“ My Calabrian Grandma, who emigrated here with three children and her husband, had a few mouths to feed and a limited selection of the foods that comprised their diet in southern Italy. So she was very adept at using a few well selected ingredients to come up with something special. Like this flourless cake made with walnuts, eggs, sugar and lemon. All things she found in her local grocery store to be similar to what she had access to in Italy. Simple and quick to make, it fit her time budget as well. Plus it kept well for some days so she could make it ahead for a sunday dinner. It is also one of my favorites to have with my morning coffee or an afternoon espresso as well.
The key to the rich flavor of this cake is the lemon zest. I use a microplane grater because it produces a slightly larger and more moist zest than when using the fine holed zester. The egg yolks and sugar combination are very stiff but don’t worry, adding a little of the beaten whites to loosen them allows you to beat in the ground walnut. I do this in two additions of the walnuts - 2 tablespoons of egg whites, half of the walnuts, 2 tablespoons egg whites, then finally folding in the rest of the egg whites. But as long as you can get a very smooth batter in the end do it as you wish. The stiffer the egg whites the lighter the cake!
If you want this recipe to be totally gluten free, just omit the flour used to dust the greased cake pan. This torta can be served with fresh fruit, whipped cream, ice cream, yogurt, syrup, whatever you wish, making it perfect for breakfast, dessert or ‘High Tea’.”
Ingredients:
¾ pound (340 grams) of walnut pieces or halves, about 3 ½ cups
4 eggs, separated
1 ⅛ cups ( 230 grams) granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Confectioners sugar for dusting the cake
1-2 tablespoons for dusting the cake pan
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 375º F
Chop and pound the walnuts until they are turned into a fine granulated powder, or process in a food processor
Lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan with butter, oil or cooking spray and coat with a dusting of flour
Beat the egg yolks until smooth, add the sugar, and continue to beat until they are light and fluffy. Stir in the grated lemon rind.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Add a few tablespoons of the beaten egg whites to the egg yolk mixture to “loosen it up”.
Add the walnuts to the egg yolk mixture and beat thoroughly.
Fold in the egg whites to combine everything.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for an hour at 375º until the top is firm and golden brown. Cool the cake completely before turning it out then dust generously with confectioners sugar.
Deliziosa!
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