Texas Pecan Torte Recipes

PECAN TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put egg yolks, granulated sugar, zest, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 4 minutes. Fold in pecans.
• Beat whites in a clean mixing bowl until stiff peaks form; fold into yolk mixture. Pour into a 10-inch springform pan.
• Bake until golden brown, about 1 hour (if top browns too quickly, tent with foil). Let cool on a wire rack 30 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Let cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with curd and berries; garnish with zest.

PECAN TORTE

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and lemon-colored, about 5-6 minutes. Combine pecans and bread crumbs; stir into yolk mixture with vanilla. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Divide evenly among three greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until cakes test done. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. For frosting, combine milk and cornstarch in a saucepan until well blended. Add chocolate chips. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Cool to room temperature. In a bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate mixture; beat until fluffy. Spread between cooled cake layers. Frost top and sides. Garnish with pecans if desired.

PECAN-APRICOT TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Toast pecans for 5 to 6 minutes, or until they release their aroma. Cool completely, and grind to a fine powder. Place in a bowl; combine with flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks with half the granulated sugar until mixture is thick and pale and holds a 1-second ribbon. Beat in vanilla, and set aside.
• In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Add remaining sugar; beat until stiff peaks form again.
• Stir 1 cup of the whites into yolk mixture. Place a quarter of remaining whites on top, and sprinkle with a quarter of the flour-nut mixture. Fold in quickly. Repeat until both flour and whites are used up. Turn batter into pan, and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold.
• When cake is completely cool, invert and split into two layers with a serrated knife. Warm preserves; spoon 1 1/2 cups onto bottom layer. Replace top layer. Strain remaining preserves, and brush onto sides. Decorate cake with confectioners' sugar. Note: To make a chunkier preserve filling, simmer 1/2 cup dried apricots cut in pieces in water until soft, and add to warm preserves.

TEXAS GLAZED PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg in a bowl until frothy; whisk the water and vanilla into the egg. Stir the sugar, cinnamon, and salt into the egg mixture. Add the pecans; stir to coat completely. Spread the pecans onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Roast the pecans in the preheated oven, stirring about every 15 minutes, until the coating forms a glaze, about 1 hour. Allow to cool on the baking sheet at least 10 minutes before serving.

TEXAS TORTE

Steps:

• Stir together first 4 ingredients; stir in chilies and cheeses. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11 x 17 inch baking dish.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until set. Cool and cut into squares.

TEXAS PECAN PIE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add cold water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. , Roll out dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer crust to pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Sprinkle with pecans; set aside., In a small bowl, beat the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until well blended. Pour over pecans. , Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes our clean. Cool on a wire rack.

TEXAS PECAN TORTE

Steps:

• Chop pecans very finely in a blender, 1 cup at a time. Beat egg yolks until light and beat in sugar, flour, salt, 2 tablespoons rum, and nuts. Set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the nut mixture. Pour into 3 (8-inch) or 2 (10-inch) layer cake pans, buttered and lined with waxed paper. Bake for 25 minutes in 350° oven. Allow to cool. (May be kept overnight.) A few hours before serving time, whip cream with powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of rum. Spread filling between layers. Melt chocolate chips, fold in sour cream, and spread over the cake for icing.

TEXAS PRALINE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease just the bottom of a 10 inch tube pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 cup brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla. Dissolve the coffee crystals in water, and stir into the creamed mixture until blended. Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; stir into the batter until just incorporated. Fold in pecans. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
• Bake for about 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack.
• In a chilled bowl, stir together the heavy cream, salt, vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar so that the sugar is dissolved. Whip using chilled beaters until stiff. Run a knife around the outer edge of the cake in the pan, and tap it out onto a serving plate. Make sure cake is completely cool before frosting. Decorate with pecan halves if you like.

TEXAS PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan or bundt pan.
• Cream butter in a large mixing bowl; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Sift 3 1/2 cups flour and baking powder together, reserving 1/2 cup flour.
• Gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with lemon extract, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
• Beat well after each addition (the batter will be quite thick).
• Dredge pecans and raisins in remaining 1/2 cup flour; stir into batter.
• Spoon batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 3/4 hours or until cake tests done with a toothpick.
• Cool in pan 15 minutes.
• Turn out onto cooling rack and let cool completely before serving.

TOASTED PECAN TORTE WITH BUTTERSCOTCH TOPPING

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour pan. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until slightly darkened in color and fragrant, 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
• Pulse baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 cups flour, and 2 1/2 cups pecans in a food processor until nuts are finely ground. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat granulated sugar, orange zest, and 1 cup butter in a large bowl, scraping down sides, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs to bowl. Beat until combined and mixture is even fluffier, about 1 minute. Beat in 3 Tbsp. rum; stop mixer and add dry ingredients. Mix on low speed just until combined, then fold a few times with a rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, to ensure batter is evenly mixed. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
• Bake torte until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let torte cool in pan.
• Meanwhile, bring brown sugar, 1/2 cup cream, remaining 1/4 cup butter, and remaining 1 Tbsp. rum to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove butterscotch from heat and stir in remaining 3/4 tsp. salt. Mix in remaining 2 cups pecans and let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally,until butterscotch is cool but still pourable.
• Spread topping over torte. Whisk remaining 1 cup cream in a large bowl to medium peaks. Serve torte topped with dollops of whipped cream.
• Do Ahead
• Topping (without pecans) can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Reheat over low before mixing in the nuts. Torte can be baked 1 day ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.