Well, you must agree, it does look spectacular. But to me the dough sounded too simple, and I wasn't happy with the burned looking edges. So I decided to try another approach. I used a pancake dough that forms the basis of a traditional Hungarian dish, Csusztatott Palacsinta, or rather a variation of it of my own. For the rest I followed the Spanish recipe, using the dulce de leche and finishing it off with the whipped meringue topping. Since I don't usually have much time to spend on niceties, the topping wasn't piped on, I just smeared it on and poked peaks into it with a fork. But those peaks browned nicely, and the torte as a whole was a great success with the family, only remembering that I missed another photo opportunity after even the last crumb was gone.
But the above photo gives you a general idea, and here are my changes:
4 eggs
2 + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup cake flour
4 tablespoons butter
1 jar dulce de leche
ground nuts (I use walnuts)
2 extra egg whites
First I made sure to put out the butter a while earlier to get it to room temperature.
When ready, I separated the eggs, whites in one bowl, yolks in another. I poured the milk in a blender, added the flour and ran it until it got nice and smooth.
I beat them, and when it started to stiffen I added 2 tablespoons of sugar one by one until the mass turned into a nice shiny meringue.
I just exchanged the bowls for the one with the butter, I whipped it quickly until frothy, incorporated the yolks one by one, together with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the 1 teaspoon vanilla. I then added the milk-flour blend, mixed it together well, and then I gently folded the whites into it.
I heated a little oil in a crepe pan, spread a 1/2 inch layer of the frothy mass into a round, and fried it at medium heat until the bottom looked golden when I lifted a corner with a fork. Notice: I only cooked one side of the pancake! The top should look a bit suspiciously undercooked. Then I flipped it frothy side down onto a plate.
While the next pancake was cooking, I spread some dulce de leche on the ready one and I sprinkled a generous amount of ground nuts over it. Flip the next pancake onto this one, frothy side down.
I repeated this process until I used up all the dough.
During the last pancake I beat the extra 2 whites with 3-4 spoonfuls of sugar (to taste) and a bit of vanilla, piled it on top of the torte, and slid it in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes to get the meringue browned on the tips.
Mine was eaten still warm :P - but you can wait for it to cool. I imagine it should be good both ways, although I, too, prefer it warm.
During my search I found another interesting recipe, Torta con le Mele e Dolce de Leche. I think I will try that, too, but I will use choux pastry for it.
