Orange Berry Blitz Recipes

BERRY BLITZ TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease 2 8" round pans.
• In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, salt, and egg yolks together.
• Beat in vanilla, milk, baking powder, and flour.
• Spread the mixture in the prepared pans. The batter will barely cover the bottom of the pans; that's OK.
• Beat the egg whites until light; gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar and continue to beat until the meringue is smooth, glossy and somewhat stiff. Do NOT beat until there are stiff points.
• Spread the meringue on the batter in the pans and sprinkle with the almonds, cinnamon and sugar.
• Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and cool in pans for 15 minutes. Loosen edges and gently turn them out onto racks with the meringue on top. If some of the almonds fall off, just sprinkle them back on top.
• Mix pudding, vanilla, and cream together until thick.
• Place one of the cake layers, meringue side up, on a serving plate.
• Spread with all the pastry cream.
• Add a layer of berries.
• Top with second layer, meringue side up.
• Decorate top with berries if desired.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.

BLITZ TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter two 9-by-2-inch round baking pans. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
• Make the cake: Place butter, sugar, salt, and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour, buttermilk, vanilla, and baking powder, until well blended.
• Divide batter between prepared pans (the batter will barely cover the bottom of the pans).
• Make the meringue topping: In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. While continuing to whisk, gradually add 1 cup sugar and whisk until meringue is smooth, glossy, and somewhat stiff, but not holding a stiff peak.
• Spread the meringue on top of the cake batter, and sprinkle evenly with almonds, cinnamon, and remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake cakes until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife or offset spatula, gently remove cakes from pans, and return the rack to cool completely. If some of the almonds fall off during this process, sprinkle them back on top.
• Make the filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk, orange juice, and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to cook until it comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in orange zest and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
• Place one of the cake layers, meringue-side up, on a serving plate. Spread with pastry cream. Top with second cake layer, meringue-side up. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving, up to 3 hours.

BERRY BLITZ TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Grease the paper, then lightly flour the pans.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder and salt.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or electric beaters, beat 1/2 cup softened butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating, until well combined. Add half the cake flour mixture, then half the milk to the butter mixture, beating until smooth. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk, then beat in vanilla and nutmeg. Scrape batter evenly into prepared pans and smooth the tops.
• To make meringue topping, whip egg whites with cream of tartar and salt in an electric mixer until cloudlike and very foamy. Continue whipping while adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip until meringue is smooth and glossy, and stiff peaks form.
• Cover cake batter with meringue, dividing it evenly between pans. Swirl the tops, and sprinkle with pecans. Bake until meringue is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center all the way down to the cake emerges clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer pan to a wire rack. Cool for 30 minutes; turn cake out of pan and place on rack right-side up. Let cakes cool completely.
• To assemble, whip the cream with as much of the sugar as you like, and vanilla. Place one cake layer on a serving plate with the meringue side down. Spoon whipped cream on top, then cover with berries. Place second cake layer on top of whipped cream with meringue side up. Serve cake as soon as possible after filling, preferably within 3 hours, and use a serrated knife to cut.