Friday, September 28, 2012

Lemon Capri Torte


Simply put ~ I love lemon! But, shhhh, don't tell chocolate. 

Secondly, I'm a recipe-aholic.  I have a 588 megabytes of dessert recipes alone saved on my computer. My entire recipe folder contains over 2-1/2 gigabytes of recipes.  I will never make most of them.  But when the recipe has the word 'lemon' in it somehow it manages to surface...at some point.



At the end of summer we entertained some good friends for dinner.  The husband happens to be even more of a lemon-lover than I am, so I decided to try this Sophie Dahl recipe that had been lost in megabytes for over a year.  The verdict - Delicious! Of all the lemon tarts I've made over the years, my friend said he liked this lemon dessert the best because of the moist and dense cake texture.

Gluten free if you use the potato flour!

I served it with a dollop of lemon curd just to add to the lemon-y goodness.  You can find an easy recipe for homemade lemon curd made in the microwave here.


Once again, it's the end of the month and time to join Al Dente Gourmet's photography challenge for our Oh Happy Plates Group on Pinterest.  This month the challenge was citrus.  How perfect. 



Lemon Capri Torte

Adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl
Printable Recipe

Sophie Dahl:  I got this recipe from a taxi driver in Sorrento who was big on cooking. He said his wife and daughters begged him not to cook because he left the kitchen in such a mess!

Serves 6

1-1/2 sticks of butter, plus extra for greasing
1 cup fine (bakers) sugar
6 eggs, separated
Zest and juice of four lemons
2 cups blanched almonds, toasted then ground to as fine a consistency as possible in food processor
1 cup potato flour (or substitute plain flour), plus more for dusting the pan

Preheat oven to 400°F

Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake tin or pan (preferably spring form).

Cream the sugar and butter together with a mixer until smooth.

Add the egg yolks, then lemon zest and juice and mix together.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until they form soft peaks then add to the egg yolk mixture.

Fold in ground almonds and flour.

Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Turn oven 300°F and bake for another 40 minutes.

Remove, cool and invert onto a platter.


57 comments:

  1. Muhteşem olmuş. Ellerinize sağlık, çok güzel ve iştah açıcı görünüyor.

    Saygılar.

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  2. Yum! I too am a fan of lemon and that looks so good. Better than that store bought muffin I had for breakfast this morning. :/
    Enjoy your weekend.

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  3. This beautiful torte is going right in my must-try file! It looks so moist and yummy! And I too am a lemon lover!!!! I have all the ingredients in my kitchen right now... but the potato flour. I will have to try it that way on your recommendation! Yummy!

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  4. I love sweet tangy lemon desserts! Maybe you can combine chocolate into a lemon dessert?
    Is potato flour same as potato starch?

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    1. I believe so, Angie. It says Potato Starch Flour on the box that I bought.

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  5. I really didn't have to go beyond that first photo--ah, what a lovely crumb--to know that I'd love this recipe. We'd love it! It's printing out as I type.

    Wishing you a delicious weekend.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  6. The mere word "lemon" brings me running every time. Sounds so good. Looks so fine.

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  7. Lovely looking cake, Susan. I want to try it using the potato flour, sounds very interesting. xo

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  8. I've made Sophy's cake. It's a gem. Love her cookbooks.

    You sound like my sister....she is a total lemon fanatic. Every time I see a lemon anything recipe I forward it to her. My mother used to make a lemon angel pie and my sister would freak out in delight. :)

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  9. Bookmarked :) I think I'll save this recipe until the depth of winter when I'm craving something fresh.

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  10. Lemon is my all-time favorite, that cake looks fabulous. So does that nice size pile of Meyers!

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  11. love lemon !! and this look absolutely delicious Susan!!

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  12. Love lemon and this looks great! I don't think I could ever ask anyone not to cook or bake, when it comes to goodies I say bring on the mess:@)

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    1. My kitchen is always a mess when I'm cooking and baking. Doesn't bother me either ;) I'd rather have a messy kitchen and delicious food!

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  13. I often wonder about all of the recipes I have saved and bookmarked. This one looks like a winner. Beautiful photographs.

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  14. Lemon is my favorite. This looks delicious. I have pinned it, thank you!

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  15. Ohhh, looks good and I know it taste even better! Be still my tummy!
    Loretta

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  16. Whenever I check out a new blog, I see what the person has done with seafood, particularly shrimp. Your shrimp and halibut grill shows you know what you're doing. I'll check you out for a while. Regards ...

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  17. I've been noticing a lot of sweets on your blog lately. You must be ramping up for the holidays. I adore Sophie Dahl's recipes. They often have a rustic flair to them, this one being no exception.

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  18. The photos are mesmerizing! This looks so delicious, I would love to have a slice or three! I am bookmarking the recipe - and I am sure your garnishes took it to the next level!
    OK _ call me snoopy. I am. What second language do you speak, Susan?
    :)
    V

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    1. I know, there have been a few Italian recipes recently. Just a Danish girl enamored with Italian cuisine. Je parle un peu français y un poco de español ma purtroppo non è italiano ;-)

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  19. amen and amen! I have over 200 cookbooks. Many I have never made anything out of, just read them from cover to cover and now with blogging and Pinterest - my recipe files are out of control, but I still love reading recipes, especially with pictures which is what makes blogging so great. Your photos are just mouthwatering, as always!

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  20. I am a big fan of lemon too and this will be next on my list! My mother is asking me to make a lemon tart now from Alain Ducasse and after this (big) project, I 'll do this one, especially since I have the potato flour and almonds and it looks perfect!

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  21. What a stunning cake my friend! Light with refreshing delicious flavours! :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  22. I so agree with you... I hoard lemon recipes too... even have a separate folder for them in my dessert section and go there periodically. I love lemon. I think I go through a bag every 2 weeks!!! Can't wait to try your cake.. the potato flour is a cool idea.

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    1. Same here, Deana. I have a separate dessert folder for lemon desserts ;)

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  23. I love lemon desserts as well and this looks delightful. I need to check out your microwave curd, that's one I haven't tried before. It's so funny that you got this from a taxi driver.

    Didn't you love staying in Sorrento? What a charming town and the perfect spot to go to the neighboring islands. I can't wait to return to the Amalfi Coast.

    As for the number of recipes on your computer that sounds like a lot. I've never looked to see how many I have but now I will since you've peaked my curiosity.

    Have a great weekend.

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  24. Oh my goodness, but this looks wonderful. My husband is a great lover of lemon and I have a jar of curd in the fridge just begging for a good recipe. I don't have potato flour, so will try this with regular.

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  25. I just love the name of your recipe and am a huge fan of baking with lemons, thanks for sharing one of the recipes from your incredible recipe collection;-)

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  26. this looks awesome and cool never heard of potato flour

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  27. What a beautiful torte! I think I have some potato flour but have only used it in bread. Never even thought of using it in something else.

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  28. It looks lovely and light. Perfect after a big meal. I will have to try potato flour sometime.
    I have no recipe folders on my computer. :)

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  29. What a stunning cake Susan!I love lemon too...Don't bother...No messy kitchen...No good food!Have a great Sunday, hugs & kisses...

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  30. Delightful presentation, Susan! That lemon torte looks absolutely lovely!And those two last clicks are just GORGEOUS!Beautiful composition :) I'm SO happy you're part of the group :)

    Hugs <3

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  31. Love lemon...lemon torte with a dollop of lemon curd. It doesn't get much better than that as far as I'm concerned. Lovely presentation.

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  32. Love lemon cakes and tarts too. They are so refreshing and a good break from chocolate :) Chocolate does not need to know :)

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  33. Beautiful photos, Susan. I can never pass up a lemon recipe either. This one looks delicious.

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  34. Hi there, love this recipe...also love the soup recipes which you can never have enough of in the fall! DEB
    http://healthycomfort.blogspot.com/

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  35. I'm a huge lemon lover so this cake is perfect. I love the crumb on the cake too- it looks incredibly moist and rich.

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  36. My husband loves anything lemon. I started to like it too, but only after chocolate! This torte looks very moist and full of aroma!

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  37. Hi Susan, the torte sounds wonderful and full of citrusy flavor. I loved hearing about the source for this recipe!! I can't believe his family begged him not to cook. Too bad they're not begging him TO cook.

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  38. I love anything with lemon and this looks good! The lemons are gorgeous! Are they from your garden? :)

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  39. I love lemon ANYTHING and enjoy books about food, so I've ordered the book and plan on making this delicious looking dessert as I happen to have everything on hand. Thanks. It looks SO yummy!

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  40. I'm a big lemon lover also, especially in desserts. That sweet and tangy combo is sheer perfection! Love this torte.

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  41. What a beautiful torte! Shh...I adore lemons too. Let that be our secret! hahaha...

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  42. I love that you have so many dessert recipes saved! And this one looks absolutely beautiful :)

    Sues

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  43. such true delight of a recipe, my dear, and the photos you took are wonderful. I can smell the lemon all the way here in Europe

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  44. I am with you on deserts, but I don't have that many saved. LOL And I love chocolate and lemon. I saw you on Millie's blog.

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  45. I have a meyer lemon tree busting out with almost ripe lemons. It is recipes like this one, that inspire me to use the lemons for great food.

    Cheers.
    Velva

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