Browned Butter Almond Torte with Cherry Sauce

Sadly I haven't got a picture of the stunning cherry sauce that accompanies this cake. The sauce was the entire reason I made this recipe in the first place. I was searching for a sweet way to use some beautiful Bing cherries I bought. And I thought I'd try a torte. I'd never made one before. Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines a torte as a "cake made with many eggs and often grated nuts...". Sounds right. This cake contains ground almonds (and a little flour) and is leavened by egg whites. What makes it even more interesting is the addition of nutty browned butter. It was light and aromatic and moist. Quite incredible. And then the chunky cherry sauce made it extra special. I even went a step further and served it warm with a scoop of honey vanilla ice cream (recipe forthcoming).

A note (or two): The original recipe calls for sour cherries, which I couldn't find. I used sweet cherries and reduced the sugar in the sauce. Simple fix. Second, take care to not overcook the cake. I found that mine was perfectly done after 25 minutes (although my oven is somewhat hyperactive). Super moist always beats out dry. And one last thing- while this dessert can be served at room temperature, I found that it was most irresistible still warm.

Browned Butter Almond Torte with Cherry Sauce

INGREDIENTS
Browned Butter Almond Torte:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 oz. blanched almonds (I used sliced almonds) or almond flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar, divided
3/4 tsp. salt
6 large egg whites
1/3 cup sliced almonds
powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Cherry Sauce:
3 cups Bing cherries, halved and pitted
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch + 1 Tbsp. water

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat and continue to heat until golden brown with nutlike fragrance. (Bottom of pan will be covered with brown specks.) Cool butter to warm and stir in vanilla.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan, knocking out excess flour.

3. In a food processor finely grind almonds with flour, 2/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt until they hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/3 cup sugar gradually, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks. Fold in nut mixture gently but thoroughly. Fold in butter gently but thoroughly (batter will deflate) and spread in pan.

5. Sprinkle top of batter evenly with sliced almonds and bake torte in middle of oven 25-30 minutes, or until it begins to pull away from side of pan and a tester comes out clean. Cool torte in pan on a rack 15 minutes and invert onto rack. Flip torte right side up and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving (optional).

6. To make the cherry sauce, bring cherries, sugar, and water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to sauce, stirring. Simmer sauce about 5 minutes. For a thicker chunky sauce, partly blend in food processor or with immersion blender. Cool slightly before serving over torte. (Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring sauce to room temperature before serving.)

Makes a 9-inch round torte.

(Adapted from Gourmet)