Winter Fruit Torte

This recipe, from the Bread and Beauty cookbook, celebrates the simple and subtle flavors of winter fruit. All 120 recipes in the book are arranged by season, reflecting the way local food is available and when it is most delicious. Each chapter includes profiles of the farmers, producers, and people who make the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve an active and meaningful place, along with essays on the Reserve's issues and history.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced

• 1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, and sliced

• 3 TBSP white sugar

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• ¼ cup sweet white wine

Cake

• 2 cups white flour

• 2 ½ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 11 TBSP unsalted butter

• ¾ cup white sugar

• 3 eggs

• 10 TBSP sweet wine

Preheat oven to 325˚F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch springform cake pan. Wrap it in foil or set it on a jelly roll pan to catch any leaks. Set aside.

To make the filling, toss the fruit slices with the sugar, cream, and wine. Set aside.

To make the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fully blended. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl to make sure they are completely incorporated. Fold in half of the flour mixture, then blend in the wine, and then the remaining flour to make a smooth batter.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan and spread the fruit mixture and some of its liquid on top. Spoon the remaining batter as evenly as possible on top (it will smooth and expand as the cake bakes) and trickle on the remaining cream.

Bake for one and a half hours, until the cake is risen, browned, and a cake tester comes out clean. Run a knife between the cake and the pan to loosen the cake.

Let it cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes and then unmold.