Berries N Cream Torte Recipes

STRAWBERRIES & CREAM TORTE

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of two greased 8-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper., In a large bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beating well. Beat in vanilla., In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Transfer to prepared pans., With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add remaining sugar, beating on high until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Spread over batter in pans., Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pans on wire racks. (Cake layers will be thin.), In a large bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Loosen edges of cakes from pans with a knife. Carefully remove one cake to a serving plate, meringue side up., Arrange sliced strawberries over top; sprinkle with sugar. Gently spread with half of the whipped cream. Top with remaining cake layer, meringue side up; spread with remaining whipped cream. Top with whole strawberries. Refrigerate until serving.

BERRY CREAM TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.
• In large bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping until well blended. To assemble cake, cut each layer in half horizontally. Place 1 layer half on serving plate; spread with 1 cup of the frosting mixture. Repeat 3 more times. Arrange berries on top of cake.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 20 seconds or until warm. Stir in orange juice; mix well with fork. Brush over berries. Store covered in refrigerator.

CHERRY-BERRIES MERINGUE TORTE

Steps:

• About 30 minutes before making the meringue shell, place an egg separator over a small bowl. Crack open each egg over the egg separator to separate the white from the yolk. (Save egg yolks for another recipe.)
• Place the egg whites in a clean medium bowl, and let stand at room temperature up to 30 minutes.*
• Heat the oven to 275°F. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of foil or cooking parchment paper.
• Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites; beat with an electric mixer on high speed until mixture looks foamy. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape mixture from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula, until mixture is glossy and forms stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. (Do not underbeat because the meringue shell won't hold its shape.) On the cookie sheet, shape the meringue into a 9-inch round with the back of a spoon, building up about a 1-inch side.
• Bake 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn off oven; leave meringue in oven with door closed 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack 2 hours longer.
• Place a medium bowl and the beaters of electric mixer in refrigerator to chill. These will be used to beat the whipping cream, which beats better in a cold bowl.
• Place block of cream cheese on a plate, and let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes to soften slightly. Or to soften cream cheese in the microwave, remove foil wrapper and place in microwavable bowl; microwave on Medium (50%) 45 to 60 seconds.
• In a large bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and the vanilla until mixed; set aside.
• Pour the whipping cream into the chilled bowl. Insert the chilled beaters in the electric mixer. Beat on high speed until whipped cream forms soft peaks when beaters are lifted. Gently fold the whipped cream and marshmallows into the cream cheese mixture.
• Place the meringue on a serving plate, and spoon the filling onto the meringue. Cover; refrigerate at least 12 hours to blend the flavors but no longer than 24 hours.
• Rinse the strawberries with cool water, and dry on paper towels. Cut out the hull, or "cap," from each strawberry with the point of a paring knife. Cut the strawberries lengthwise into slices to measure 1 cup. In a medium bowl, stir together the pie filling, strawberries and lemon juice.
• To serve, spoon the berry mixture onto the filling. Or cut the meringue shell into serving pieces, and top each serving with the berry mixture.

HIDDEN BERRY CREAM CHEESE TORTE

Steps:

• Get ready: butter a 9-inch springform pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess; place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• Make the crust: add flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse just to blend.
• Toss in the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• In a small bowl, stir the egg yolk and vanilla together with a fork, and, still pulsing the machine, add them and continue to pulse until the dough comes together in clumps and curds-restrain yourself, and don't allow the dough to form a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface; if you want to roll the dough, gather it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes before rolling.
• Or simply press the dough into the pan; the dough should come about 1 ½ inches up the sides of the springform; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Center oven rack; preheat oven to 375°.
• Fit a piece of buttered foil against the crust, covering it completely; fill the crust lightly with rice, dried beans, or pie weights and slide the sheet into the oven; bake crust for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 minutes or so-your don't want the crust to get too brown; transfer to a rack to cool while you make the filling.
• Lower oven temperature to 350°.
• Make the filling: stir the jam and spread it over the bottom of the crust-it is ok to do this while the crust is still warm.
• Add the cream cheese and cottage cheese into the food processor; process, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times, for 2 minutes, until you have a smooth satiny mix.
• Add in the sugar, salt, and spices; process for another 30 seconds.
• With the machine running, add the eggs and process, scraping down the bowl as needed, for a final minute.
• Pour filling over the jam.
• Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the filling is uniformly puffed and no longer jiggly.
• Gently transfer the springform pan to a cooling rack and let the torte cool to room temperature, during which time the filling will colapse into a thin, elegant layer.
• Run a blunt knife between the crust and the sides of the pan, then open and remove the sides of the springform.
• If the sides of the crust extend above the filling and you don't like this look, very gently saw off the excess crust using a serrated knife.
• Chill the torte slightly or thoroughly before serving and, if you like, dust the top with powdered sugar.