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Almond Torte (Into the yolk of six eggs)
Into the yolk of six eggs, beaten until thick and lemon colored, beat one and one-half cups of granulated sugar.
To this add the juice of three oranges, (one cup) and the grated rind of one. Also one-half teaspoon cinnamon, one half pound finely chopped unblanched almonds, ten grated Zweiback, (one cup). Fold in the stiffly beaten whites of six eggs.
Bake in spring form in a moderate oven. 2 C sifted flour Mrs. Elizabeth Kohner.
A flourless nut sponge in the Central European style, leavened entirely by beaten eggs. The original gives no pan size, no baking time, and ends with a stray line that needs addressing before you start.
- That "2 C sifted flour"The line at the end contradicts the method, which never mentions folding in flour and does not need it. It may be a stray from another entry or an afterthought; either way it cannot be followed as written. Make the torte as the instructions read, with no flour.
- Moderate ovenRoughly 350F (period "moderate" runs about 350-375F). The recipe gives no pan size or time; a 9-inch springform will want something in the region of 45 to 55 minutes, until the center springs back and a skewer comes out clean, and a very full pan can take an hour.
- ZweibackZwieback is a twice-baked sweet rusk, still sold as teething biscuits. Ten grated equals the one cup the recipe specifies, and modern boxes vary in size, so measure the cup rather than counting biscuits. Plain dry rusks or crisp toasted white bread crumbs stand in.
- Unblanched almondsSkins left on, which is what gives the torte its speckled color and slight bitterness. A half pound is about 1 1/2 cups whole. Chop or pulse to a coarse meal, not a paste, or the batter turns heavy and oily.
- A very wet batterA wet batter -- A full cup of orange juice against a cup of crumbs and the chopped almonds makes for a slack mixture. Fold the whites in three additions with a light hand; the structure is entirely egg foam.
- Spring formA springform pan, then as now. Butter it and line the base with parchment. Cool the torte in the pan before releasing, as it is fragile warm and will sink slightly in the center, which is normal.
- Yield and servingAbout ten to twelve slices. Good plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream; a dusting of confectioners' sugar suits the rough top.
Nut tortes built on ground almonds and grated rusk instead of wheat flour belong to the Austrian, Bohemian and German-Jewish baking traditions that traveled to the American Midwest with nineteenth-century immigration, and they turn up in community and society cookbooks of the 1900s and 1910s under names like almond, filbert or walnut torte. Zwieback suited such recipes for practical reasons: dry, sweet and shelf-stable, it grates to an even crumb that absorbs liquid without developing gluten. A contribution like Mrs. Kohner's is a small record of who was contributing to the book, and of the fact that its compiler expected local cooks to know what a spring form was and to keep zwieback in the cupboard.