9 egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup uncooked polenta (substitute fine ground corn meal)
1¾ cups butter
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced
1½ cups brown sugar
Gelato or ice cream (flavor of choice)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and polenta.
In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Increase the heat slightly and cook the butter, watching carefully, until it’s light brown. Remove from heat. Very slowly whisk the brown butter into the egg white and sugar mixture, making sure to incorporate a little at a time so that the eggs don’t cook. Stir the egg white, sugar, and butter mixture into the flour and polenta mixture until combined.
To make the filling, melt the unsalted butter in a medium skillet. Stir in apples and brown sugar. Cook, gently coating apples with sugar and butter mixture, until soft, about 10 minutes. Strain the apples into a colander and reserve the sauce in a bowl.
Coat eight aluminum ramekins with cooking spray, line each with plastic wrap, and coat the plastic wrap with additional cooking spray. Fill each ramekin almost to the rim with the apples. Then top each with two tablespoons batter. Bake on a sheet pan for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Meanwhile, warm the strained sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
When the tortas are done, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, pull them out of the ramekins and remove and discard the plastic wrap. Spoon three tablespoons warm sauce onto the plates, top with a torta, and serve with a scoop of gelato or ice cream.
