Very Berry Torte Food

BERRIES & CREAM TORTE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture., Line two baking sheets with parchment or greased aluminum foil; draw a 9-3/4-in. circle on each. Spoon a fourth of the batter onto each circle; spread evenly with a spoon to within 1/4 in. of edge. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter., Combine the sugar, confectioner's sugar and cornstarch. In a large bowl, beat cream and sugar mixture until stiff peaks form. To assemble, place 1 cookie layer on a large serving plate. Top with 1-1/2 cups whipped cream mixture and 2 cups of mixed berries. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cookie layer and whipped cream mixture. Arrange remaining berries on top. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

EASY BERRY 'TORTE'

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375ºF.
• Mix cookie crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 5 min.; cool completely.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended; spread onto bottom of crust. Top with berries.
• Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

ALMOND BERRY TORTE

Steps:

• Torte: Heat oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 10 inch round torte baking pan (use regular 9 inch cake pan if you don't have a torte pan) and line bottom with parchment paper (the cake is a touch sticky; this facilitate removing it from the pan). Butter the paper and dust with flour. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add grated almond paste and mix for about two more minutes, stopping to scrape bottom and sides of bowl. The mixture should be light and airy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and scrape bowl to blend batter, which should be fluffy. Sift flour into bowl and using a spatula fold flour carefully into batter. Do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in middle of oven for 25-35 minutes or until cake is a nice golden brown. Prick it in the middle with a baking pin or a toothpick; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Topping: If using fresh raspberries, simply rinse and dry them and arrange them on the cake. If you wish, you can add shine and sweetness to the berries by heating raspberry jelly in a small pan or microwave and brush berries with the preserves. If using frozen berries, thaw them, then drain, preserving the liquid. Pour the liquid in a medium saucepan adding the sugar. Bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch with a little cold water (there should be no lumps), remove pan from heat and immediately whisk in cornstarch blend. Return the pan to the heat, stirring. The mixture should thicken immediately. Remove from heat and mix in berries. When berry mixture is cool, spread it on top of torte. The torte is delicious with unsweetened whipped cream. Vanilla ice cream is very good if you are serving the cake fresh out of the oven.

BERRY CHEESE TORTE

Steps:

• Combine cookie crumbs, wafer crumbs, walnuts and butter; press into bottom and 1 1/2 inch up sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over grape juice; let stand for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Cover and refrigerate until partially set, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over crust.
• Place berries in a large bowl. Gently stir in gelatin mixture. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan.

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.

VERY BERRY TORTE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Wax paper line and grease 9-inch round baking pan. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat (or you can cheat like I did and just melt it in the microwave). Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add cocoa, blending well. Stir in flour mixture. Spread mixture in prepared pan.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Invert onto wire rack; remove wax paper. Turn right side up; cool completely.