Beautiful Kola Torta
By Ness on September 15, 2008 | Desserts
In addition to affordable modern furniture at IKEA the Swedish also have a wonderful gluten free cake. Ah the Kola Torta. Back in 2005 it was just a regular old day in my grey dull cube when my co-worker strolled on over with a wonderful treat for me. He had told me before that he believed his favorite cake was gluten free and he was kind enough to sacrifice a slice of it for me. One bite and I was in love. The cake was a tradition in his family and his mother would make it for him and his twin brother every year for their birthday. I asked the poor guy for the recipe on a fairly regular basis and 2 years later I finally got it. I remember the day fondly. His wife came in with their adorable baby boy for the holiday party at work and with her she also brought all the sacred tools that are needed to make a Kola Torta. They both provided me with very precise instructions on how to use the equipment to create the torta. I nervously headed home with a bag of family treasures including a near ancient mandel krarn for grinding the almonds. The next day I prepared my very first Kola Torta and the rest is history. I now make it all the time for family events and birthdays. Without a doubt this dessert will become a tradition in my family as well. The original recipe calls for a caramel sauce made with Swedish ingredients which I can not in good conscious share but the cake alone is a fantastic base for many other toppings. – glad bakningen
Basic Torta Recipe
Ingredients
4 egg whites
2 deciliters sugar
175g finely ground raw almonds
Equipment
8†(round or square) nonstick pan
Deciliter measuring cup
Food Scale
Stand mixer or Handheld mixer
Spatula
Preheat oven to 350
Butter baking pan thoroughly and then dust with corn starch. Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold in sugar a little bit at a time (roughly 5 additions). Fold in ground almonds a little bit at time (roughly 4 additions). Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Top the Torta with whatever your heart desires. Some suggestions are below.
Fresh fruit and barely sweetened fresh whipped cream
Butter cream frosting and almond slivers
Dark chocolate ganache