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Feb 03, 2014 at 04:22PM vs Feb 03, 2014 at 04:54PM
Biscuit for Mocha Cream Torte
<ul>
<li>3/8 lb. butter, softened</li>
<li>1 c. sugar</li>
<li>6 eggs at room temp.</li>
<li>1 c. flour</li>
<li>1 ½ tsp. grated lemon peel</li>
<li>¾ c. corn starch</li>
<li>1 tbsp. baking powder</li>
<li>¾ c. rum</li>
</ul>
<p>Cream butter & sugar. Blend in 1 tbsp. flour and lemon peel. Beat in egg yolks, then flour, corn starch, baking powder. Beat egg whites separately and add gradually. Bake in middle of pre-heated 350° oven for 60 min., or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan. After slicing, moisten with rum. For 5 layers, double the Morton recipe for mocha cream. Cover with melted chocolate (Belgian?) and decorate with toasted almonds.</p>
<p>See also <a href="/recipe/219">Mocha Cream</a>.</p>
<p>CAUTION: difficult to make!</p>
<h1>Tom's Version:</h1>
<h1>Ingredients:</h1>
<ul>
<li>3/8 lb. butter, softened</li>
<li>1 c. sugar</li>
<li>6 eggs</li>
<li>¾ tsp cream of tartar</li>
<li>1 ½ tsp vanilla</li>
<li>1 cup flour (4.5 oz)</li>
<li>2 tsp grated orange peel</li>
<li>¾ cup corn starch (3.125 oz)</li>
<li>1 tbsp baking powder</li>
<li>½ tsp salt</li>
</ul>
<p>After slicing</p>
<ul>
<li>¾ cup rum</li>
</ul>
<h1>Steps:</h1>
<ul>
<li>About two hours before starting, take butter out of the fridge, cut into chunks and let soften. Alternatively, microwave briefly or soften with beaters.</li>
<li>Then, separate the eggs, and leave on the counter to warm up. Room temperature eggs beat better, but they are easier to separate cold.</li>
<li>In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: Flour, corn starch, baking power, and salt.</li>
<li>Zest an orange, and set aside. Finer zest is better.</li>
<li>Prepare a springform pan by buttering the inside, then dusting with flour. Soak two old cotton dish towels in water, fold to the height of the springform pan, and wrap around the pan. Use a loop of kitchen string to hold in place. It's VERY IMPORTANT to use natural fibres because it's going in the oven. This step ensures the cake rises evenly. Preheat the oven to 325°.</li>
<li>Wipe out a deep bowl or stand mixer bowl and beaters with a lemon wedge (this removes and soap or fat residue that inhibits the foaming of the eggs). Then, whip the egg whites, adding the cream of tartar and 1/4 cup of the sugar as you go. For help on how to best whip egg whites, see <a href="http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2010/02/how-to-beat-egg-whites-baking-meringues-chiffon-cakes-souffles-slideshow.html#show-73799">here</a>. Transfer the egg whites to a large bowl, so that you can use the beaters and same bowl for creaming butter.</li>
<li>Cream the butter and then add the sugar and orange zest. For help on how to best cream butter and sugar, see <a href="http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2010/02/how-to-cream-butter-and-sugar-baking-techniques-slideshow.html">here</a>. When the butter is creamed, add the vanilla.</li>
<li>Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, a third at a time, until just combined - some streaks of flour may remain.</li>
<li>Fold the egg whites into the batter, a third a time. Most cake recipes would say until just combined, but the cake is being moistened by rum anyway, and it helps to combine the dough a touch more than usual so the structure is consistent when slicing.</li>
<li>Pour the batter into the prepared spring-form pan. Ensure than the batter is evenly distributed, and gets to the edges. An offset spatula is helpful for this, if you have one. Put on a baking sheet in the top half of the oven and cook for about 60 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.</li>
<li>Let cake cool for at least 4 hours before slicing, and ideally overnight.</li>
</ul>
<h1>Unresolved Issues:</h1>
<ul>
<li>I haven't tried this at a temp of 325, but I'm confident it will work better.</li>
<li>I don't know what the appropriate amount of salt is. 1/2 tsp is a conservative guess.</li>
<li>I don't know how much orange zest is appropriate. Maybe this should be increased.</li>
<li>I like the idea of swapping the rum out with drambuie or Grand Marnier.</li>
<li>Can you replace the corn starch with almond flour?</li>
</ul>