"It is amazingly delicious," Betty Burgess says of the apple torte she traditionally gives at holiday time. "It tastes like it's very difficult to make, but anybody could do it."
The tradition of baking the torte as a gift, she says, began years ago when someone did the same for her. "The great thing is that you're giving the pan and the recipe along with it," she says. "You're setting someone up to start the same tradition."
Nearly any kind of pie or tart dish will work, but Burgess likes to bake hers in a simple stainless-steel tart tin with a removable bottom. "I like a really low profile -- I think it's better a little thinner and more delicate," she says. She often presents it in a transparent cellophane bag with a raffia tie. And to make the gift extra-special, she suggests including a selection of coffees and teas or a good bottle of Champagne.
APPLE TORTE
Yield: 1 9-inch torte
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add flour and beat until combined. Press crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Spread cheese mixture evenly over crust.
4. Toss apples with remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Arrange apples over cream cheese filling.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400° and continue baking for 25 minutes. Sprinkle almonds over torte. Continue baking until lightly browned. Cool before removing
from pan.
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