Ingredients
1½ cups whole raw almonds plus 12 almonds for decoration
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground corn meal
1 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks of butter
2 eggs yolks
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a food processor, place the almonds, and process until the almonds resembles coarse sand. Place in a large bowl.
3. Add the flour, corn meal and sugar. Mix together. Add the butter, and, working with your hands break, the butter up into little pieces. Mix with the dry ingredients until it starts to look like wet sand. The mixture should be loose and not a cohesive mass.
4. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated.
4b. The dough should be loose and crumbly.
5. Let the dough crumble and fall out of your hands like it is raining dough into a 11-inch, removable-bottom tart pan. Do not press the dough down into the pan; this is imperative to keep the crumbly texture.
5b. Decorate the top of the torte with the 12 almonds.
6. Bake at 350º F oven for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the torte from the oven and cool completely in the pan.
7. To serve, remove the torte from the tart pan and place on a platter. The torte should not be cut rather broken into piece with your hands. Enjoy!
TIPS & TRICKS
• This torta makes a wonderful dessert or van equally be enjoyed for breakfast.
• Can be made a week in advance. Store it in a large zip lock bag.
