Apricot Jelly Topped Walnut Torte

It's cold beyond belief. It is said to be one of the very rough cold seasons having encapsulated US

this year. I am not enjoying at all. Few days back there was a birthday party we had been to. Many

of the ladies garbed in shimmery colorful satins and silk sarees with shawls wrapped around

shoulders struck my attention because it was freezing cold with snow pouring throughout that day

and I wonder how they did manage walking in sling backs and kitten heels from the car parking lot

to the function venue cutting through an inch thick snow. As somebody phrases "anything for

style", I assume the ladies completely carried away by the moments of celebration didn't mind

bearing with a bit of bone-chilling cold.

 

'Torte' means a multilayered rich cake filled with whipped cream, buttercream icing, mousses, jam

and jelly made with a lot many eggs, less flour and nuts. For the walnut torte, I have used apricot

jelly, but you may use any other jelly or jam of your choice.

Ingredients:                                                                   Cooking time: 2 hrs ü  2 heaped cups of all-purpose flour ü  4 eggs ü  1/2 cup milk ü  3/4 cup of granulated sugar ü  1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter (You may combine butter and oil in equal measure) ü  1 tsp vanilla extract ü  1 tbsp baking powder ü  1/2 tsp baking soda ü  1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts ü  1 cup finely diced walnuts ü  3 tbsp apricot jelly or preserves, warmed ü  Walnut halves, to decorate Frosting: ü  3/4 cup heavy whipping cream ü  1/2 cup unsalted butter ü  5 cups confectioners' sugar Method: 1) Beat eggs, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla extract together into a mixture of smooth consistency. Add all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda and stir gently to mix in until no speck of flour is left visible around the rim of the bowl. 2) Toss 1/3 cup of diced walnuts into the batter and casually mix in. 3) Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Grease two 9 inch round layer cake pans with oil and flour and divide the cake batter into the two pans equally. 4) Bake for about 30-40 minutes till a toothpick inserted at the centre comes out clean. 5) Cool on wire rack. Now beat all the ingredients of frosting together until light and smooth. 6) Slice each cake in half horizontally to make 4 layers in total. Spread about half the frosting over the top of 3 of the cakes and sandwich them together, placing the plain one on top. 7) Spread half of the remaining frosting over the sides of the cake and press the remaining diced walnuts over it. 8) Brush the apricot jelly over the top of the cake. Spoon the remaining frosting into an icing bag with a star tip and pipe designs along the top edge of the cake. Decorate with walnuts halves.