Pastel de Café / Coffee Torte

Almanaque Dulce, 1954. Obsequio de la Union Nacional de Productores de Azucar, S.A. de C.V.

This recipe came from the 1954 Almanaque Dulce, an annual publication of the Obsequio de la Unio Nacional de Productores de Azucar. Issues of the Almanaque Dulce include a variety of recipes for sweets, and have wonderful cover illustrations. I picked out this issue because I couldn’t resist the picture on the cover.

Pastel de Café

2 cucharadas de café puro
2 cucharadas de agua caliente
¾ de taza de agua fría
3 huevos
¾ de taza de azúcar
¾ de taza de harina
1 cucharadita de royal
¼ de cucharadita de sal

Manera de Hacerse:
Mézclese el café con el agua, se añaden las yemas de huevo y se baten hasta ponerse ligerito, se agrega el azúcar lentamente y se bate durante cinco minutos. Se cierne el harina junto con el royal y la sal, se añade a la primera mezcla, las claras se baten bien y se incorporan, se vacía la pasta en un molde alargado y sin engrasar, se mete al horno moderado durante 40 minutos. Inviértes el pan en el molde y déjese así hasta que se enfrie

Coffee Torte

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coffee
2 tablespoons hot water
¾ cup cold water
3 eggs [separated]
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Mix the coffee with the water, add the egg yolks and beat until light. Slowly add the sugar and beat for five minutes. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt, add to first mixture. Beat the egg whites well and add to the batter. Pour the batter into an ungreased rectangular baking pan and bake in a moderate oven for 40 minutes. Invert the torte in the baking pan and allow it to cool.

In the Kitchen…

For this recipe, I used two tablespoons of espresso to make the batter, and beat the egg whites to form soft peaks before folding it into the batter gently. Though the recipe calls for an ungreased pan, I did coat the pan with shortening before adding the batter. This may not be necessary, but I didn’t want to risk spending the evening prying tort out of a baking pan.

I baked it at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes, and dusted the top with some cocoa powder for presentation. You could also dust it with cinnamon, if you prefer, but I wouldn’t recommend powdered sugar, since the cake is already very sweet.

This cake had a great, subtle coffee flavor, but it was a bit chewy and grainy while it was still warm. The texture improved after chilling overnight, so you may want to make it the day before, and store it in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photographs because of technical difficulties, but it looked nice on a plate once it was dusted.