Torta di Noci

This is a classic Italian cake that reminds me so much of my grandmothers and mothers cakes that I grew up eating. There a couple of techniques to master before the cake can become light and fluffy.

The recipe I used I got from Rosetta Costantino's My Calabria Book. In the book it explains how to make this cake but I thought I would a pictorial for those of you that want to see the finished product and how I got there.

The recipe is as follows:

8 oz walnuts

6 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

Grated zest of 1 lemon

A pinch of kosher salt

Powdered sugar sifted on top.

I took 8oz of walnut pieces and spread them out on a cookie sheet and baked them for 10 min at 350. While I was doing this I was thinking that I could do this with just about any nut and make a different cake. Just think hazelnut torta or almond torta or even macadamia nut. Just let your conscious be your guide here. Just be careful that you don't burn the nuts, take a peak at about 5 min and see where you are at.

Take out the nuts and let them cool. You can now shut off your oven or lower it to 325. It all depends how fast you are at the next several steps.

Take a  9in spring form cake pan, butter and flour it and set it off to the side.

Take your lemon and grate the zest off and set that in a bowl to the side.

I used a mixer to with up the eggs but you can use a whip if you are good at this.

Take 2 bowls and separate the 6 eggs yolks in 1 and whites in the other.

The nuts should have now cooled and you will want to take a rotary cheese grater and grate them fine, light and fluffy into a bowl. Take your time and don't use a food processor, it will smash rather than grate the nuts. If you don't have a rotary cheese grater you can use a hand grater but watch your fingers.

Put 3/4 of a cup of sugar into another bowl and get the salt handy.

Now mix the egg yolks on med for a few minutes and add half the sugar continue mixing for a few more min and add the lemon zest. Continue for another min and set aside.

Clean the beaters and beat the whites on low with a pinch of salt for a min or so to make them cohesive. Then turn the mixer up to medium until you see the soft white peaks starting to form. Then turn the mixer up to high and gradually add the rest of the sugar until you get the whites to form stiff white peaks. You don't want to over do this step but the key is to get in as much air as possible and have the white not collapse. It is a fine line you need to walk.

Whites getting there.

OK, we have arrived!

Now gently pour the yolk mixture over the whites. I would now turn the oven back on to 325 if you had turned it off!

Now gently fold in 1/4 of the nuts.

Continue fold the nuts in 1/4 at a time until all the nuts are in the mixture. You notice I say fold them in, do not stir this mixture. It will start to liquefy and you will not get a light cake!

Now pour the mixture into the pan and place the pan in the middle rack of your preheated 325 oven.

Ready to go in.

This will cook anywhere from 35min to 55 min depending on the oven. Mine took about 35 min. Take a tooth pick, stick it in the center and if it comes out clean it is ready.

Let this cool for about 20min in the pan like it is. Do not open the pan yet.

After 20 min you can open the pan and gently separate the cake from the pan. I placed it on a dish and let it cool the rest of the way for a little while longer. I sprinkled it with sifted powdered sugar and it would go great with whipping cream or ice cream or gelato on the side.

Enjoy Buon Appetito!