Apple Cheese Torte

This is a dessert I shared with our new neighbors M & D just before we left home and moved aboard. I wish I had taken the time to prepare it last night when N & L came by for an evening visit. But I didn't. Instead I filled my morning in the boatyard with fiddly little projects, then we relaunched around noon and brought the boat back to the moorage. One busy thing followed another and I ran drove to the store to buy dessert instead of baking. We enjoyed the purchased cheesecake, but Oh My! my tastebuds craved another slice of that apple creation instead.  

Apple Cheese Torte offers a decadent layering of spiced apples over a creamy custard encased in a shortbread crust. Top that with a sprinkling of sliced almonds and you have something wonderful, the kind of dessert where you want more than one thin wedge. Any one of the layers would be tasty enough by itself; I'm especially fond of the shortbread crust and RL prefers the custardy apple filling. Give it a try and see what you think.

The recipe comes from an old Jr. League cookbook that sports a sturdy, practical design. It stands up by itself and both cover and pages are nearly stainproof and spatterproof. That's a bonus in my galley.

Apple Cheese Torte

Recipe from "Applehood and Motherpie",  by the Junior League of Rochester NY, 1981

Yield: 9-inch torte

Crust

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

Filling

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

¼ cup sugar

1-teaspoon vanilla (or a mix of vanilla & almond extract)

1 egg

5 to 6 baking apples, peeled and thinly sliced (or 4 really big ones)

1-teaspoon cinnamon

sprinkle of lemon juice

¼ cup sliced almonds

Crust

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. (Use a mixer or food processor.)
2. Add vanilla and flour. Blend well.
3. Press mixture into the bottom and three-quarters of the way up the sides of an 8-or-9-inch springform pan.

Filling

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. 
2. Beat cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, vanilla and egg. Pour evenly over the crust.
3. Combine sliced apples with sugar, cinnamon and a little lemon juice. Toss to mix well.
4. Pour apple mixture over top of cheese mixture and sprinkle with sliced almonds*. 
5. Using a spoon, push crust down on sides even with apples. Place the pan on a center rack in the preheated 450 F oven and bake as directed below.
6. Serve warm or refrigerated. (But let it set up for several minutes before removing the ring.) 

Temperature: 450 F

Time: 10 minutes, then

Temperature: 400 F

Time: 25 minutes

Baking and Serving Notes: 

• *Sliced almonds tend to burn at high temp, so you might wait and add them after you reduce the oven temperature to 400 F.
• Springform pans often leak, and this can be a juicy torte before it sets up, so place a baking sheet lined with foil on the rack below to catch any drips. You'll thank me for this tip when it is time to clean up.
• RL thinks it’s especially good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside, and I’m fond of a spoon of soft-whipped cream, but this dessert looks tempting and tastes terrific all by itself.

Any day now...

Yes, any day now I'll return to cooking real meals. We moved back on board the boat and this week has been full of grabbing a snack or dining out. Not that I haven't been busy in the galley, oh no. I've emptied shelves, inventoried stores, cleaned refrigerator, freezer and cabinets and had all kinds of food-related fun. The sourdough pot sits neglected on the shelf, tempting me to at least bake a loaf or make some pancakes. Instead we breakfast on fruit and cereal, and lunch on salads or fruit with crackers and cheese. A&W, Boston Pizza and the Riptide Marine Pub have provided filling dinners on the nights we didn't skip dinner and fall into bed too tired to eat. I did cook assemble a dinner of ramen with a vegetable stir fry topping, and another night we ate popcorn with Parmesan for dinner, but there are no photos to prove that I ever heated a burner or even turned on the microwave. 

The boat will be hauled out later today and we'll be living aboard on dry land for several days. That always adds a few new wrinkles to managing life on the boat. Maybe I can come up with a batch of yummy cookies for the shipyard crew as well as a cooked meal or two for the captain.

Back in the galley soon - see you then.