FLOURLESS APPLE & WALNUT CAKE / TORTA OD ORAHA I JABUKA BEZ BRASNA

Place of origin: Our recipe

Some time ago, in one coffee bar and pastry shop in Zagreb, I had very good walnut and apple cake. This cake is my interpretation of the one I had, in a way it's similar, but also different. I hope you will like it as much as we do. :-)

INGREDIENTS (24 cm round springform mold)

CAKE

4 eggs

80 g brown sugar

120 g ground walnuts

15 g rum (app 2 tbsp)

PASTRY CREAM - CREMA PASTICCERA

2 egg yolks

250 ml milk

60 g cornstarch

2 tbsp rum

2 tbsp cognac or brandy

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla extract or beans from ¼ of vanilla pod

SCHAUM (ITALIAN MERINGUE)

2 egg whites

80 g sugar

4 tbsp water

400-500 g grated apples (netto weight, whithout skin and seeds, app. 4 big apples)

2 tbsp lemon juic3

1 tsp cinnamon

1. in a bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar till light and fluffy.
2. add ground walnuts and rum, mix till well incorporated.
3. in another bowl whip egg whites till hard peaks form.
4. using a spatula or a wooden spoon, fold the egg whites into the egg yolks mixture in a few batches.
5. pour the batter in a greased and floured (or lined with parchment paper) round springform mold and bake for 25' at 180°C, check for doneness with a toothpick.
6. let cool, take out of the mold and cut in half horizontally.
7. for the pastry cream,  beat the egg yolks with sugar till light and fluffy, add vanilla extract (or seeds), cornstarch and 50 ml of cold milk.
8. in a pot bring the remaining milk to boil.
9. remove from the heat and slowly pour hot milk into the egg yolks mixture, beating constantly with hand mixer (speed 1 so it doesn't splatter) to avoid lumps. 
10. transfer the cream into the pot (if big enough, you can use the same pot you used for milk), add brandy, rum and cinnamon and cook over very low heat or in baigne-marie until it thickens stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or with a hand mixer (I use low speed/speed 1 and when it starts to thicken I increase the speed to medium/2-3). Be careful so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom.
11. remove from the heat, cover the cream with a plastic wrap (with wrap touching the cream to prevent skin from forming on top of it) and let cool.
12. put the lower half of the cake into a clean springform mold and spread the cream over it. Cover with another half. Put in the fridge while you prepare the apples.
13. peel the apples and grate them, sprinkle with lemon juice instantly otherwise they will turn brown, add cinnamon and mix well.
14. spread the apples over the cake, return it to the fridge.
15. for schaum (meringue) whip 2 egg whites till hard peaks form and, at the same time, melt sugar with water over a very low heat till sugar turns into a smooth translucent syrup (be very careful so it doesn't burn and turn brown!).
16. with the mixer still running, drizzle the hot syrup over the egg whites and beat for app. another 5 minutes (it's best to ask someone to help you with this part if you don't have a standing mixer or food processor which would let you have 2 free hands for handling the syrup). You should get a nice, firm, glossy meringue.
17. spread the schaum over the apples. If you would like, you can use the back of the spoon or the fork to make decorations like little peaks or so. Remove the side of the mold.
18. preheat the oven grill to 250°C and put the cake right under it for 2-3 minutes untill the schaum turns pale yellow (gold) – be careful not to overbake – the best way to do it is to keep an eye on it all the time as it burns easily. Also, use only heatproof plate for this – regular glass, ceramic, porcelain or similar serving plates might crack!
19. let cool in the fridge at least for an hour before serving.

HINT:

• if using fresh apples like described above, the cake must be eaten within a day or two. If you want it to keep longer, cook the apples beforehead. For doing so, put the apples in a pot together with the lemon juice and cinnamon and, if you would like, add 1-2 tbsp sugar. Simmer over low heat untill all the juice evaporates. Let cool and spread over the cake.

TORTA OD ORAHA I JABUKA BEZ BRAŠNA

Prije nekog vremena sam u jednom zagrebačkom kafiću/kavani/slastičarni probala jako finu tortu od oraha s jabukama. Ova torta je moja interpretacija te tortice, u neku ruku su slične, a opet različite. :-)

SASTOJCI (kalup promjera 24 cm)

BISKVIT

4 jaja

80 g smeđeg šećera

120 g mljevenih oraha

15 g ruma (cca 2 žlice)

SLASTIČARSKA KREMA – CREMA PASTICCERA

2 žumanjka

250 ml mlijeka

60 g gustina

2 žlice ruma

2 žlice brandyja ili konjaka

žličica cimeta

½ žličice vanilije

ŠAUM (TALIJANSKI MERINGUE)

2 bjelanjka

80 g šećera

4 žlice vode

400-500 g ribanih jabuka (neto masa, bez kore i koštica, potrebno je cca 4 velike jabuke)

2 žlice soka limuna

žličica cimeta

1. miksajte žumanjke sa šećerom dok ne postane pjenasto.
2. dodajte mljevene orahe i rum i dobro izmiksajte da se sve sjedini.
3. na kraju lagano umiješajte čvrsti snijeg od 4 bjelanjka.
4. pecite 25' na 180°C, provjerite čačkalicom da li je pečerno.
5. tortu ohladite, izvadite iz kalupa i prerežite na pola.
6. za kremu miksajte žumanjke sa šećerom dok ne postane pjenasto; dodajte gustin i 50 ml hladnog mlijeka i dobro promiješajte.
7. preostalih 200 ml mlijeka zakipite pa kipuće polako lijevajte na smjesu sa žumanjcima uza stalno miksanje (na najnižoj brzini da ne prska) kako ne bi nastale grudice.
8. prebacite kremu u lonac (ako već niste u loncu miksali žumanjke), dodajte brandy, rum, cimet i vaniliju te stavite na laganu vatru (možete upotrijebiti lonac od mlijeka ako je dovoljno velik), kuhajte uz stalno miješanje (ja miksam na najnižoj brzini i po potrebi pojačam) dok se ne zgusne – pazite da ne zagori!!!
9. kuhanu kremu pokrijte prozirnom folijom tako da folija bude zalijepljena za kremu (da ne nastane kožica) i ostavite da se ohladi (dovoljno je da bude mlako).
10. nadjenite tortu kremom, najlakše je u kalupu – na dno stavite prvi dio biskvita, izlijte kremu i pokrijte s drugim dijelom biskvita. Stavite u frižider dok pripremate jabuke.
11. jabuke ogulite i naribajte i odmah pomiješajte s limunom da ne pocrne, dodajte cimet i rasporedite povrh biskvita.
12. za šaum (talijanski meringue) miksati 2 bjelanjka, a u isto vrijeme na laganoj vatri otopite šećer s 4 žlice vode dok ne dobijete glatki, prozirni sirup (paziti da ne zagori i ne poprimi smećkastu boju!).
13. vrući sirup lijevajte na već čvrsti snijeg bez prestanka miksanja i nastavite miksati još oko 5' (u ovoj fazi je najbolje imati pomagača tko će vam pomoći oko sirupa – ako nemate mikser s postoljem ili neki slični „stroj“ :-) )
14. šaum rasporedite preko jabuka te, po želji, vanjskim dijelom žlice ili vilicom (ili nečim sličnim) oblikujte šaum (npr. napravite roščiće). Izvadite tortu iz kalupa.
15. stavite tortu pod grill u pećnicu, ugrijanu na 250°C, na oko 2-3' dok šaum ne poprimi svijetlo žutu (zlatnu boju) – obavezno koristite vatrostalnu podlogu kad stavljate tortu u pećnicu! Stakleni, keramički, plastični i slični tanjuri za posluživanje bi vrlo lako mogli puknuti (ili se rastopiti)!
16. prije posluživanja ostavite tortu najmanje sat vremena u frižideru da se ohladi. 

NAPOMENA:

• torta sa svježim jabukama, kako je gore opisano, može stajati samo dan-dva. Ako želite trajniju tortu, jabuke prvo prodinstajte s limunovim sokom i cimetom, a možete dodati i 1-2 žlice šećera – pirjajte ih na laganoj vatri dok ne ispari sva tekućina, pustite da se malo ohladi i onda stavite na tortu.

The cake with fresh apples / Torta sa svježim jabukama

The cake with simmered apples / Torta s dinstanim jabukama

Recipe by Linda