As you know, I have partnered with Woody Lodge Winery in Ashville, Pennsylvania to bring you a variety of wonderful table wines that offer unique and fun twists when it comes to flavor. The best part of today’s post? That you can get 15% off your first order of the fantastic “Black Pearl” wine that I’m featuring today with the code BP15! By the way, Woody Lodge Winery just opened their Instagram account too, and would love to welcome you as a follower, so be sure to check them out.
If you have been following me, you know that I have been featuring a Woody Lodge Winery wine and a recipe every Friday. Well, this past Friday, I began to feel a bit sick, so although I had baked the torte I’m featuring today, and had photographed it, I really needed to rest and couldn’t post until today, so I apologize for the delay!
I knew that I wanted to feature Woody Lodge Winery’s Award-Winning, “Black Pearl”, which is a port-like wine made with blackberries. Have you ever heard something more delicious?
Ports are fortified wines that pair beautifully with cheeses, dried fruits, and nuts. This one in particular has won many medals, including the 2019 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association (ASWA) “Best of Port Category”.
The last time I featured this Black Walnut Torte on Instagram, I received a lot of requests for the recipe, and since it was a perfect pairing for this “Black Pearl” port, I decided to bake it and share the recipe.
This is a very easy recipe, and one I certainly hope you bake and share. It’s purposefully not too sweet (although you can add more sugar if you want!) because I serve it with ice-cream and Caramel Sauce. I love making flavored caramel sauces, and I usually go for apple, pear, banana or orange, but using the “Black Pearl” as inspiration, I decided to flavor my caramel with the port instead. It really turned out fantastic, so don’t skip it!
Why a torte and not a cake? Well, technically a cake needs flour, while a torte is baked with heavier ingredients like ground nuts, which is the case here. As a result it is not a sponge, but rather it has a soft, but crumblier texture. That is the reason it goes so well with ice-cream and caramel. It truly is one of my favorite recipes to make, and one that goes VERY quickly! You can alter the amount of nuts, but after experimenting quite a bit, I find that my amount yields the perfect balance. Please, let me now if you make it and whether you like it!
Walnut Torte with “Black Pearl” Port Caramel Sauce
For the Torte
Ingredients
- 300 gr ground walnuts
- 6 eggs, separated.
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Zest of one lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt (with whites)
Directions
- Grind the walnuts. Grind them somewhat finely, but don’t pulverize them; it’s not supposed to be flour!
- Separate yolks from whites
- Beat whites to firm peaks with a stand mixer. Begin to beat whites by adding the salt when they get foamy. Once they turn white, sprinkle the sugar slowly, but steadily until firm peaks form. Don’t over-beat them or they will become dry.
- In a bowl, beat yolks with half the lemon zest.
- Fold yolks into whites with 1/3 of the ground walnuts.
- Continue folding another 1/3 of the walnuts and then the last 1/3.
- Keep folding until no egg whites remain visible.
- Pour into a 9-inch springform mold. This torte tends to stick to the bottom, so it is best to add a parchment circle on the bottom.
- Bake for 40 minutes at 325F until a toothpick comes out dry. I use a convection oven for this, so it may take a bit longer in a regular oven. Just keep an eye on it.
For the “Black Pearl” Blackberry Port Caramel Sauce:
Ingredients
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 1/3 cup of Woody Lodge “Black Pearl” wine
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of Woody Lodge “Black Pearl” wine
Directions
- In a deep, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, caramelize sugar on medium-high heat, without stirring, until it turns golden.
- Once the caramel is ready, remove from the heat, and carefully add the 1/3 cup of wine. Caramel will harden, but put it back on the heat until the caramel dissolves again.
- Remove from the heat, and carefully add the heavy whipping cream.
- Put back on the heat for about 6 minutes, until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from the heat and add the two tablespoons of butter cut up in pieces.
- Let the sauce cool, and pour in a clean jar. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use. It can be poured over the torte warm or at room temperature.
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