Pages

Friday, November 09, 2012

Cake for the Weekend


Lately it seems like the weeks are flying by.  I attribute it to the fact that my days are busy, I'm home for such short periods of time, and during daylight hours I pretty much don't get to see daylight.

Which means I really look forward to the weekend, but the weekend also comes along so quickly.  (It also goes by too quickly, but that's another one of those first world problems.) 

I like spending time in the kitchen when I can on the weekends.  It gives me a sense of peace.  Especially if my kitchen time coincides with someone's naptime.  Because otherwise "peace" isn't a word I'd use to describe any of my time.  It is ridiculously difficult to pour cake batter into a pan while holding a baby on your hip.

This cake is exactly how I like my weekends - easy, simple, and sweet.  Not too sweet though.  In fact, Thatboy enjoyed a slice for breakfast, finding that it was a great complement to coffee.  And without a mound of sugar in the cake or frosting, I even felt okay giving a bite to Thatbaby.  I kept it extra light by filling the cake with fresh whipped cream and topping it with just a bit of powdered sugar.  If it were summer, I would love to serve it with some fresh berries.


Nut Torte (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
2 cups ground walnuts
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
  1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray a two 8-inch round pans with baking spray.  Beat the egg yolks until pale and thick.
  2. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until well blended.
  3. Stir in the walnuts, crumbs, baking powder, and vanilla, and mix well.
  4. Beat the egg whites separately until foamy, add the salt, and continue to beat until stiff but not dry.
  5. Gently stir a third of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.
  6. Spread in the pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through.
  7. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool.

6 comments:

  1. Going to work and coming home in darkness is definitely disconcerting..and totally dissatisfying. Baking to the rescue! I love that this cake is barely sweet. The perfect morning treat!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Trying to keep up with a crazy schedule is what I do also during weekdays and then weekend flies so fast I don't even get the chance to realize it! This cake is the perfect consolation for busy multi tasking women like us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice that you can do some baking while That Baby is napping. My boy is now weaning off his afternoon nap and this means less me-time for me :(

    I have not use breadcrumb for my cake baking before. This is new to me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love classic cakes like this precisely for the reason stated--they aren't fussy and they aren't too sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This cakes works. I would eat it everyday. These are the kind of cakes I enjoy-not too sweet, a bit of autumn on the palate too.

    Have a great weekend.

    Velva

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oooh all nice and crumbly! I love the chockful of walnuts in there. Kitchens give me a sense of peace, too. I hope you have a merry, peaceful weekend, Kate! <3

    ReplyDelete