Gotta do what it takes to keep the handy man happy.
The water heater blew up at WildSnow HQ. Lou dug into his trove of ten thousand skills and hooked up a new one. Even though he got to use his torch, I knew he’d rather be soldering on our jeep instead of copper water pipes. And when I heard something burst, followed by the sound of spraying water accompanied with certain well known words, I knew I’d better dig through my recipes and produce something sweet to ease the pain.
The work should equal the reward.
Lou scarfed the torte — the whole torte — a lot faster than he fixed the water heater. Perhaps Julia Child was whispering in his ear, “Everything in moderation… including moderation.”
Zwetschge Torte (Swiss German for plum tart)
Dough
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups flour
5 tablespoons cold water
3/4 teaspoons salt
Topping
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Plum Filling
2 pounds plums
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
Preheat oven to 425 (adjust for altitude if necessary).
Dough: in food processor, cut butter and margarine. Add rest of ingredients for dough. Pulse until mixture forms a ball. Form dough into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill while preparing topping.
Topping: in food processor, cut butter and pulse with remaining topping ingredients until crumbles begin to form.
Rolling out the dough for a torte or pie is easy using a 'Pie Crust Maker.' Place the dough in the middle of the sleeve, zip closed and roll out. For a 10 inch spring form, roll out a 13 inch crust so there is enough for crimping an edge.
Fit dough into a 10 inch spring form and overlap edges to make rim of torte. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Sprinkle chopped nuts on crust.
Slice plums into thin wedges, about 1/2 inch and toss with cinnamon and sugar. Arrange plums on crust. Crumble the topping dough and sprinkle over plums. Bake until golden brown, 30-40 minutes.
Cool. Sift powdered sugar over torte just before serving.
You can whip this cake out in a jiffy with the right tools. Here are a few that I find indispensable:
Set of 2 – Easy Pie Crust Maker Bag, 11″ and 14″
Kaiser Bakeware Basic Tinplate Nested Springform Pans, Set of 3
Cuisinart DLC-10S Pro Classic 7-Cup Food Processor, White
WildSnow Girl, Lisa Dawson, is the luckiest girl in the world. Also known as Mrs. WildSnow.com, she tests whatever gear she wants. She gives the WildSnow family of websites the feminine voice.
