Bavarian Apple Torte...

Way back in the 80's...(some of you remember those years)...my husband gave me a Cuisinart Food Processor. Believe me, it was a hot item for cooks when it first came out! A good friend of mine, Rhonda, had also just gotten one so off we went to the free class at the kitchen store to show us all the amazing culinary delights we could now make with our new machines.

There she is, old but faithful...

Along with the demonstration on the all the blades and options, the instructor actually made a couple of food items for us to taste. One of them was a Bavarian Apple Torte. The apple torte was just the right combination of flaky crust, creamy filling, bite of apple, topped with cinnamon sugar and....almonds, my favorite!

Fast forward almost 30 years later and I'm still making this recipe with my Cuisinart....yep, the original 1980's model. My work bowl is scratched and has a few little cracks...has been glued together once...but it is still working just fine. As you can see, the recipe is old school, typed on a typewriter, and is very stained and water damaged...as all old recipes that are frequently used are! In looking through my mom's old cookbooks, I can always tell which recipes she made over and over because of the stained and tattered pages. Will there be baking in heaven? I sure hope so...would dearly love to bake with my mama again.

The apple torte is always a hit so it is rewarding to spend the time it takes to put it all together. The recipe is geared for a food processor, but could easily be made with a good mixer as well. I'll show you the conventional way of making it...and then a way to make it even prettier.

Bavarian Apple Torte

Crust: 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup flour

Filling: 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs-separated, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping: 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 cup sliced almonds

3 to 4 tart apples

With steel knife insert in Cuisinart, put the egg whites in the work bowl and turn machine on. After 8 seconds, pour the lemon juice through the feed tube and process for about 1 minute 15 seconds, or until the egg whites are whipped and hold their shape. With a rubber spatula, transfer the egg whites to a mixing bowl. 

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Blend in flour using the Pulse tab. Spread dough onto bottom and 1 inch side of 9" spring form pan.

Combine cream cheese and sugar. Scrape the sides of work bowl once. Add egg  yolks and vanilla, process for about 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape sides of bowl. Spoon the whipped egg whites into the mixture in a ring. Turn the machine on and off 3 times, until the egg whites are just mixed in. Some streaks of white may be visible; do not over process. Pour into pastry lined pan.

Arrange sliced apples (can leave skin on) over cream cheese layer. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and almonds.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake for 25 minutes more. Cool and remove from pan. 

Pastry dough pressed in 9" springform pan...

Filling and apples added...

Cinnamon sugar and almonds added...

The finished product!

Isn't that a pretty apple torte? Though it is called a Bavarian torte, it always reminds me of the pastries I once ate in France. Maybe I should rename it! Of course, I could always say it is a Norwegian torte, as many good pastries are. Anyway, I promised you another way to make this even prettier...

Yep...shape the apple slices like roses! I apologize for the poor photo...I took this in the clinic lunch room where I work on call with my old phone.  But you get the idea...:).

Eating apples so often these days has made me think of Psalm 17:8, "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Isn't that beautiful? May you be kept as the apple of His eye this weekend as you take in all the fall beauty around you. Warmly, Gracia