Berry Blitz Torte
Total time: 1 hour, plus cooling
CAKE
½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter (1 stick), softened, plus more for greasing the pans
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (80 grams) cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
¼ cup (60 milliliters) whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
MERINGUE TOPPING
4 egg whites, at room temperature ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Pinch of fine sea salt 6 tablespoons (75 grams) sugar 1 cup (120 grams) chopped pecans
FILLING
1½ cups (360 milliliters) heavy cream
1 to 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, to
taste
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pints (490 grams) fresh raspberries or
other berries
Instructions: 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
½ 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.
Makes 8 servings
Adapted from “The Settlement Cookbook”