Seeded Saratoga Torte Recipes

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.

POPPY-SEED TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper.
• Using a coffee grinder, grind the poppy seeds in batches for about 20 seconds. (The seeds will become slightly sticky.) Combine with the baking powder in a large bowl.
• In a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the egg yolks until slightly thickened. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla. Slowly pour in the butter, then add the poppy-seed mixture. Beat until combined. Return the mixture, which will be very thick, to the large bowl.
• Using a clean bowl and a whisk, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the batter and pour it into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out fairly dry. Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before unmolding. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

POPPY SEED TORTE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until the dough begins to come together. Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Lightly coat a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Roll out the dough into a 10-inch round on a lightly floured surface. (If it gets too soft, return to the refrigerator until firm.) Ease the dough into the prepared pan and press into the bottom and up the sides, trimming any excess. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven; bake until the crust edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden all over, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely. (The tart shell can be made up to 1 day ahead.)
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and salt in a bowl until combined. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil). Gradually whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then pour back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and cook, whisking, until thick like pudding, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the butter and vanilla. Pour the filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes.
• Beat the heavy cream with a mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream and poppy seeds into the cooled filling. Spoon into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours or overnight.