Lonely Hearts & Almond Tortes

Loneliness is one sneaky devil. Everything’s fine at first, you don’t realize it’s settling in around you but it’s there, traveling like smoke, weaving its self through every part of your being. You don’t feel it climbing up your legs, up your body, into your mind, until it’s gripping your heart in its cold dark fingers. Even then, when it has you in its hands like a vice, you can still deny its presence. We try to fill the void with things like social media by staring at faces of people we “know” but don’t really know at all. We turn on our phone and the curtain opens, we go on stage, the performance is beautiful and people applaud. But it’s still there waiting for us in the shadows backstage. When our act is done and everyone has gone home, the hands of the monster squeeze and that’s when we feel it. Aww, there you are loneliness. Because it’s in the moments when no ones around that we feel lonely.

Wait, but is that true? I clearly remember many times where I had never felt more alone than when I was surrounded by people who didn’t know me, care for me or love the real me. That is MY truth. My lonely heart is fed by being surrounded by people who don’t care about me. They are able to see the façade and believe it because they choose not to see past it. They shy away from true vulnerability and in its place, feed you lies. When we are stuck in the depths of loneliness, our souls are craving connection and recognition. Our inner most being is saying “do you see me? Do you feel me, the real me?”

How do we fill those spaces within us that longs for acknowledgment and connection? How do we defeat loneliness especially during this period of time where we are stuck in the confines of our home, leaving only to go to work or pick up necessities?  We start by recognizing those feelings and taking note of when those feelings occur. There is an aspect of vulnerability associated with over coming loneliness, because sometimes it takes your own strength to reach out to someone to make that connection. And if there is no one in your life to reach out to, then you must find strength and hold tight to the things that make you feel alive. For me that’s cooking, it’s loosing myself in characters in books, it’s going for a hike and seeing just how beautiful this world is. 

But I believe that you will come across a person who one day stops and sees right through your mask. They will look you in the eyes, and not be scared of what they find, but will actually embrace it, cherish it. And that, my friends, is when loneliness looses its grip.

I know loneliness is such a dreary topic but for some reason as I was making this gorgeous almond torte, the word “loneliness” kept pealing in my head like a bell. And I thought to myself that maybe there was someone out in the world who needed to hear that they aren’t alone in feeling this way.

I see you, I feel you.

The word torte actually is just another word for cake, so why don’t we just call it a cake? I’m really not sure but doesn’t an almond torte just sound delicious? This recipe is a spin off of my grandma’s recipe for Swedish almond squares. In this torte, the base is a soft, super moist almond flavored cake made with your basic ingredients- butter, flour, sugar, eggs, and almond extract. The topping is meringue-like and is made of whipped egg whites, sugar and chopped almonds.

It’s baked in a springform pan, which makes removal from the pan easy and leaves the sides and top nice and neat. 

This cake does have a lengthy baking time of around 45 minutes (depending on your oven). Bakers beware- you may mistakenly think this cake is done after about 20 minutes in the oven. The top will become fairly firm to the touch but if you insert a skewer down into the cake, you will see that it has not set. If your cake top is starting to get browner then you’d like, put a piece of foil overtop the pan to protect the top for the remainder of the cooking time.  You know its ready to take out of the oven when a skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it but not wet-looking batter.

I prefer to let the cake cool completely in the pan before attempting to remove it. Use a knife to go gently around the edge before releasing the clasp of the side lock. Because we have lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, it should easily come off the bottom piece of the pan.

This cake is perfect as a stand-alone dish and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. 

XO-K

Almond Torte

Moist and tender almond cake with an almond meringue topping.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

  

Topping:

• 2 large egg whites
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup sliced almonds lightly chopped

Cake:

• ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp almond extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.
• To make the cake, cream together butter and sugar in an electric mixing bowl for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each before the next. Add in almond extract and stir. Sift in flour and salt and mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. Batter will be slightly thick.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth to the edges using an offset spatula. Set aside while you make the topping.
• To make the topping, in a very clean medium sized bowl, whip egg whites with electric mixer until soft peaks form. In another small bowl combine sugar and chopped almonds. Gently spoon whipped egg whites onto cake and smooth to cover the entire surface of the cake. Sprinkle with almond sugar mixture.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is slightly golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. If top is browning before center is set, place a piece of foil over the top of the pan.
• Remove from oven and place on wire rack. Cool completely before removing from pan and serving.