Hazelnut-choclolate viennese torte pt 1

1 Servings

Quantity Ingredient
Potato Starch or Sugar for pan
[may be doubled for 2 layers]
6 larges Eggs, 5 of them separated
1 pinch Salt
2 teaspoons Lemon juice, preferabley fresh
¾ cup Sugar, divided
2 teaspoons Grated lemon rind
3 ounces Very finely grated semisweet (or \"dark\") Chocolate
2½ cup Very finely ground unblanced hazelnuts (approx 8 oz)
¼ cup Sweet Pesach wine, sherry or flavored brandy [I've always used Keyem's raspberry syrup. Yum!]
½ cup Apricot (or other) jam, about
⅓ cup Water
3 tablespoons Vegetable oil
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup Ground nuts for sides of torte, about
12 Whole hazelnuts
1 ounce Chocolate for curls

BATTER

TORTE

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

GARNISH [IF YOU MUST

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. [recipe follows] 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 ¼ 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 ½ 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

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