Three-Layer Walnut Torte with Whipped Cream

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Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid | Home Baking | Artisan, 2003 | Makes one 7-inch torte

The fine baking traditions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire have traveled far and wide, from the Viennese contribution to Danishes and French viennoiseries (enriched white breads and rolls) to the strudels and croissants made in bakeries from Berlin to Boston. Home bakers, too, carry their traditions with them when they emigrate, so it’s not all that strange—though it’s still wonderful—to come across a recipe dated 1943 for a traditional homemade walnut torte in the Bryn Mawr Cookbook. (The small spiral binder was passed on to us by a friend.) The contributor says it comes from her family’s housekeeper, who had emigrated from Hungary. The cake is made of ground walnuts and fresh bread crumbs, all held up and made airy by well-beaten eggs. The walnuts disappear into the cake, giving it flavor and a little bite. The three layers that make up the torte are shallow round cakes that can be made ahead and assembled in a stack at the last minute, with a little whipped cream between them. The torte looks like the special-occasion confection it is, a great party cake, meant to be demolished by a hungry crowd. This is an adaptation of the bare-bones recipe (instructions were spare, assuming a familiarity with cakes and baking; the filling was left to the cook’s imagination). We use a mixer—the recipe, while very simple, requires much beating of eggs. In earlier times, of course, all that whisking would have been done with muscle power. With a machine to help, the whole cake takes just minutes, and no sweat, to make.—Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Three-Layer Walnut Torte with Whipped Cream Recipe

Directions

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1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease three 7-inch round cake pans (even if they are nonstick), using an oiled cloth or a spray. Dust them very lightly with flour.

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, start beating the egg yolks, then gradually add the sugar as you continue to whisk. Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes to get a thick, smooth mixture. Transfer to a large clean bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs, walnuts, and cloves to make a thick heavy batter and set aside, loosely covered.

3. With a clean whisk, in a clean mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites at high speed until you have stiff peaks. Add about one-quarter of the whites to the batter and stir them in, then use a rubber spatula to fold in the rest. You’ll feel awkward perhaps, because there is such a large amount of whites and the batter is heavy — just turn and fold gently, without worrying too much. Some further blending will also happen as you pour the batter out into the cake pans

4. Divide the batter equally among the cake pans and gently smooth the top of each with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centers will come out clean, and the cakes will look quite brown and a little bumpy on top, don’t worry. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 15 or 20 minutes. Put out several fine-wire mesh racks. Ease a knife around the rim of each cake layer to detach sticking places and turn them out onto the wire racks to cool completely. Once they are completely cooled, cover loosely to prevent them drying out while they wait.

5. Just before you wish to serve the cake, whip the cream with the sugar and flavoring, if using, until stiff. Place one cake layer on a plate upside down. Spread about 1/4 cup whipped cream on top of it to just short of the edge all around, then repeat with the next layer. Place the third cake on top, again with the smooth bottom side up. Leave the top of the torte plain, or spread a little whipped cream on it. Serve a small dollop of the remaining whipped cream with each slice, if you wish.

6. Use a finely serrated knife to cut into slices. Serve immediately.

Notes:Cut slices from a large loaf of good white bread and trim off the crusts. Break the slices into several pieces and place in a food processor. Process briefly to get crumbs.

Walnuts must be very fresh to be good. Taste your walnuts before you begin, to be sure they are fresh. We like to begin with walnut pieces (less expensive than whole walnuts) and use the food processor to grind them. Be sure to process briefly, only until they are small crumbs; if you go on too long, they’ll turn into a paste. Store walnuts well sealed in two layers of plastic in the freezer for no longer than 2 months.

Vanilla sugar is granulated sugar that has been perfumed with vanilla. It’s handy to have a supply of vanilla sugar for flavoring cakes and cookies without darkening them with extract. To make vanilla sugar, place a vanilla bean in a jar of sugar and seal well. After a week, the sugar will be perfumed with the aroma of vanilla. When you use the sugar, top up the jar; the vanilla bean will stay strong for months.