Walnut Date Torte
Posted on April 3, 2012 by Leslie Blythe 1 comment
My friend, Jessica, sent me this recipe from Gourmet magazine. She is making it for Passover and said she wanted to eat the batter right out of the bowl, so I thought I would share….
Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is the Jewish holiday of freedom. As a reminder of that time — when flight was imminent and there was no time for bread to rise — food with leavening is not eaten, including items made with yeast and baking powder. The carbohydrate cornerstone of the Passover diet is matzo, a cracker made under strict rabbinical supervision.
Also, those who strictly follow Jewish dietary law all year do not eat milk, butter and other dairy products in the same meal containing meat.
Walnut Date Torte
Serves 8
1/4 cup boiling-hot water
1½ cups pitted dates (8 oz), finely chopped
1½ cups walnuts (5 oz), toasted and cooled
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup matzo meal
1 Tbs grated orange zest
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature 30 minutes
unsweetened whipped cream
Garnish
Passover powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously grease a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan with softened butter or vegetable oil and dust with some matzo meal, knocking out excess.
Pour hot water over dates in a large bowl and let stand 15 minutes to soften.
Pulse walnuts in a food processor until chopped, then add 1/4 cup sugar and pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add matzo meal (2/3 cup), zest, cardamom, and salt and pulse until combined.
Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt in a bowl using an electric mixer at medium-high speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a slow stream, beating until whites hold stiff glossy peaks.
Whisk yolks into date mixture. Fold one third of yolk mixture into whites, then fold in remaining yolk mixture gently but thoroughly. Fold all of nut mixture into batter.
Spoon batter into cake pan and bake until golden and springy to the touch and cake just begins to pull away from side of pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then invert onto rack and cool completely.
Note: Cake can be made 2 days ahead and kept, in a sealed bag or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
