jj (06/02/82)
Well, with 17 requests in 12 hours, I might as well post it. Tortes are made in two parts. First the cake (not really a cake, but a wafer with trapped air) is made. The first section explains how to make the dough and bake it. Take 2 or 4 (depending on your oven) 8" TEFLON cake pans, and coat them with PAM or some other such release agent. Beofre someone screams at me, this is the only way I have ever easily succeeded in getting the sections out of the pans. Teflon/Silverstone/etc. by itself isn't enough. DON'T overdo the spray though. Preheat to 450 F (450 F) .5 C + 2 tbsp (yes, really, folks!) SIFTED CAKE flour .125 tsp salt 7 egg yolks ( from large eggs) .75 lb. xxxx sugar, sifted. (About 1.615 cups sifted and packed) 1.5 tsp lemon JUICE 5 Large egg whites, with one more held in reserve. Resift flour with salt. Beat yolks until lemon colored, add surag and BEAT 5 min. at medium with an electric mixer (I truthfully don't think you can do this by hand) Add flour in parts while beating 4 more minutes. Fold in lemon juice. Do not stir more than you have to. Clean beater. Beat 5 whites until soft. They should hold soft peaks but still be managable. (At this point compare volumes of the whites and everything else. If the whites are less than about 1.25 of the rest, beat the other white, and then proceed) Fold in G E N T L Y whites into the rest of the misture. The air that is not (I mean the air that is NOW) trapped in the mixture is it. Don't get it agitated too much or it all goes plop. (20-30) strokes with large spoon is enough. (Just be complete about it, but not a BIT more) Spread batter over pan bottoms only. (This layer is about .125 - .2 inches thick) Bake 4-6 minutes, until delicately browned. thge batter should not quite get dark around the edges. Let cool 5 minutes, and then remove cakes, CAREFULLY! Hold pan on edge and help it along with a spatula unless something sticks. If it sticks, try the other ones first. To get sticky ones out, just work them loose carefully with a SHARP knife. Clean pans, and repeat until you run out of batter. (About 7-9 cakes, depending on your thickness.) Let these cool on racks, but not overlapping, they will stick together. The Filling. (You need a double boiler. Don't try it in a heavy pan!) .5 lb. Hershey's semi-sweet baking chocolate. .25 C. HEAVY cream. 3 Eggs well beaten 1.5 1.5 C disregard this line and the one bofore it if it if it says 1.5 1.5 C. xxxx sugar, well apcked. .5 lb UNSALTED butter Fresh butter is REQUIRED! .5 TSP VANILLA Combine choc and cream in top of double boiler. Heat slowly and stir until chocolate is completely blended with cream. DO NOT let any water splash into the mixture. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs. Stir in sugar, in parts. Return to heat, cook until mixture is smooth. Cool top of DB in cool water until room temperature. Add soft butter bit by bit, stirring with electric mixer until all the butter is added and completely combined. (Takes a while) Making the torte. Put first layer on platter/cakepan Cover with filling repeat until all layers are used. Cover top with any leftover filling , and spread it to the sides until the sides are covered. There is a skill to using the right amount of filling each time, but it's beyond me to explain. Put the whole mess in the refrigerator for at least one day. Slice thinly immediately before serving. Return unsliced torte to fridge. I am going to proofread this recipe as soon as i exit postnews. Please check for a seperate article to correct any fluffs. Jim Johnston BTL/Murray Hill rabbit!jj