Cake mixing sequence???

[RavaIdli]

I'm hoping more experienced bakers can advise me.
Since I bake cakes only 2 or 3 times a year, I'm always a little uncertain with more unusual cakes. This is a "mohntorte", a flourless poppy seed cake. The recipe comes from the New York Times:
http://events.nytimes.com/recipes/571...

The ingredients are prepared in 3 parts:
- whipped egg whites & sugar
- creamed butter, sugar, flavorings & egg yolks
- mixture of poppy seed, almond meal, crumbs, spices, baking powder.

My question concerns combining the 3. The instructions say to fold the egg whites into the butter & sugar mixture, then fold in the (heavy) poppy seed nut mixture. Won't this cause the egg whites to deflate terribly? Would it make more sense to add them last?

This is a favorite of my 83-year old mother & I want it to come out right for her birthday!

[sunshine842]

I'm not the expert, but to my mind, you'd cream the butter, sugar, flavorings, and egg yolks, mix in the (combined) dry ingredients, then fold the egg whites into them from there (fold a "sacrificial" spoonful or two of egg white into the mixture first to lighten it, so it doesn't kill *all* your egg whites)

I'll bow to the pros, but I have similar recipes that follow this procedure.

[RavaIdli]

Thanks, I'll try it that way. Sacrificial egg whites it is for my mother....

[bushwickgirl]

The recipe calls for adding sugar to the whites while whipping, essentially making a meringue. This action will help to stabilize the whites more than they'd be without sugar. As sunshine 842 posted, lighten the egg white/egg yolk with a few good spoonfuls (like mixing spoon size) first, then add the rest of the poppy seed mix. Fold gently, over first, then under, until the batter is just basically blended; do not over mix. Alternatively you can add the poppy seed mix in thirds to the egg, just make sure you don't over mix if you use this technique.

This torte is not an angel food cake that relies on the loft of whipped whites, sugar and cake flour for it's delicate texture, this torte will be more dense, but it's very tasty (I've made this cake). I understand your thought about the logic of adding the whites to the yolks, then adding the poppy seed mixture, but it works. The poppy seed mix is fairly fine textured and not very moist, and folds in pretty easily.

Btw, the recipe doesn't specify what type of breadcrumb; they should be dry. I dusted the buttered mold with breadcrumbs as well, not with the flour the recipe suggests; it's a bit more authentic.

Good luck. Let us know how your mom likes it.

[RavaIdli]

The mohntorte came out really well! Everyone liked it--even people (like me, I confess) who don't like poppyseed. Since that's all I had, I used whole wheat bread crumbs, and tried carefully not to over mix. The cake didn't rise a lot, but it filled the pan and the texture was nice & moist, not heavy at all. I hope she'll enjoy it again for an 84th or 85th even. (Or perhaps I'll even try something more adventurous.) Thanks for your advice!

[bushwickgirl]

Good to hear, and may your mom enjoy this cake for years to come.