UKRAINIAN-VIENNESE ORANGE TORTE

UKRAINIAN-VIENNESE ORANGE TORTE image

Yield 1 torte

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

CAKE BATTER:
500 grams (2½ cups) granulated sugar
grated rind of 3 oranges (=4½ tablespoons)
juice of 3 oranges (=1 cup)
10 egg yolks
250 grams almonds (just under 2 cups whole nuts), ground with skins left on-(do not use packaged pre-prepared nuts, as they often have less taste or have a chemical under-taste)
30 grams (1/4 cup) fine breadcrumbs (commercial ones are okay)
10 egg whites (room temperature)
FILLING/ICING:
190 ml (3/4 cup) milk
2 egg yolks
15 grams ( 1½ tablespoons) all-purpose white flour
100 grams (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter
100 grams (5/6 cup) confectioner's (icing) sugar
30 grams almonds (just under 1/4 cup whole nuts), ground with skins left on
grated rind of 1 orange (=1½ tablespoons)
juice of 1 orange, freshly squeezed (=1/3 cup)
juice of ½ lemon (or less, to taste) (=2 tablespoons)

Steps:

CAKE BATTER: Mix sugar, orange rind, and orange juice. Cook over low heat for several minutes, until thick. Let cool. Preheat oven to 325-350F degrees (see below). Beat egg yolks until light and fluffy, and add ground almonds and the above orange syrup to yolks gradually; mix well. Add breadcrumbs and mix. Whip egg whites well (until soft peaks form), and fold them thoroughly into above mixture. Butter and lightly breadcrumb two 25 cm. (10") round cake pans. (Use the spring-form type with removable sides.) Pour half the batter into each pan. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven until done, perhaps 30 minutes (or use 325F oven for up to 45 minutes). Let cool to room temperature, and remove from pans. FILLING/ICING: Mix milk, egg yolks, and flour together. Cook over double boiler (or very carefully over low heat, stirring constantly for the first five minutes and frequently thereafter--it burns easily, so do not walk away and leave it!) until mixture is like very thick cream. (This may take 30 to 40 minutes.) Let cool to room temperature (to speed up cooling, you can stir it). Mix butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Combine the two above mixtures together with remaining filling ingredients. Mix well. ASSEMBLY: Take one of the cake layers and spread with 1/3 to ½ of the filling/icing mixture. Place second cake layer on top. Ice the cake (top and sides) with the remaining filling. (If wish, can decorate top with whole almonds.) Refrigerate. Wait a day or two before serving, to let the taste develop fully. It will keep well for at least a week, but may get a bit soggier over time.