Mascarpone Almond Torte

A month or so ago, Elaine and I went to dinner at a little place called The Evolution Grill.  (by the way, are you looking for a nice, differently and rather affordable place to eat in the Pittsburgh area? Click on the link - it's worth it!)

Now that I've done my product/restaurant placement, let me get back to my originally intended post. :)

We went to dinner, and she was lovely enough to buy me dessert!  (Always so nice. :) ).  Dinner had been very good, and when the waitress read over the desserts, I was hooked immediately on the almond torte.  I have a weakness for this type of cake, and the last time I had indulged in a really GOOD one was several years ago (Almost five actually!)  There are almond tortes, and then really excellent almond tortes.

Now that I'm done rambling incessantly, I'm sure you figure I'm posting this because it was another fabulous torte, right?  Well, maybe.  It wasn't a "traditional" torte, really.  There were minimal layers and no real frosting. (Although I suppose the massive amounts of mascarpone could be called frosting, but when the layer is over an inch thick I no longer call it frosting)  It was dusted with Italian lady finger cookies laced with toasted almonds.

Frosting or no frosting, it was really, really good.  Because it seemed rather simple, I inquired after the chef on how he had made it.  I was given the gist of everything, and what follows is my version of this, with a few modifications. 

I wanted a little more almond flavor to the filling, and I made my own topping for it, using almonds “seats” and a cake that has more almond flavoring and is lighter in texture (although still quite dense)


Mascarpone-Almond Torte

You will need:

For the filling/topping

1 small tub of mascarpone cheese (room temp-makes it easier to work with)
1 Tbs sugar (although if you like it sweeter, please don't hesitate)
2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1Tbs of almond extract (although I like to experiment, so if this is too much, cut it down)

For the almond seats:

½ cup of sugar
½ cup of almonds, sliced, or ground up, just not into tiny chunks – make sure they are pieces
1/4 cup water

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar (you can use regular)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 can almond paste
7 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 teaspoons almond extract (although if you like less flavor, cut it down to 1tsp)

To do:

I always make the topping first (and in this case, it's the least tricky)

Beat the heavy cream in a chilled bowl with the sugar and almond extract until it holds stiffly.  Beat in the cheese and continue to blend until well mixed.  Store in the refrigerator

The almond seats: (this recipe is a modification of the one used by Sherry Yard in her cookbook Desserts by the Yard)
Line  a baking sheet with foil.

Stir sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
Mix in nuts. Pour onto foil and bake, checking every five minutes ( see my recipe for the candied nuts for the similar technique – but really just stir every five minutes and bake for no longer than half and hour)

This gives you a bunch of sugared almonds – which Sherry uses to keep her ice cream from sliding when she makes desserts and wants them to look pretty – but I used them for the topping of this cake, since if you chop them up even finger you get a really nice almond sugary powder, or you can just sprinkle them as they are.


Make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter a 12X17 inch (half sheet pan) and then line the whole thing with parchment paper.  Flour it lightly. 

(Note: you can use three rounds if you want, do the same thing, to make a three layer cake, however I've taken to using half sheet pans and I love them more.  They make a square cake, longer, and often times thinner, but it bakes quicker and it's much easier to work with)

In a food processor, grinder the sugar, almond paste and 1/2 cup of the flour until a sandy mixture forms.

Whisk the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl.

Using a stand mixer (or whatever you have, though I admit not having to stand there and hold the mixer is a huge plus), blend almond paste mixture, brown sugar and butter in large bowl, and process until smooth and fluffy (or somewhere around there)

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, stopping and scraping down the sides as necessary to fully incorporate.

Fold in the rest of the dry ingredients (preferably by hand because you don't want to overmix).

Pour the cake onto the half sheet pan.  Make sure you don't fill to the top of the pan - you need room to rise.  However, if you have too much, make a mini cake for yourself.  This should be plenty of batter however, for a half sheet and more.

Bake until you stick a fork in the center and it comes out clean, which usually takes somwhere around 10 minutes (depending on your pan, and your oven).  If you use the rounds, it will take 25 minutes to bake.

Remove from oven and cool.

Assembly: (for cake using half sheet pan)

Once the cake is cool, cut it evenly across the half sheet.  Lift out one side carefully and place it on your final serving platter.  Spoon up the cream filling generously (you should have enough so don't be stingy, but remember to save more for the topping than for the in between layer).  Sprinkle a generous handful of the seats.  Cover with the second half of the cake, making sure, of course, to make them as even as possible.  Finish topping with remaining cream, and then the seats. 

That’s about it, but if you want, add your own toppings – I dust with cinnamon, but really it’s your call.  At the restaurant they used a bit of homemade caramel sauce which was delicious.

Refrigerate until serving, although this is best made a day ahead to let the flavors fully combine.  The cake is time consuming (in my opinion) and it can get pricey (with the nuts, cheese and the paste) but I think it's visually impressive, and tastes much more complicated than it is to make, and it's a little different than your average almond torte. 

By the way, I made this for Nicole, my work friend turned real friend who is leaving for a new job.  She was nothing short of speechless.  ;)