I’ll be the first one to admit that not every gluten-free dessert is a taste sensation. Oftentimes, they are dry and crumbly, bland and blah. That was not the case with the raspberry almond torte I baked tonight, though.
We cooked for my parents today, mostly just because but also because they took such good care of the cat while we spent a few days at the beach a couple of weeks ago. It was a really wonderful meal that we kept simple so that we could just enjoy being together and not spend the whole day in the kitchen (the grill … oh, how I love a grill meal).
I finally made the crushed pea spread that I’ve been drooling over for weeks and I was right to drool so shamelessly — the combination of sweet peas, goat cheese, tahini, lemon juice, fresh mint and scallions was perfection. I served it with baguette and fresh radish slices and shaved pecorino romano cheese.
For dinner, we marinated a black angus flank steak in an orange soy marinade, grilled some romaine hearts and red potato slices and served some green and yellow beans with poppy seed dressing alongside the grilled mishmash.
Instead of making my go-to zucchini chocolate chip cookies, I was torn between the orange almond flan and the raspberry almond torte for dessert. So you’ve read the title of this post and know which dessert came out the winner, but what I haven’t yet told you was just how delicious it was. We served it with some homemade vanilla coconut milk ice cream with a good portion of Greek yogurt blended in … divine. Here’s the clincher — my dad, my very hard-to-please, dessert-hating chef of a dad said that he could have eaten the entire half of the torte that was left over. That, my friends, is better than the five-year-old seal of approval (which, by the way, I also got in spades).
Now don’t go reading anything Freudian into this. If any of you know me (including my dad who’s probably reading this only because my mother forwarded to him), you know that seeking my father’s approval has never been a big priority for me. I was the fresh, defiant kid (I know, hard to believe) who would go toe-to-toe with my hot-tempered dad when the other siblings would run for the hills to avoid the frothing spittle spewing from his lips. Thankfully, he’s mellowed a lot since then and so have I, and although I’m happy my dad enjoyed the torte, I would love it no matter what.
It was very easy to make, it’s gluten-free and has very little sugar in it (and even then it’s unrefined sugar and maple syrup) and it’s almost pretty. Sure, it could have done with a layer of chocolate (couldn’t everything?) but it was a relatively awesome dessert that topped off this summer meal perfectly. Don’t hold its gluten-free vegan-ness against it — it’s a wonderful torte.
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Aug 07, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
