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Heguenot Torte of Charleston

But really, it's an Apple Nut Torte

By John Martin Taylor

Feb 2, 2023

Lightly grease a 9-inch round springform pan and lightly dust with flour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. The water will help create the crusty top that is a defining characteristic of the pudding.

Finely grind the cup of nuts in a food processor, working in quick bursts so as not to render them oily. Remove the nuts from the work bowl and add the apple pieces. Chop by pulsing quickly until the apple is uniformly, finely chopped.

Warm the bowl of an electric mixer. This is an important step because the warmer the bowl, the more easily the eggs will increase in volume. I place a stainless steel mixer bowl in the sink, place the eggs in their shell in the bowl, and fill the bowl with hot tap water. When I’m ready to beat the eggs, I dry off the eggs and the bowl, and I also keep a small torch (otherwise used for caramelizing sugar, such as on crème brûlée) handy to heat the bowl as it spins around.

Separate the yolk from one of the eggs and set the white aside. Break two of the eggs into the mixer bowl, add the yolk, and beat them on high speed until doubled in volume. It may take as long as 10 minutes if your mixer is an old hand-me-down like mine. Slowly add the 7/8 cup sugar and continue beating until tripled in volume. The eggs should be very thick and lightly colored.

The Ingredients

— ½ cup all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting the pan
— 1 cup pecans or a mix of pecans, walnuts and black walnuts, plus 8 perfect pecan halves
— 1 large, firm apple, peeled, cored, and cut up
— 3 eggs, at room temperature
— 7/8 cup sugar, plus one tablespoon more for the pecans
— ½ cup heavy cream
— Bourbon or aged rum

Sift the flour over the egg mixture, sprinkle the ground nuts all around, then the apples. Fold the mixture together gently but rapidly, making sure that you get all the ingredients off the bottom of the bowl mixed thoroughly into the mixture. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and the sides have begun to pull away from the pan. Don’t push on the meringuelike top or it may cave in. Place on a rack in a draft-free place and allow the cake to cool completely.

Lightly toast the perfect pecan halves in a skillet or oven, then, while they are hot, dip them in water then roll them in a tablespoon of sugar. OR you may beat the reserved egg white until foamy throughout, add the cooled pecan halves to the whites and toss until well coated, drain them in a sieve, then roll the nuts one at a time in the reserved sugar. Let them dry on a rack or paper towel.

When the cake is perfectly cool, undo the clasp on the pan and place the torte on a serving platter. You can leave the torte on the bottom of the pan or remove it, in which case you’ll need to run a long thin blade such as an icing spreader under the cake to loosen it from the pan.

Whip the cream loosely stiff, adding a bit of bourbon or aged rum, if desired. Place 8 dollops of the cream around the cake. Garnish each dollop with a sugared nut and serve immediately with a shot glass of bourbon or aged rum neat.

Makes 8 servings.