Grandmom Dula's "Grilijas Torta"

This recipe is a way overdue! But better late than never! This cake (Torta) is special to me for so many reasons. First, I should say that I am not a sweet-tooth person at all(I know, I even don't like
ice - cream  that much) and especially not a cake lover. However this is different! This cake is loaded with MY FAVORITE nut - WALNUT therefore all the love. There is close to zero flour here so it is almost a gluten free cake if that is what is important to you. It uses grounded walnut-sugar caramel (Grilijas) hence the name GRILIJAS TORTA instead of flour. But above all this is the cake that me and my brother grew up with! Birthday comes my mom would bake this cake for us. Wedding or any celebrations comes chances were my mom would be making this cake. This literally became a tradition in our house, as I am doing the same with my two girls. They love it, I love it, even my husband who does not eat cakes eats this one. It is a little tricky to make and while, so far I was not able to make it like my mom, I got pretty good at it over the time. This being my mom's recipe all the measures are metric.

Make Grilijas:
150 g sugar caramelize and then add 200 g ground walnuts, stir well to combine and quickly spread it out on oiled parchment paper in a thin layer. When Grilias is cold grind it (I do it in a food processor, but whatever works for you, it works) until you get fine mass resembling cornmeal.It takes seconds in a food processor.

Preheat oven to 200 C

Make Crust:
Beat 10 egg whites with an electric mixer and add 150 g sugar (I always reduce this to 100 g) then add 10 egg yolks and beat more. At the end add 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons ground plain vanilla biscuits. In a big bowl combine it with the Grilijas you made before. Bake 4 thin crusts in a round pen (my pens are 9in). Make sure you grease well both the pan and the parchment paper before pouring the dough in.
Bake on 200 C for no more than 8 minutes, but check on yours as every oven is different. You do not want dry crust. These crusts are very delicate so you need to be very patient when removing parchment paper off of them. Let the crusts cool on a table cover with tablecloth. In a meantime make a filling.

Make Filling:
 3-4 whole eggs beat with 200 g sugar (again I reduce this to 150 g). Cook in a double boiler over boiling water until the cream is hard enough so it does not run over. It takes me  20-30 minutes but check yours. Spoon a little amount of the filling on a saucer and let it cool; if you can turn the saucer upside down without spilling it - it is done. While you want your filling to be cooked you don't  want to overcook it either. Let the filling cool completely, then add 150 g melted good quality, dark chocolate.

While the filling is cooling down, with an electric mixer beat up 200 g butter until fluffy. Add the butter to cold filling and combine it well.

Assemble the cake: Layer one crust on a cake platter and spread just enough of filling to cover it, no thicker than 1cm otherwise you wont have enough filling to finish the cake. (Note: If you like more filling you need to increase the ingredients for filling. However, you do not need much, this is a different, very rich cake loaded with nuts; the crust should really feel moist by itself already.) Continue the process until all the crust is used. Finish with the filling. Decorate to your desire and according to occasion and season. Fresh raspberries, dried wild blueberries, fresh edible flowers and candy are some ideas that I tried! Give the cake a few ours if not overnight (by the time you are done baking it chances are it will be night time) for flavors to blend before serving it. It will also be easier to cut it.

 Cut  into thin layers and I highly recommend to serve the Torte with (black) Turkish coffee.