1 1/4 hours in all. To test insert a cake tester in dough and it should come out dry. Can be made days ahead of time.

CHOCOLATE-ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the almonds on a baking sheet until lightly golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Cool slightly, then pulse in a food processor until finely ground, but not pasty.
• Melt 12 tablespoons butter and the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Stir until the chocolate is smooth, then remove from the heat and cool slightly. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with butter and coat with the breadcrumbs, tapping out the excess.
• Set aside 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Combine the 6 egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest, rum and salt, then beat in the melted chocolate until smooth. Mix in the ground almonds until just combined.
• In a clean bowl, beat the 3 egg whites with a mixer until foamy. Gradually beat in the reserved 2 tablespoons granulated sugar on high speed until almost stiff. Stir one-third of the whites into the chocolate batter, then gently fold in the rest. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until the top is firm and cracked (a toothpick inserted into the cake will be fudgy), 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and remove the ring. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with confectioners' sugar and whipped cream, if desired.

"EXPRESS" DOBOSCH TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth and add the sugar. Continue whipping until the mixture becomes fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Note: this process can be done with a whisk by hand. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, taking care that each egg is thoroughly integrated. Add the flour mixture and combine. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk to blend.
• Grease the 2 pans with butter and fill each with half of the batter. Place the pans in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm or when the tip of a small knife emerges clean when it pierces the center of each cake, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly, 1 hour at least. Once completely cool, using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half horizontally to form 4 equal layers. Place the layers on a flat surface. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate and sugar. In a medium pot over low heat, combine the heavy cream and vanilla and bring to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate has melted. Gently whisk in the butter pieces. Set aside to cool.
• When the frosting is cool, whip the frosting in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip to lighten the frosting, 1 to 2 minutes. Frost each layer of the cake, stacking them neatly and uniformly on top of each other. Then frost the entire outside of the cake as well.
• In a medium skillet, heat the sugar until it "melts" and turns a caramel color. Stir in the butter. Pour the caramel directly over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides to create a caramel shell. Allow the caramel topping to cool and harden on top of the cake.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Coat bottom and bottom inch of sides of a 10-inch spring-form pan with softened butter. Layer 1 cup chopped hazelnuts on bottom of pan. In food processor or blender, combine remaining 1 cup hazelnuts, eggs, pudding mix, and melted butter. Process until well-mixed and nuts are ground fine. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until edges of torte are firm but center jiggles when pan is shaken. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Release pan sides. Cool to lukewarm then transfer to serving plate and dust with cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Serve at warm or at room temperature.