Lori is correct: "almond meal" is ground whole almonds (with their skins) while "almond flour" is ground blanched almonds (skins removed). They can be used pretty interchangeable.
One consideration is aesthetics. Meal has visible brown specks from the almond skins that some might find undesirable in lighter colored pastries like financiers.
Since this torta is chocolate it won't matter visually if you use meal or flour. But it's something to think about when you see almond flour/meal called for in other preparations.
I don't know exactly a limit, but I can say I've made it a day ahead of time to serve at dinner. It lasted until the next day when my kids finished it off, crumbs and all. The recipe says it will last several days, which I take to mean perhaps 3-4 days. I stored it in the frig, in the baking springform pan and covered tightly.
As a general rule, you can use one or the other. In the past almond meal was made with raw, unpeeled almonds, while flour was made with blanched and peeled almonds. But now I find the two terms get used rather interchangeably. Meal also tended to be a little coarser than flour, but that too varies. I'd use what I had on hand, and if what you have is flour then use that.
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4 Comments
One consideration is aesthetics. Meal has visible brown specks from the almond skins that some might find undesirable in lighter colored pastries like financiers.
Since this torta is chocolate it won't matter visually if you use meal or flour. But it's something to think about when you see almond flour/meal called for in other preparations.
If I may ask another question, it would be how far in advance can the Torta be made?