Almond Berry Torte Food

ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut a piece of wax or parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan. Coat pan with nonstick spray, place prepared paper round in bottom of pan, and spray paper. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup almonds.
• In a food processor, process remaining 1 1/2 cups almonds with 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar until finely ground; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar and beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Beat in almond extract. In three additions, gently fold in ground almond mixture.
• Evenly spread batter into prepared pan, tapping pan on counter to expel large air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and firm in center, 40 to 45 minutes; cool completely in pan. Invert onto serving plate, and remove wax or parchment paper.

LEMON TART WITH ALMOND CRUST

Steps:

• Place the flour, almonds, sugar, butter, extract and salt in a food processor. Cover and pulse until blended. Gradually add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture forms a soft dough. , Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 325°., In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, peel and salt until blended. Add butter; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Pour into crust., Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

ALMOND BERRY TORTE

Steps:

• Torte: Heat oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 10 inch round torte baking pan (use regular 9 inch cake pan if you don't have a torte pan) and line bottom with parchment paper (the cake is a touch sticky; this facilitate removing it from the pan). Butter the paper and dust with flour. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add grated almond paste and mix for about two more minutes, stopping to scrape bottom and sides of bowl. The mixture should be light and airy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and scrape bowl to blend batter, which should be fluffy. Sift flour into bowl and using a spatula fold flour carefully into batter. Do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in middle of oven for 25-35 minutes or until cake is a nice golden brown. Prick it in the middle with a baking pin or a toothpick; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Topping: If using fresh raspberries, simply rinse and dry them and arrange them on the cake. If you wish, you can add shine and sweetness to the berries by heating raspberry jelly in a small pan or microwave and brush berries with the preserves. If using frozen berries, thaw them, then drain, preserving the liquid. Pour the liquid in a medium saucepan adding the sugar. Bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch with a little cold water (there should be no lumps), remove pan from heat and immediately whisk in cornstarch blend. Return the pan to the heat, stirring. The mixture should thicken immediately. Remove from heat and mix in berries. When berry mixture is cool, spread it on top of torte. The torte is delicious with unsweetened whipped cream. Vanilla ice cream is very good if you are serving the cake fresh out of the oven.

JAPONAISE (ALMOND MERINGUE) TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Grease and flour 3 baking trays, or line them with baking paper, and mark each with an 8" circle.
• Place ground almonds, superfine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl, mix together, and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a small bowl until they form soft peaks.
• Gradually add the extra superfine sugar, and continue beating until the mixture resembles uncooked meringue.
• Carefully fold the almond mixture, that was set aside, into the meringue.
• Spread meringue mixture on to each of the 3 trays inside the marked circles, or use a piping bag with a 1/2" nozzle to pipe a spiral within each circle.
• Place two of the trays on the centre shelf of the oven and the third on the shelf below.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until meringue is a pale, golden colour- if necessary move the bottom tray to the centre shelf and cook a further 5 minutes.
• Allow the trays to cool on wire racks for 10 minutes before loosening the meringues with a large spatula- do not remove meringues from trays until they have completely cooled.
• For the coffee butter cream- bring the sugar and water to the boil in a small pan, then reduce heat and simmer until the syrup thickens.
• Remove from heat and add the coffee essence, and stir briefly to combine.
• Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and, beating continuously with an electric mixer, add the coffee syrup.
• While continuing to beat, add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is all amalgamated.
• Taste, and add more coffee essence if desired.
• Cool the butter cream in the refrigerator until it reaches spreading consistency.
• To assemble the torte, place one meringue layer on a serving platter and spread with some butter cream.
• Place second meringue on top, spread with butter cream, and repeat with the third meringue.
• Cover the top of torte, and the side, with remaining butter cream.
• Sprinkle toasted almond flakes all over, to decorate, then place in refrigerator until 10 to 15 minutes before serving time, preferably overnight.
• Dust top with powdered sugar to serve.

STRAWBERRY & CINNAMON TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas4/ fan 160C. Line the base of a loose-bottomed 23cm cake tin with greaseproof paper and butter the sides.
• Mix almonds, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, egg and egg yolk in a food processor just until the ingredients are evenly combined.
• Spread half the mixture over the base of the tin in a smooth layer with no gaps - easiest to do this with two forks. Lay the sliced strawberries on top. Add the remaining cake mixture and spread it as best you can, but don't worry if a few strawberries peep through.
• Bake for 1 hour (it may need an extra 5 minutes), but check after 40 minutes - if it is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. The torte should be slightly risen and dark golden brown when cooked.
• Cool in the tin slightly, then loosen the edges with a knife and remove from the tin. Slide the torte onto a plate and sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar. Serve warm or cold, in wedges with dollops of cream and Greek yogurt.

ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• In a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water, constantly whisk the sugar, cornstarch, sour cream and egg yolks until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. , Remove from the heat; stir in butter and extracts until blended. Press waxed paper onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight., Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line two 8-in. round baking pans with waxed paper. Coat sides and paper with cooking spray; sprinkle with flour and set aside., In a large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar until blended, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks; mix well. Beat in the milk, applesauce and vanilla (mixture may appear curdled). Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture. Transfer to prepared pans; set aside., Using clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over batter; sprinkle with almonds and cinnamon., Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes (meringue will crack). Loosen edges of cakes from pans with a knife. Using 2 large spatulas, carefully remove 1 cake to a serving plate, meringue side up; remove remaining cake to a wire rack, meringue side up. Cool cakes completely., Carefully spread custard over cake on serving plate; top with remaining cake. Store in the refrigerator.

BLUEBERRY & ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Beat together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about 1 min. Stir in the almonds, egg and almond extract.
• Stir in half the blueberries and spoon into the pastry case. Smooth the top using the back of a metal spoon, then scatter over the remaining blueberries, pressing them in lightly. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden, and the filling is golden and feels firm to the touch.
• Cool the tart for 10 mins in the tin, then lift onto a serving plate. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.