Zirmertorte

[Pongi]

Hi everybody!

Recently a friend asked me about Zirmertorte, a cake she had during a holiday in Sudtirol. According to her description, apparently the cake contained ground nuts (the restaurant owner called it "flour-free") and was topped with red fruits and whipped cream. It was delicious, and my friend would love to know the recipe; but, despite of my endless culinary knowledge I've never heard about it. We googled up the word and found out several restaurants serving it, but no recipe.

Could someone here help us?

TIA!

Pongi

[Carrot Top]

It sounds like a nusstorte simply topped with the toppings you descibe, probably a regional specialty.

There are recipes for nusstortes (made without flour or with very minimal amounts) in Viennese cookbooks...they are made with ground walnuts, almonds, or more rarely, hazelnuts.

The cake itself is so delicious that you don't want a dense buttercream. Sometimes these are filled with cherry or raspberry preserves and covered with a vanilla flavored whipped cream.

Great cake, a classic.

[andiesenji]

Back when I worked in my mother's bakery in the 50s, our Hungarian pastry man made a torte using hazelnut "flour" mixed with sugar and eggwhites beaten just to a froth, then poured into flan rings on a sheet pan so the layers were only about 1/2 inch thick and baked in a slow oven just till set. These were not hard like a meringue.

They were then set aside on a wire rack to dry then were stacked, usually with a filling of some type of jam, thined a bit so it would soak into the cake, or a thin layer of chocolate or pastry cream or a combination in alternating layers.

I haven't thought about these for years. I probably have a recipe somewhere in my old notebooks but it will take me some time to look for it. I know it was very simple, just enough egg whites to hold the dry ingredients together and they were not beaten to the point that they held a peak and they did not rise much, if any, in the oven.

Oh yes, he would make sure the layers were level by dampening the bottom of a cake pan that was slightly smaller than the ring, setting it on top of the batter and giving it a turn and quickly lifting it off.

I had never seen that done when I was in baking school and thought it was an interesting technique. He spoke very little English and had difficulty explaining some of the things he did but was very good at demonstrating.

He also made the best "thousand-layer" pastry I have ever tasted in my entire life. (And have never been able to duplicate.)

It was not a typical puff pastry dough - it contained egg yolks and sugar as well as a little yeast.

In some ways it was somewhat similar to a traditional Danish dough but puffed a lot more.

It was a very tender, melt-in-the-mouth pastry.

[Redsugar]

Prompted by CarrotTop’s intuitively appropriate suggestion for a nusstorte, here is a recipe for Haselnuss Torte – a worthy candidate for your Zirmertorte:

4 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup sugar (generous)

Zest of lemon

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. rum

9 oz. finely ground, skinned toasted hazelnuts

Pinch of allspice

4 Tbs. apricot jam

Hazelnut Whipped Cream:

8 fl. oz. heavy cream, whipped

Confectioners’ sugar, to taste

2 oz. finely ground hazelnuts

Beat yolks & sugar until pale & creamy. Add zest, juice, & rum. Combine hazelnuts w/ spice. Fold into batter w/ stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into buttered, floured 9-inch springform pan.

Bake in preheated 350° F. oven for 30 minutes, or until tests done.

When completely cooled, slice torte into two equal layers. Spread w/ warmed apricot jam. Sandwich together. Cover top w/ hazelnut whipped cream, or simply w/ plain whipped cream. Garnish w/ fresh fruits, or served w/ stewed plums.

[ludja]

Hi everybody!

Recently a friend asked me about Zirmertorte, a cake she had during a holiday in Sudtirol. According to her description, apparently the cake contained ground nuts (the restaurant owner called it "flour-free") and was topped with red fruits and whipped cream.

Pongi

←

Can you get any further description on the "red fruit". If she called it that, it makes me think it was not strawberries... Other fruit I would suspect would be red currants or else 'austrian lignonberries" (I can't remember the name right now in German but it is essentially a lignonberry, i.e. small, tart and similar to a cranberry). They also grows in mountain areas so if this is a regional dessert they might might use these berries.)

I ask for the details b/c even though I can't find something like this in any of my Austrian cookbooks, if I have a better description of the fruit I may be able to get info from my Mom or grandmother.

[ludja]

I looked on Google a little bit too--and as you say, not much out there. Because one of the two hotel/restaurants listed is named "Berghotel Zirmerhof", I wonder if it is a very local or 'house' specialty... i.e. a dessert named after the hotel.

I wonder if contacting the hotel would yield any results?

Else, if we know the 'red fruit' on top, you may be able to make a pretty good approximation as people mentioned above. I wonder what nuts were used? Walnuts, Hazelnuts?... What was the filling like inbetween the layers?

[Peter B Wolf]

I venture to say that this was a 'Haus' version of the "Linzer Torte"

look at: " http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,linzer_torte,FF.html "

LINZER TORTE. Die "Linzer Torte" gilt als die älteste bekannte Torte der Welt. Bereits

seit 1696 wird sie namentlich erwähnt. ... Rezept "Original Linzer Torte"

[ludja]

I venture to say that this was a 'Haus' version of the "Linzer Torte"

look at: " http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,linzer_torte,FF.html "

LINZER TORTE. Die "Linzer Torte" gilt als die älteste bekannte Torte der Welt. Bereits

seit 1696 wird sie namentlich erwähnt. ... Rezept "Original Linzer Torte"

←

Good call; that sounds like a good guess.

It's not too difficult to make--and delicious, so you can only have fun trying it out!

[Redsugar]

At this point in our discussion, I propose that “Zirmer” refers to a legitimate family surname – thus, the cake would be a hotel restaurant or "haus torte," as suspected by both ludja & Peter. (Last evening, I looked up the term ‘zirmer’ in my Collins German-English dictionary and no such spelling was listed.)

However, I do not think it possible for me to agree w/ Peter’s speculation that Zirmertorte may be “a version of the Linzer Torte.” A linzertore is composed of a latticed (ground-nut) crust and jam filling, rather than anything like a fresh-fruit compote or garnish. The linzertorte crust is, moreover, a flour-based one, and the Zirmertorte is specifically described for us as being a flourless cake. (“Linzer” is a derivative of Linz, a city in northern Austria.) Albeit, I concur w/ the remark in Norman Krohn’s Menu Mystique that torte “is a difficult term to pin down with but one definition because it applies to many different types of cakes, as well as filled pies.” So perhaps I should broaden my expectations? :-)

Still, for the time being, I’ll cast my vote for a nusstorte as being the most probable classification for Zirmertorte.

[NulloModo]

This sounds really tasty, and like it would be very easy to lo-carbify without losing much of anything from the original.

Does anyone have a good recipe for a nusstorte, or a set of guidelines then?

[Carrot Top]

Well, okay, NulloModo...I will pass this recipe on but not without warning that once you make and eat a nusstorte you are destined to lust for nusstorte at any odd time for the rest of your life.

Here...

Austrian Walnut Torte Preheat oven to 350 F.

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8 large eggs, separated

3/4 C plus 2T granulated sugar

1 1/4 C walnuts

2 T breadcrumbs (preferably fresh)

1 1/2 T strong-brewed coffee

1 1/2 T rum

1.Line bottoms of three buttered (9" round) cake pans with wax paper or parchment. Butter paper and dust with flour, shake out excess.

2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat egg yolks with 3/4 C granulated sugar till mix is doubled in volume and forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted (about five minutes).

3. In food processor pulse walnuts with remaining 2T granulated sugar till ground fine...but not to a paste.

4. To yolk mixture, fold in walnut mixture, bread crumbs, coffee, and rum.

5. In a separate bowl beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Whisk a large spoonful into yolk mix then fold in remaining whites gently.

6. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or till sides pull away from pans and top springs back when pressed gently.

7. Cool in pans ten minutes then invert to remove gently.

8. Cool completely and fill.

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There are many ways to fill and frost a nusstorte.

You can fill it with preserves, buttercream, fruit, or whipped cream. My favorites are raspberry or apricot preserves or sometimes well-drained chopped sour cherries blended into whipped cream.

Again, frosting is up for grabs, too. Usually I opt for a flavored whipped cream (vanilla, coffee, mocha) as I feel the lightness enhances the torte....

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Go to it, now! Let us know what happens, if it happens....

[Pongi]

Thanks to everybody for your inputs!

I got more info from my friend, and think that her cake was actually a nusstorte - surely not a Linzertorte (I do know it, and it's totally different from what my friend described).

The cake was soft, not crunchy, and was probably made with ground hazelnuts. There was no filling, just a topping: fresh fruit and whipped cream. BTW, the words I used were misleading: I translated as "red fruit" the French "fruits rouges" (the same of the Italian "frutti di bosco") meant as a mix of berries (generally fraises de bois, raspberries, blueberries and red currant) and not some unknown "red" fruit.

So, I'll print out your recipes and give them my friend. Since she is an excellent cook, I'm sure that she'll be able to make it and decide whether or not it's her "Zirmertorte"!

Pongi

[Carrot Top]

So, I'll print out your recipes and give them my friend.

←

How funny... I got so excited by the idea of nusstorte that I didn't realize Redsugar had posted a recipe earlier in the post.

Well...now it is doubly on my mind.

Let us know if nusstorte was 'it', for if not, it is on with the hunt!

[Swisskaese]

I have a recipe for a Cherry Nut Cake. It is a german recipe from that doesn't have flour or baking powder in the recipe.

1 28 cm Springform pan

500g cherries (fresh or frozen. If frozen thaw and drain)

150g soft butter

150g sugar

4 eggs

100g bitter chocolate

200g ground hazelnuts

1 tablespoon icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 28 cm springform pan with butter and sprinkle breadcrumbs, biscuit crumbs or flour in the pan.

Wash the cherries, dry them and remove the stones.

Mix the butter and sugar until fluffy. Separate the eggs. Grate the chocolate. Whip the eggs until stiff. Add the egg yolks to the butter/sugar mixture one at a time. Add the chocolate and hazelnuts and then gently fold in the egg whites.

Place the batter evenly in the pan and evenly distribute the cherries. Place the cake in the preheated oven for approximately 1 hour.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, remove and place on a cake rack to cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

[ludja]

I have a recipe for a Cherry Nut Cake. It is a german recipe from that doesn't have flour or baking powder in the recipe....

...

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Thanks Swisskaese--sounds like a delicious and relatively easy cake to make-- a kind of neat variant on a Schwartzwalderkirsch Torte... I don't think I can wait until fresh cherries are available to try this!