Almond Berry Torte Recipes

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.

RASPBERRY AND BLUEBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a 3/4-inch wide strip off each side of the pastry and reserve. Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a 10-inch square and transfer to a sheet pan or cookie sheet. Brush the edges of the square with the egg. Working with 1 strip at a time, stand the strips along the edges of the pastry square and crimp where they meet. You want to create a shallow box, where the pastry square is the base and the 4 strips are the walls. Overlap the strips at the corners, stretching them, if necessary, to complete the walls of the box. Brush the border with the egg. Pierce the center of the pastry all over with fork. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream to soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat to stiff peaks. Add the liqueur and beat until just well blended; be careful not to overmix or the whipped cream will turn into a buttery consistency and start to separate. Using a large spatula, fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the prepared pastry crust. Arrange the berries over the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
• Note: You can use any fruit that's in season (orange segments, berries, plums, bananas, grapes). Blueberries make a good substitute for the raspberries, and sliced peaches or nectarines are delicious as well.

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.

ALMOND AND RASPBERRY TORTE

Steps:

• Butter the cake pan, line the base with waxed or parchment paper, and then butter and flour it. Wash the raspberries, dry them on paper towels, and then snip off the blossom ends and stems. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter until smooth in an electric mixer. Add the sugar and continue to beat until soft and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg until well mixed, about 1 minute. Stir in the ground almonds by hand, followed by the flour mixture. Expect the batter to be quite stiff. Spread half the batter in the cake pan. Sprinkle the fruit on top and dot with the remaining batter so the fruit is almost covered. Bake until the torte starts to shrink from the sides of the pan and the top is firm when lightly pressed with a fingertip, 45 to 55 minutes. The top will be rustic looking, like a crumble. Let the torte cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the pan, then loosen the sides and slide the torte onto a rack to cool completely. Sprinkle it with confectioners' sugar and serve it warm or at room temperature.

APRICOT ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Combine flour, almonds, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into egg mixture alternately with the whipped cream., Transfer to two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in extract. Fold in whipped cream., Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with another cake layer; spread with half the preserves. Repeat layers. Frost sides of cake; decorate the top edge with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with almonds.