Looking for a Speical Dessert? Try Walnut Mocha Torte With Mocha Frosting

German-style with ground walnuts and a mocha whipped cream frosting. Ground walnuts and whipped eggs give this torte a light, rich texture with little flour. The mocha whipped cream frosting tastes like a coffeehouse dessert but stays airy. You can bake the layers ahead and freeze them, then add the frosting later. Happy Valentine’s! Here’s a special treat that would be perfect for the day of hearts: a German-styletorte, a layered cake made with ground walnuts, whipped eggs, sugar and breadcrumbs, frosted with a light, mocha flavored whipping cream frosting. The recipe comes from my friend Gabriele, who has been making it as her go-to special occasion cake for her family for 30 years. The cake is almost flourless, having only 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, and has a lovely texture from the ground walnuts and whipped eggs. To make the mocha frosting, you start with a base of strong coffee (I use decaf and double the amount of coffee I would normally use for drinking), sugar, some cornstarch, and a few chocolate chips. These ingredients are simmered until thick, then cooled and folded in with stiffly whipped cream. The result is a light, creamy frosting with a lovely chocolate coffee mocha flavor. The original recipe is a clipping that a friend of Gabi’s gave her years ago. I investigated the clipping and found that the recipe was published in a local newspaper in the late 70s as part of a menu celebrating the opening of theJohn Steinbeck Centerin Salinas, California. The original clipping instructions are rather sparse, so I’ve elaborated here to help ensure that you have a successful result if you make the recipe. It’s actually much easier than it looks at first blush, but it does require some baking skill around whipping egg whites and gently folding things

German-style with ground walnuts and a mocha whipped cream frosting.