Persimmon-Walnut Torta Claudia À la mode....& a sweet interlude !

“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.”

I am on the 12-step chocoholics program: I am never more than 12 steps away from chocolate!

Smile! Yes thats what I am doing as I write this post. I am not a quitter...I will NOT give up chocolate ever. Add chocolate to almost anything and it turns out superb. (I am solely referring to chocolate in the sweet form, please.) This cake is a twist to the old fashioned Italian torte.

My first experiment with persimmon was a grand success and so I decided to include this exotic fruit in a cake, till this wonderful recipe almost serendipitiously fell in my lap.

Now my hub's colleagues all know about my madness in the kitchen, the love of food and the enthusiasm I have for my blog. So one kind soul passed me a recipe which she had read somehwere about this gorgeous torte. As usual the creative devil (or angel?!) in me changed it a bit here and a little there to make this famous torte...my way!

Quite in time for the anniversary of my marriage registration last year. :)

A layer of spiced persimmon torte sandwhiched between two chocolate cake layers with luscious smooth chantilly and a kiss of rum/brandy.

It takes about an hour to prepare this classic creamy layered torte and it tastes best when chilled for atleast four hours.

This torte carries a special meaning for two reasons. First, its exclusivley for my hub...the love of my life. I can't thank God enough for His match making skills. ;p Second, I had promised myself that I would create new things that I have never tried before at the onset of 2009. And I for one keep my promises. (wink wink)

As promised this cake turned out great and it was an extremely satisfying experince baking it. Its been only a couple of months since the last cake I made exclusivley for my darling...and I am very happy at the result.

I used plain walnut-chocolate chip pound cake instead of the Pan di Spagna which is quite similar to Genoise. It's a simple cake whose major function is to serve as a base for layer cakes, roll cakes and so on. Its characteristic is in that it uses bakers' yeast, which I have conveniently traded for chemical leaveners like baking powder/baking soda (found in self raising flour). I also added ground walnuts to give it a rich flavour.

For the persimmon layer I used the fruits' puree as well as chunks, for the surprise in the mouth. And ofcourse I added extra chocolate chips in all the layers. :)

Persimmon Torta Claudia À la mode
Ingredients-

For the chocolate walnut layers-(two 8" layers)
1 1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
butter for greasing the pan
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup softened butter

For the persimmon layer-(one 8" cake)
1/2 cup persimmon puree
a few chunks of chopped persimmon(optional)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup self raising flour
1/3 cup sugar (adjust according to tartness of persimmon, mine were very sweet)
2 eggs, separated
1 tbsp softened butter
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamom powder
1 tsp rum (optional)

*A couple tablespoons of Brandy/dessert wine (eg.Marsala from Sicily)


Chantilly-
1 cup of whipping cream
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of icing sugar
a dash of vanilla extract

**Mix all of the above and whip till the cream becomes frothy. Refrigerate.

Method-

For the chocolate walnut layers-
Preheat your oven to 375 F (185 C).

Beat the yolks, butter and sugar until the mixture is pale yellow, light, and has expanded considerably in volume (tripled or more).
Whip the whites to firm peaks. Fold them into the yolks, and then fold the flour,cocoa powder, ground walnuts and the vanilla.
Finally, add the chocolate chips.
Grease and flour a fairly high-sided round 8-inch pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted will come out dry, and the cake will pull away from the sides of the pan).
Turn the cake out onto a rack to cool.

For the persimmon layer-
Preheat your oven to 375 F (185 C).

Sieve the flour with the nutmeg and cinnamon.
Beat the yolks with the sugar and butter till creamy and pale yellow. Add the rum. Add the flour mix. Then add the persimmon puree and mix lightly together.
Beat the egg whites till they form soft peaks. Fold in the whites into the yolk-flour mix.
Finally add the chocolate chips and the persimmon chunks.
Bake for approx. 30 minutes, keep a check till done. Let cool once done.

For Assembly-

Begin by cutting the chocolate cake once , so as to get two discs.
Place one of the discs on the serving plate/table top. Sprinkle with a little brandy/dessert wine.
Spread a layer of the whipped cream on top of it.
Place the persimmon layer next. Sprinkle this, too with some brandy.
Then spread the whipped cream over it. Cover everything with the last chocolate layer, pressing gently so it sticks.
Chill the cake in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for 4 hours.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and pour the remaining chantilly over the top of the cake. Decorate with walnut halves. Chill.

Serve this delight and fascinate yourself and others! :)

This is in honour of the celebration of love....our love, this valentine month. I share this recipe with The Alchemist Chef.

Also, in keeping with the 'nuttiness' I also share this with Aquadaze.

An Interlude---

Friends, I am off to Malaysia for a week, to celebrate with my valentine. Hence, will not be here on the blogosphere, wanted you guys to remember me with something sweet...so this post. :)

(I secretly hope that I will be missed...ok I know its not a secret now !) ;p

Keep smiling and do share your views. Will be back soon. :)

French Perigordine Choco-chip Walnut Pastry

"The kitchen is a country in which there are always discoveries to be made." Grimod de la Reyniere

I don't know how many of you out there want to cook/bake something when you are feeling bored or upset. Well I do. Only last Friday, in the afternoon I ranscaked my fridge and cupboards to see if I had something to make these delish pastries the recipe of which I had read in a book in the library a couple of weeks back (yes yes,I read cook-books in the library!). :D

Having found all the ingredients I put on my chefs' hat and began work. In no time I was tired yet happy,looking at the wonderful pastries I felt a certain warmth run through my veins. The experiences in the kitchen are very theraupatic.

This dessert is of french origin.

French Cuisine! France has blessed the world with a variety of gourmet goodies. French gourmet dinner cuisine is a touch of luxury and always leaves you satisfied. Through history the French have harnessed the essential ingredients and techniques passed down generations to culminate into harmonious blends of herbs and spices in order to create the most honored traditional gourmet cuisines that are enjoyed worldwide.Their desserts as we all know are internationally acclaimed.

French desserts are known worldwide. There are times that you eat a dessert not even knowing that it originated from a French kitchen many years ago. The word dessert comes from the French word “desservir” which means “to clear the table”.

Walnuts are famous from Perigord and are grown every over the south east area of France. So its obvious that the Walnut cake is the most popular of desserts that's eaten in the region.

And since walnuts are my favourite nut, I just had to make these. Another reason to have this pastry was the good news delivered to me by HoneyB that my baby ...my blog (Zaayeka) was featured on Jenn's Finest Foodies Friday, which is no less than an honour as I have been blogging only for three months now. :)

So after a lot of searching and researching...I adapted slightly the recipe and made these lovely dense, yet moist cakes.

French Perigordine Walnut Pastry

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups shelled walnuts,finely ground ( leaving a few walnuts just coarsely chopped)
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
4 tbsp plain flour
a pinch of baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Method-
In a bowl, separate the egg whites and whisk till they form soft white peaks.
In a different bowl, mix the other ingredients with the egg yolks.
Add a spoonful of eggwhite to the mix, now fold the entire egg-whites into the mix.
Bake for 40 minutes in the centre of your pre-heated oven.
Cool and serve with whipped cream.


Note: I sliced the cake first in half , layered it with whipped cream. Then for simplicity of serving I cut it into pastry size squares.




A simple yet very rewarding recipe! Its for keeps. Bake it once and you will make it again and again....

I don't decorate my cakes...not because I don't want to but because I don't have too many kitchen aids..no offset spatula but a butter knife...no piping cone or pastry bag. I am sure many out there also are in dire need of a baking set. So here's some good news. Rose (of All about Cakes) is giving away a 100 piece Betty Crocker Cake Decorating Kit to celebrate her 100 posts.Now thats' good news..ain't it! :)

Austrian Walnut-Strawberry Torte

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Its new year.. 2009 has officially unfolded itself. Like all true foodies, I begin this new year with 'sweet somethings'.
Thats the tradition in almost all Indian families..we call it "muh meetha karana". Loosely translated it means, 'sweetening the mouth'. Whenever there is a fresh start we celebrate it with sweetness...like I did when I started my blog. So in keeping with the tradition I made an Austrian torte.


A torte is a cake made with many eggs and usually ground nuts or even bread crumbs instead of or in addition to flour.Tortes are Central European in origin. The word torte is derived from the German word "torte", which was derived from the Italian word "torta", which was used to describe a round cake or bread.








I remember when I was a school going kid, my mum used to say that whatever I do on the first of January, I would keep doing that the entire year, so I studied well my favourite subject for sure, apart from having fun that is. I ofcourse was made to believe that then, but now it has stuck with me all these years. I still conciously try to do something nice , share smiles and have fun.
Hence, the torte comes as no surprise, given that I have never tried baking one ever. So something sweet and something different. (A good omen-probably I would be trying new and nice things this whole year!)









Austrian Walnut-Strawberry Torte

Ingredients-
For torte layers-
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups walnuts
1 cup fresh fine breadcrumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons your favourite brandy,(I used rum)
1/2 cup cocoa powder


For strawberry whipped cream-
1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
1 teaspoon strawberry essence
a pinch/dab of red food colouring
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

a few strawberries, chopped- for layering

For icing- (optional)
1 1/2 slab of dark chocolate (70% cocoa), it should give you half cup liquid chocolate when melted
1 tbsp softened butter
1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp confectioners' sugar

Method-

In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of granulated sugar until the mixture is doubled in volume and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted (about 5 minutes).

In a food processor or blender, pulse the walnuts with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until ground fine.
(Although coarsely ground worked fine for me. Only it becomes a little difficult when it comes to slicing the cake, but I prefer the 'surprise' walnut chunks in my mouth!)

Add the walnuts, the bread crumbs , cocoa powder and the rum to the yolks and fold gently.

In another bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg white just to stiff peaks.

Gently and gradually fold the whites into the yolk mixture.

Pour the batter in a greased 9" tin/mould and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350°F oven, until the sides pull away from the pans and the tops spring back when pressed gently.
Cool on rack.

When cooled, slice the cake carefully in two halves to get two layers.
(Don't worry if the torte is a little crumbly, it is supposed to be that way.)


In a large, chilled bowl, stir together the cold heavy cream and the strawberry essence, food colouring and sugar. Beat until cream forms stiff peaks.

In a double boiler, melt the sugar, milk, butter and chocolate, till smooth and glossy.

NOW, place one half of the torte on your serving plate. Layer with the whipped cream.
Add the chopped strawberries next. Place the second layer of torte on top.
Pour the icing on top of the layered torte. Garnish with fresh sliced strawberry and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Feast all your five senses!! ;p

Heres' a little "interesting" something I read just recently while helping my sister on her school project work......

Before Luther there was no need for sugar in Europe, because there was an overproduction of honey. This traditional sweetener was a by-product of the apiaries, the main function of which was the production of wax for candles. This product was a monopoly of the Catholic monasteries and convents. Wherever these were closed or abolished, there emerged a market for something that, up to that time, had been a scarce luxury (that came originally from India): sugar. Coincidentally, the discovery and conquest of a New World in the tropics opened up the possibilities for the large scale production of sugar.It became the ideal component for the preservation of fruits.

Another by-product of the Protestant Reformation, due to the newly created scarcity of honey and widespread availability of sugar-cane, was obviously the large scale production of rum and other sugar-cane brandies like the Brazilian cachaça. Earlier brandies were mostly made of wine and, being quite expensive, were consumed only once in a while by aristocrats and the royalty.

This lovely dessert has often been the featured pastry at "Jause" --a lovely old German/Austrian custom of pausing in the afternoon for cake and coffee and conversation.

Cheers to 2009!

I send this over to Jugalbandi for Jai & Bee 's Click Jan '09- Red!

A REQUEST- Please vote for my 'Nut n Fruit Maalpua' here, if you liked it. Voting closes Jan 6th, 2009.