Editor's Choice
Carrot-almond treat made in food processor

This looked like an interesting recipe: Carrot-Almond Torte from A.G. Ferrari Foods in Berkeley, Calif., as printed in the February edition of Gourmet magazine.

And it was, in fact, worth trying: no butter or flour, just finely ground almonds and carrots in a perfectly moist cake with just enough sweetness and almost-crunchy texture.

This torte was simple to make, too, with the help of one of the workhorses of the kitchen, the food processor.

While the editors of Gourmet recommended the small teardrop holes on a box grater to shred the carrots, I used a fine shredding disc on the food processor. If you are using the food processor to shred the carrots, do this step after grinding up the almonds so you won’t have to wash the work bowl.

Serve this cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream; actually it was just fine on its own, a cross between carrot cake and carrot bread.

Carrot Almond Torte

• 1/3 cup plus 11/2 tablespoons fine plain dried bread crumbs
• 8 ounces of whole almonds with skins
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound carrots, finely shredded
• 2 tablespoons amber or dark rum
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 11/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and sprinkle bottom and side with 11/2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

In a food processor, pulse the almonds with remaining 1/3 cup bread crumbs until finely ground (do not grind to a paste). Transfer to a small bowl.

Blend together eggs and sugar in food processor until mixture is pale, about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and ground-almond mixture, then pulse until blended.

Spread batter in pan and bake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack. Remove side of pan and transfer to a serving plate.

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