French Huguenot Torte Recipes

HUGUENOT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Beat the eggs and salt with a rotary beater until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar.
• Fold in the apples and pecans with a whisk. Add the vanilla, flour and baking powder. Pour into a well-greased baking pan about 8-by-12 or 9-by-9 inches and at least 2 inches deep. Bake for 45 minutes, until sunken and crusty. Serve warm or chilled, with whipped cream.

JOHN MARTIN TAYLOR'S HUGUENOT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter two nine-inch cake pans. Cut circles of parchment paper for the bottom of each one, place in the bottom and butter again. Sprinkle a little flour in each pan and shake to coat bottom and sides thoroughly.
• Chop the nuts to a fine meal or place in a food processor and process in short bursts. Do not overprocess; the nuts will become oily.
• Peel and core the apples and mince. (Measure and use one and three quarter cups of chopped apples.)
• Beat the eggs and the egg yolk in a bowl for about five minutes or until the eggs have expanded greatly in volume. Continue beating and add the sugar, little by little, beating well after each addition. When all the sugar has been incorporated, beat an additional two to three minutes, until the eggs are very thick and have turned a pale cream color. Sift the flour over the eggs and sprinkle the chopped nuts and apples over the flour. Using a spatula, quickly turn and fold the mixture together. The batter should be thoroughly mixed: use your spatula to reach down to the bottom of the bowl.
• Divide the batter between the two cake pans and place them in a preheated oven. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until tops are brown and edges have started to pull away. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool.
• When they are thoroughly cool, invert the cakes, remove the paper from the bottoms and turn them right side up again. Beat the whipped cream until it is stiff. Sandwich the cakes with whipped cream and spoon whipped cream over the top. Garnish, if desired, with toasted pecan or walnut halves. Serve immediately.

HOPPIN JOHN HUGUENOT TORTE

Steps:

• Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by lightly greasing them, lining them with waxed paper or parchment, greasing the paper, and lightly dusting with flour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Mix the ground nuts together. Very finely chop the apples with a knife. You should have 1 3/4 cups. In a warmed electric mixer bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolk on high speed until doubled in volume. It may take 10 minutes or more. Slowly add the sugar while beating and continue beating until the volume is tripled. The eggs should be very thick and light in color. Don't be afraid of over-beating. Sift the flour over the egg mixture. Sprinkle the ground nuts over all, followed by the apples. With a large spatula, fold the mixture together rapidly but gently, being certain to bring all the elements from the bottom of the bowl up into the mixture. Divide the batter between 2 cake pans and bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sides have begun to pull away. Do not push on the meringue like top, or it may cave in. Place on a rack in a draft-free place and let cool completely. Lightly toast the pecan halves while the cake are in the oven. While the pecans are hot, quickly dip them in water and then roll them in granulated sugar until they are lightly coated. Let them dry on a rack. The cakes must be perfectly cool, or the heat with melt the cream. Invert the pans to remove the cakes, discarding the paper liners, and turn the cakes back over again so that the crusty top surface is in its original position. Place each cake on a serving platter. Using an electric standing mixer, fitted with a whip attachment, whip the cream with some sugar until stiff and place 8 dollops of the cream evenly around each cake. Garnish each bit of cream with a sugared pecan and serve with a shot glass of bourbon neat.

HUGUENOT TORTE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Butter the bottom and sides of 2 cake pans, each measuring 9 inches across by 1 1/2 inches deep. Cut 2 rounds of wax paper to fit inside the bottom of the pans. Place rounds in pans and butter lightly. Sprinkle the paper with flour; shake out excess.
• Process the pecan meats in a food processor or electric blender until fine, but not to a paste.
• Put the processed pecans in a mixing bowl and add the flour, salt and baking powder. Blend well.
• Destem and peel the apples and cut into quarters. Cut away the cores. Cut each quarter into thin slices, and the slices into thin strips. Cut the strips into very small cubes. There should be about 2 cups. Add to the pecan mixture and stir to blend well.
• Beat the eggs with a whisk or electric mixer about 2 minutes. Continue beating while gradually adding 1 cup sugar in small amounts, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
• Gradually fold the apple mixture into the beaten eggs.
• Pour an equal portion of the batter into each of the prepared pans and smooth over the tops.
• Place the pans on center shelf of oven and bake 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Transfer cake pans to a rack and let stand 10 minutes.
• Run a knife around the rim of each cake and unmold. Let stand on a rack until the layers are cool.
• Put cream in a mixing bowl and start beating. Gradually add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and continue beating until cream is stiff.
• Spread one cake layer with slightly more than half the whipped cream. Top with the second layer.
• Spoon the remaining whipped cream into a pastry bag outfitted with a No. 5 star tube. Pipe 8 rosettes of whipped cream on top of the cake.
• Chill the cake briefly. Top each rosette with a pecan.