A friend of mine introduced me to this cake recipe and I love it! I love chocolate, but every once in a while it's nice to have a dessert with different flavors. I love the combinations in this cake--apricot and almonds with a delicious cream cheese frosting. I feel like this recipe speaks of my roots. On my grandpa's apricot ranch he also had some almond trees. I like to think he might have enjoyed this cake.
This cake takes some time to put together, but it's a fun baking project. One of my cake layers broke into pieces when I removed it from the pan the last time I made this. Luckily the frosting and filling can hide a lot of errors! Next time I may increase the frosting by 1.5 times to make sure I have enough to fully cover the sides of the cake.
Apricot Almond Torte
Note: To prepare the almonds spread whole unsalted almonds into a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until fragrant (about 8-12 minutes). (See elenaspantry.com.) Keep a close eye on them so they don't burn. Allow to cool, then process some in the food processor to yield 1 cup ground almonds. Coarsely chop the remainder to use as garnish.
Also, if the preserves are difficult to spread, heat them briefly in the microwave. If desired, you can also blend the preserves with an immersion blender or traditional blender to eliminate any chunks of apricot.
Ingredients:
Cake:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground almonds, toasted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
Frosting and filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
10-12 oz. apricot preserves
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9-in. round baking pans with parchment paper. Grease and flour pans. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into egg mixture alternately with the whipped cream.
2. Divide batter evenly between the pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in extract. Fold in whipped cream.
4. Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; cover with frosting. Top with another cake layer; spread with half of the preserves. Place another cake layer on top; cover with frosting. Place remaining cake layer on top; cover with frosting. Frost sides of cake. Spread the remaining preserves on top of the cake. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds. Decorate the top edge with remaining frosting as desired.
Source: adapted slightly from http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/apricot-almond-torte, via my friend, Yvette
