Oily Date Nut Torte?

[kmik]

I made Alissa's date nut torte, and it tasted great, but did I over-process it or something? All the oil seperated :( The directions said to process until fudgy... but that's when the oil started coming out.

[SedonaSun]

Don't know if it's normal or not, but that happened when I made mine, too.

[fiddler]

Hi Kmik,

This happened me tonight on my first attempt at the torte. So, I took a paper towel and went around the edges to soak up the oil. See my pics on other post if you're curious what mine looked like :)

Cheers, gil

[kmik]

Hi Gil,

Not sure what other post you're referring to... but this picture is actually after I soaked a bunch up with a paper towel as well :eek:

[fiddler]

Hi Gil,

Not sure what other post you're referring to... but this picture is actually after I soaked a bunch up with a paper towel as well :eek:

Your other post, try it now... :)
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8316

[kmik]

ah, yes, saw it. I guess I could have disguised mine with raspberries or coconut around the bottom too. Yours looks prettier than mine :)

[fiddler]

:)

Yes, I stole the presentation directly from Alissa's book. I refrigerated mine too immediately after soaking up the oil so maybe that kept any more oil from depositing around the edges? I'm still learning this stuff. In any event, the oil is tasty anyway :)

Your tortes look yummy to me... Did they taste good to you?

Cheers, fiddler

[kmik]

:) Why, yes they did! I thought the coconut would be fun for a little variety. But I love raisins and nuts... so I knew I'd like them. I just need a smaller food processor, cuz it took me forever to process the dates and lemon. It kept splattering on the sides and not getting mixed, so I added more dates, and some water to keep it sliding back down. Fortunately it didn't get too thin.

[fiddler]

Okay, I had made a double recipe so I fortunately did NOT run into that problem. However, I still had to add a bit more lemon juice to get the icing to blend smoothly. I was really surprised at how easy this thing was to prepare.

Cheers, fiddler

[jenna rose]

hmm. i've made the date nut torte 3 times so far and the oil hasn't happened.

it's just the 4 ingredients, right? almonds, raisins, dates and lemon juice?

when i mix the almonds and raisins for the crust, i let it blend well but with chunks, like it didn't mix enough that i couldn't see lots of white pieces from the almonds. in other words, it didn't turn out like a batter mixture.

i need to see if i have any pictures of the ones i made.

[PixieGreen]

It may help if you refrigerate the almonds and raisons before processing. Some fp's run warmer than others, and it takes longer to make in weaker" models so it gets warmer. Mine separated once out of a dozen times, I let it run too long and it heated up.

Christa

[ReneeSC]

I used walnuts the last time, and it happened with them, too. Then again, walnuts are a more-oily nut, aren't they? I just thought it was for that reason, but I wasn't sure. The fp did heat up, though, but I didn't realize it heated up THAT high.
The next time that ever happens, I'm siphoning off the oil and saving it in the refrigerator. Freshly extracted walnut oil is SOOOOO good!

[sweetgoddess]

You definitely overprocessed it!
You need to stop before you see any oil seperating.
Looks pretty regardless. yum!

[SedonaSun]

In my case, the oil didn't separate until after the torte was formed and on the plate, like 30 minutes later, not immediately. It wasn't separating in the processor -- it was fudgy, as the recipe called for.

[sweetgoddess]

hmmmm...my guess would still be overprocessing. Try a shorter processing time and see what you think. I only had it oily once, realized I had processed it too long and never had it happen again.

Good luck! :)

[Sweet lips]

Please be mindful that Walnuts are a very very, very oily nut. I make the recipe into paper tart cups, and each one was oily, although it did not appear as such in my f.p.

I sincerely believe that it is to be mix until fudgy and turns into a ball and thus the problem - you will draw out the oil.

[Sharon in Colorado]

>>Walnuts are a very very, very oily nut.<<

I am glad you mentioned that Sweet Lips. I made the Flourless Chocolate Cake from Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People for Thanksgiving and it was really oily. It is made with walnuts. I couldn't figure it out why that was until you wrote that.

>>The next time that ever happens, I'm siphoning off the oil and saving it in the refrigerator. Freshly extracted walnut oil is SOOOOO good!<<

Oooh Renee what an awesome idea. Walnut oil is so expensive, hadn't though of that!

[Cinnamon]

I've had a number of desserts turn out very oily and they all had walnuts in them. So I've learned from this thread how oily walnuts can be, that sure helps!

And also I did overprocess the Date Nut Torte recipe too much the first time I made it and wow was it oily, but since then I've only processed till it is fudge-like and rolls into a ball and didn't have that problem since. I make one each month it seems, oh so good!

[Raw_Medic]

just to add my 2 cents, I've made the date nut torte more times than I could count... each time it was some what oily, but I don't process it until it's really fudgy...when my bf made if for my b-day cake, he did, and I just didn't care for the consistency...anyway, I never soak up the oil...I never have that much...and after it sits in the frig for a little while...it's great! Now sometimes I make a slightly different dessert where I take the raisins and walnuts, process them, roll them into balls and roll the balls in raw coconut shreds (VERY yum, btw!) when I'm rolling the balls I usually have oil dripping down my arms and have to wash several times during the process...

[levamssg]

I had the problem with oil the first few times I made the torte.

Now I rinse the raisens under warm water, then drain them well, before processing. The mixture seems to be thicker and fudgier -- makes the food processor work a bit harder -- but I don't get the oil separation on the plate. Don't have a clue why.

[Sweet lips]

I had the problem with oil the first few times I made the torte.

Now I rinse the raisens under warm water, then drain them well, before processing. The mixture seems to be thicker and fudgier -- makes the food processor work a bit harder -- but I don't get the oil separation on the plate. Don't have a clue why.

I am going to try that. That does make sense, because once you plump the raisins -it would make sense that they would absord the oil some.

[Ariannah]

I will try that too, next time. I've always wondered how you can get "fudgy" without overprocessing it. Thanks for the tip.