walnut torte

Frustration – Day 869

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Train Wreck – aka – Dud of an Aunt Grace’s Cake – Photo: L. Weikel

Frustration

I baked a cake today and I’m brimming with frustration. For the life of me, I don’t know why it turned into this monstrosity resembling a chocolate milk-colored lava flow slowly inundating a toppled pile of walnuts.

I know why it looks like a toppled pile of walnuts, though. Because each layer of the cake resisted removal from its pan, that’s why. One layer left a strip of itself along the edge in the pan. I retrieved it. But did it want to rehabilitate itself back into the society of the rest of the cake? No, it did not.

Another layer left a chunk of its very center in the pan. It was fully cooked. Don’t fall for that play for sympathy. You know: “Oh, I wasn’t ready to come out of the oven yet! It wasn’t time for my debut and she forced me on stage without reading me my lines!”

No. That’s baloney. It was time.

And then there was the third layer. Or I should say the first layer, for it was the one I placed at the bottom, giving it the responsibility of being the foundation upon which the integrity of the entire confection rested. Well, that trust was certainly misplaced. While it could be noted that this particular layer perhaps did not leave as much of itself in the pan initially, it more than failed to meet its pathetic attempt at mediocrity by just leaning over and succumbing to the weight of its self-loathing.

Then Came the Icing

Was it something in the air? Was it a sign from above that it’s time to dramatically cut back on the sugar intake, Lisa?

I don’t know what it was, but to add insult to injury, the icing was simply a mess. It never got firm. It’s not firm now and it’s been in the refrigerator since late this afternoon. And while the icing tastes ok…it is not the near mouth-gasm I know this recipe is capable of creating.

Something’s off about it and – just as I have no clue what the hell happened to the cake, I am equally flummoxed by the implosion of the icing.

With respect to integrity of the ingredients, there is the possibility that this effort went to hell in a hand-basket because I allowed the butter, which I’d placed on top of the stove to soften – just two simple sticks of butter still wrapped in their paper cloaks, hanging out on the oven while it warmed up – to sort of melt.

In my defense, I got sidetracked by a visitor – and forgot what I was doing, as we chatted outside in the sunshine while maintaining appropriate social distancing. Nevertheless, Karl made a valiant attempt to salvage the effort by sort of scooping them up onto a plate. They struggled to maintain their structural integrity, but only superficially succeeded. I do think the partial melting may have contributed to the creation of lava.

Other Variables

Beyond these slight snafus, other variables did come into play. I attempted to use my mother-in-law’s vintage standing mixer from the ‘50s. Mind you, I’ve never used one of these ever in my life – always having been a hand-held mixer girl up to this point.

Well, because I burned out my hand-held over Christmas and had to buy a crappy 3 speed whose fastest speed barely musters enough power to beat an egg, I thought I’d give the standing mixer a try. The indicator on the side of the contraption hinted at lightning speeds achievable. I dreamed of whipping all the ingredients into a quivering frenzy.

Dormeyer Standing Mixer – Photo: L. Weikel

Yeah, well, I guess it worked. Technically at least, I guess it did what stand-ups do? But I did not have the control I craved (and have always wielded) while using a hand-held. Call me crazy, but it felt like a variable that may have influenced the final outcome. It just didn’t feel…right.

Another factor – at least in the failed creation of the layers of walnut torte – was a potential aging or impotence factor in the baking powder I used. Frankly, I sense that blaming the baking powder is less than optimum and definitely doubtful – although my recent attempt to make Carol’s Chocolate Cake resulted in a density to the cake that also was unnerving. Where oh where was the light and airy fluffiness of my cakes? Am I losing my touch?

A Bummer

I just don’t know. But having one’s ‘face fixed’ for exquisite confections only to have them turn out not only to look like natural disasters but also taste just ‘OK’ – when they should, by all rights, send one’s mouth and senses into ecstatic overload – is, in a word, inauspicious – especially if considered to be a harbinger of the year to come. In another word:  a BUMMER.

Finally, as the accompanying photo shows, I am capable of baking this cake like a champ. Not this year, though. Nope. <<sigh>>  Maybe next time.

A Better Rendition of Aunt Grace’s Cake – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-242)

Double Icing – Day 637

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Carol’s Chocolate Cake with Double Icing – Photo: L. Weikel

Double Icing

It’s been a running request for years now. Whenever I asked Karl what he wanted for his birthday (meaning which confection would he like me to bake), he’d blurt out, “Double icing!” He didn’t care which of the two in my vast culinary repertoire I baked (Aunt Grace’s Walnut Torte or Carol’s Chocolate Cake) as long as I made ‘double icing.’

This request is a throwback to the days when my sister and brother-in-law would bake one of Aunt Grace’s Cakes for Karl’s birthday – and would whip up an extra batch of icing for him, plopping generous multiple tablespoonsful into cupcake liners for him to hoard in the freezer. Ah yes, the hedonistic pleasures of youth.

Those particular indulgences took place in what now feels like another time, another era. As our lives unfolded (and our waistlines expanded) a time came when Karl realized that icing ‘cupcakes’ were unbelievably indulgent and not exactly the healthiest thing to consume on an even fairly infrequent basis. (In other words, his requests for these icing nuggets came to a reluctant end after both of us lost a good chunk of weight 30 years ago.)

The Request Renewed

Slowly over time, though, as these things tend to wriggle their way back into our consciousness, Karl started espousing the, “if the icing on the cake is scrumptious, then twice as much would be even better” approach to life. But I held firm.

For a long time, in fact, I held firm. Part of me vaguely recalls giving in maybe once as his annual requests grew more plaintive – but I can’t be sure. If I did, it was probably a year or two after Karl (our son) passed away, figuring I could assuage some of the sadness by dosing it with butter and sugar. This is especially true since there were only four days between the two Karls’ birthdays.

Fast Forward to Today

Perhaps as a result of the pandemic and wanting to surprise him with a guilty pleasure, or perhaps as a result of the stunning fact that Karl didn’t even once yelp, “Double icing!” in my general direction as August started unfurling its katydid nights, I decided to indulge his desires this year.

Without even asking for it, Karl received Carol’s Chocolate Cake with double icing. (Rest assured that was the cake he requested this year – I’d never deign to make that decision for him.)

Speaking for myself, double icing is too much of a good thing. Gobs of butter cream icing drown out the deliciousness of the dark chocolate, coffee-infused cake. And besides that, my whole body starts to buzz.

Karl practically passed out after eating his massively generous slice tonight. I wonder if he’s now cured of asking for “double icing!” or if next year he’ll just ask for Aunt Grace’s Walnut Torte (and the obscene icing cupcakes of our misspent youth).

Yeah. Double icing is evil – Photo: L. Weikel

 

(T-474)

Aunt Grace’s Cake: The Recipe – Day 337

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

 

Aunt Grace’s Cake – Photo: L. Weikel

Aunt Grace’s Cake: The Recipe

I hear you! I’m listening!

It was only a matter of time, I suppose. I’ve posted many photos of my valiant efforts to recreate the (extremely unconventional) birthday cake of my childhood, which I refer to as ‘Aunt Grace’s Cake,’ not only here in Ruffled Feathers, as part of my 1111 Devotion, but also in   a number of posts over the years on FB.

I say it’s an extremely unconventional birthday cake because, let’s face it: how many little kids would like – or at least express a preference for – a walnut torte? Walnuts really are an acquired taste. (The icing, on the other hand, is absolutely drop-over amazing.) So I actually think my mother was quite crafty in how she marketed the specialness of this cake to me as a little kid. She had great taste!

Brief History

As best as I can tell, this recipe is Hungarian. It was brought here to the United States not written on paper anywhere, but rather etched in the memory of Grace Jancosko*, who immigrated here from Hungary as a child with her family.

Aunt Grace was not actually related to me by blood, but she was a decades long good friend of my mother’s, and thus our whole family. Over those years, she generously shared the delicacies of her heritage, a partial list of which includes walnut torte (a/k/a Aunt Grace’s Cake), 23 layer cake, stuffed cabbages, kiffels (Christmas morning wasn’t Christmas without a tin of Aunt Grace’s kiffels getting passed around lovingly – with an eagle eye that no one took too many!), and a dumpling soup that was mouth wateringly delicious.

I know I’m forgetting some of her other dishes. And I know my brother and sisters had affectionate nicknames for some of those dishes, which I’m not quite sure I remember. I think our family called the dumpling dish ‘globby soup’ or something like that? All I remember is that it tasted like comfort-food heaven.

Cut to the Chase

Because I know from reading the comments I’ve seen not only on FB but also via email and text messages I’ve received, there’s a clamoring for Aunt Grace’s recipe. Thus, I will cut to the chase and offer you the recipe as I received it, I believe from one of my sisters.

Aunt Grace’s Cake (“Walnut Torte”)**

12 egg yolks (set aside the whites for later use)

1 lb. powdered sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 lemon rind, grated

3 Tbsp. bread crumbs

1 lb. walnuts (generous pound)

Mix first five ingredients together with a mixer, then add walnuts and mix well.

Beat egg whites until stiff, then gently fold into the batter until well mixed.

Divide mixture evenly between 3 round pans that have been greased and floured.

Bake at 350 degrees approx. 25-30 minutes. (Start checking with a wooden toothpick after 20 minutes. When toothpick comes out clean, it’s ready.)

Icing:

3 eggs

½ lb. (2 sticks) sweet (unsalted) butter

1 lb. powdered sugar

3 – 3 oz. bars of premium (34-38%) milk chocolate (I prefer Black & Green or Icelandic), melted in a double boiler

Note: I use organic versions of all the ingredients.

________________________________________________________

Fun Fact: Until last night, I never realized that Hungary is known for its exceptionally high quality walnuts. It only makes sense, then, that a recipe such as this one would have made the trip across the ocean and survived to this day.

_________________________________________________________

*Aunt Grace’s last name, Jancosko, was her married name. I do not know her maiden name, and I apologize for that.

**The recipe I have copied down from my sister also refers to this as ‘Dyos Torte.’ However – that same name is also applied to the ’23 layer cake,’ which is a veritable work of art. I’m not sure which cake technically is known as a Dyos Torte.

The recipe for the ‘23 layer cake’ is almost identical to this recipe except there are NO WALNUTS and a slight variation in the other ingredients. The recipe calls for DOUBLING the icing ingredients (YUM). But: I’ve never made it.  So If there’s a request for that recipe, I’ll provide it; but since I’ve never made it (and can’t even offer you a photo), I’m going to hold off for now.

I extend my deepest appreciation to the memory of Aunt Grace, and hope, by sharing this recipe, I’m honoring and doing justice to the love and wonderful memories she provided me and my family by sharing her culinary heritage.

Please let me if you give this a try!

Not much left – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-774)