niniprytula

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testing

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it was the beast of times, it was the worms of times

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House Rules

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Weed gummy should cost 50¢ and be sold out of vending machines and at corner stores

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Rosehip & Almond Torte

This is the cake I make every year for Christmas Eve. It is a ridiculous beast that is frankly, absurdly expensive to make due to the ingredients but it is so, so worth it, and it's the perfect light, not-too-sweet finale for the monument to excess that is the traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner as made by my family.

The base of the sponge recipe is from Savella Stechishin's Traditional Ukrainian Cookery, but I've made so many changes over the years that it is no longer recognizable as such. A Torte of Theseus, if you will. The frosting is completely my own invention, with thanks to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen for the idea to stabilize the whipped cream with sour cream.

Sponge

16 eggs, separated 2 cups powdered sugar 3 cups almond flour 1/2 cup all purpose or gluten-free 1-for-1 flour (whichever you like, does not affect texture or taste at all) 2tsp grated lemon rind 2tsp grated lemon rind 2tbsp lemon juice Pinch salt

Line 3 8-9" circular cake pans with parchment paper (one circle on bottom, and then a strip around the sides, leaving enough to overlap. Use a plain metal paperclip to hold the ends together if necessary). Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

With a stand- or hand-mixer, beat egg yolks until very light. Add sugar gradually and beat constantly until light and fluffy. Stir in the nuts, flour, lemon rind, lemon juice, and salt. Set aside.

With a meticulously clean and dry bowl and whisk attachments, beat egg whites into stiff peaks. 

Transfer nut mixture to a large bowl. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in egg whites one large dollop at a time, being careful not to knock the air out. It will take a while as the nut and egg yolk mixture has the texture of wet concrete. Good arm work out!

Once all egg white is incorporated, evenly divide batter between the three pans. They will be quite thin layers. Bake for approximately 30 min or until golden on top and springy to the touch. They will be domed on the top when they are baked. The sponges will shrink back to flat once removed from the oven. This is normal and will not affect the texture of the sponge. Let stand a few minutes in the cake pans before removing to cool on a cake rack. Let cool completely before assembling.

Frosting

16oz heavy cream 1/8 cup sour cream 1/2 cup powdered sugar 2tsps rosewater 1/4c rosehip fruit spread (D'arbo brand) 

NB: you could probably do this with any flavor profile and sub out the rosewater and the preserves but keep the measurements the same; just use seedless jam or fruit spread

Make whipped cream with the heavy cream and the powdered sugar. I use my stand-mixer for this but you could do it by hand. When it is fluffy, add the sour cream, the rosewater, and the rosehip spread. Do not overbeat or you will have very delicious butter.

When assembling the torte I usually add a layer of the rosehip spread to each layer of the torte before adding the frosting, just for some extra zing and moisture.

Ideally you'd refrigerate the cake if you have leftovers and then let come back up to room temp when you serve it, but to be perfectly honest I've left this cake covered in a cool room for a few days and neither I nor the cake suffered for it.