John Martin Taylors Huguenot Torte Food

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.

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.

HUGUENOT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Spray two rimmed baking sheets (17 1/4-by-11 1/2-by-1 inch) with cooking spray; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs on medium speed until pale yellow and thickened, about 4 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add flour mixture. Beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add apples, pecans, and vanilla; beat to combine.
• Divide mixture between prepared baking pans, spreading evenly. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool 20 minutes. Using a spatula, break into pieces, and stack on a large serving platter. Serve topped with whipped cream and nuts.