I made this for Sarah’s birthday dinner last night

Ingredients for torte

125g hazelnuts

4 egg whites (I hope you like making egg custard, otherwise that’s a lot of leftover egg yolks)

1 cup + 1 tablespoon castor sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

 

Ingredients for topping

450g raspberries (frozen will do)

3 tablespoons castor sugar

1 cup cream

vanilla to taste

sifted icing sugar

 

Method

Spread the hazelnuts on a tray and toast them for about 6 minutes in a hot oven. (This is inexact – just keep checking them.) Cool. Then grind them (not too finely) in the whizz.

Beat egg whites. Add in tablespoon of castor sugar, beat in and then gradually add the rest.

Add vinegar and vanilla.

Fold in the ground toasted hazelnuts.

Spoon into 2 x 8 inch cake tins (lined or sprayed with cooking spray) and cook in a moderately slow oven for 40 minutes.

 

Assembly

Beat cream, sugar and vanilla until thick. Spread tops of both torte bases with cream, then sprinkle over the thawed raspberries (or other berries of your choosing).

Lift one base and place it on top of the other to create a layer-cake. Sift icing sugar over the completed torte before serving.

 

This quantity serves about 8, but it’s my go-to easy dessert for a crowd so I just multiply the ingredients and use bigger tins.

Last night I was cooking for 10 and wanted generous servings, so I doubled the recipe and used a large and a small springform pan to create a tiered look to the birthday ‘cake’.

 

Maximum effect – minimum effort!

(and you can cover your mistakes with cream. Just saying )