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Ilona Torte
Saveur
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“George Lang serves this torte, named after his
mother and his daughter, at two
of his
restaurants, Cafe des Artistes in
New York City and Gundel in
Budapest.
This is our
adaptation of his recipe from George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary
(Wings
Books, 1994)"
For the torte:
5
ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1
cup sugar
6
tablespoons butter, room temperature
8
eggs, separated
1/2
pound shelled walnuts
2
tablespoons white bread crumbs
For the icing:
1/2
cup heavy cream
1
tablespoon instant coffee
1/2
pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4
cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 375
degrees F. Melt
chocolate with sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan over
low heat, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. Beat butter and
egg yolks in a medium bowl until light and
creamy. Stir in chocolate
mixture.
2.
Grind walnuts in small batches in a food mill, coffee grinder,
or food processor until they reach a very fine consistency. (If using food processor, only pulse lightly so nuts don't
become walnut butter.) Stir
ground walnuts into chocolate mixture. Add bread crumbs and stir until mixed.
Whip egg whites in a medium bowl until soft, stiff peak appear
- stop before peaks begin to look dry. Gently beat in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Then
use a large balloon whisk to carefully fold in remaining whites in 2 batches, mixing just enough to make a light batter.
3.
Butter two 9-inch cake pans. Dust each with flour and shake out excess. Divide batter between pans, smoothing tops with spatula.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Remove
from oven and invert torte layers onto wire racks to cool.
4. To make icing, warm cream in a small, heavy saucepan over low
heat. Stir in instant
coffee until dissolved. Add
chocolate and melt, stirring constantly until smooth and shiny. Remove from heat to cool.
5. Place 1 torte layer on a plate and spread with 1/3 of icing. Cover with other layer and spread the top and sides with
remaining icing. Sprinkle chopped walnuts around sides and edge of torte and
serve. Serves 8.
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