Goat Cheese Torte Meets Cherries

This is one of those rare “cakes” that swings easily from sweet to savory — comfortable before, during, or after the meal. Our family friend, Sarah (close pal of daughter #1), first brought this torte to a dinner party to accompany Winter Vegetable Stew. It was a cold, wintery evening, and the torte was the perfect compliment to the rustic soup. When Sarah and I set out to make it again for Kitchenelly, we decided to spin it to the sweet side, and top it with cherries (fresh from Oregon, jammed into my suitcase). It complied convincingly. And last night I made it as an appetizer. I sprinkled the batter with thinly sliced shallots before baking. Once again, a stand-out with the prosecco. You want this in your repertoire, just like that little dress in your wardrobe that works for a barbecue and a fancy cocktail party (speaking from a woman’s point of view, of course).

This post introduces Sarah, who will be writing for Kitchenelly when she isn’t crushing grapes or cooking from the wonderful bounty up in Napa Valley where she’ll be working through the Fall. She is a recent college graduate and fantastic baker — Sarah has been baking since she could reach the counter. She’ll bring a lot to Kitchenelly and I’m looking forward to her posts.

Goat Cheese Torte | 8 to 12 servings, depending

This goes together so quickly and is so easy, yet it has an elegant and sophisticated flavor. Feel free to cut back on the sugar if you want it a little less sweet. Sarah’s recipe is inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s from her beautiful book, Around My French Table.

8 ounce “log” of soft goat cheese
1/2 pound fresh cherries
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
The leaves of a 6-inch spring fresh thyme
Butter for the pan
Flour for the pan
5 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Remove the goat cheese from the refrigerator to soften at room temperature.

Pit and halve the cherries and place in a bowl.

Toss with the balsamic vinegar and thyme leaves and set aside until needed.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Very generously butter an 8-inch round cake pan, and then coat lightly with flour.

Separate the eggs.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the goat cheese, egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and beat until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue beating a minute or so more, until stiff peaks form and the whites are shiny. With a spatula, stir 1/3 of the whites into the cheese and egg batter. Scrape the remaining 2/3 of the whites onto the batter and fold in gently.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake on the middle rack at 400°F, without opening the oven, for 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 350°F and cook another 25 to 30 minutes, or until well-browned on top and cracking. The cake will puff up while baking, but settle as it cools. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes and then turn the cake out onto a plate, turning top side up.

Make sure to put this little torte in your wardrobe repertoire to pull out for any event — it’s a keeper.

Kelly McCune © 2011

 

Tagged as: Appetizers, Cheese, Dessert