Old Fashioned Poppy Seed Torte Recipes

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Coat three 9-in. round baking pans with cooking spray; line with waxed paper and coat the paper. Sprinkle with flour; set aside. , In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar blend until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Beat in applesauce and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Combine 2-1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Fold in poppy seeds., Beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form; fold into batter. Spread into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 12-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and remaining flour. Stir in sour cream until smooth. Bring to a boil. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in remaining vanilla. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate until chilled., Place one cake layer on a serving platter; top with a third of the filling. Repeat layers twice., Combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa and enough coffee to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cake. Sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate until serving.

Steps:

• Place poppy seeds into a food processor and process until seeds are ground, about 1 minute.
• Mix poppy seeds with 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon melted butter, lemon juice, and hot milk in a bowl; stir to combine. Cover poppy seed filling and refrigerate while making bread (filling will set up and thicken as it chills).
• Mix yeast with water and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Allow to stand until the yeast forms a creamy layer.
• Whisk flour with salt in a bowl; use a pastry cutter to cut 1/4 cup butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Pour yeast mixture and egg yolk into flour mixture and stir to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth and slightly springy, about 5 minutes. If dough is too sticky, knead in more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time.
• Cut dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a 12x16-inch rectangle.
• Spread half the poppy seed filling over each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the 1-inch border back over the filling on all sides and press down.
• Pick up the shorter side of a dough rectangle and roll it like a jelly roll; repeat with second rectangle. Pinch ends together or tuck ends under to prevent filling from leaking out.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; place rolls seam sides down on the baking sheet and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Beat egg white in a bowl until frothy; brush the rolls with beaten egg white.
• Bake in preheated oven until dark golden brown on top, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cover rolls with a clean kitchen towel until cool to keep crust soft. Cool completely before slicing.

Steps:

• CRUST: Mix together the cracker crumbs, flour, butter and nuts.
• Pat into a 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
• Let cool.
• FILLING: Prepare pudding with milk.
• Add the poppy seeds.
• Whip and lightly sweeten the cream.
• Fold the cream into the pudding.
• Pour the mixture onto the graham cracker crust.
• Refrigerate.

Steps:

• Place poppy seeds and milk in a small bowl; soak for 1 hour. Add vanilla. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add poppy seed mixture. , Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Fold in egg whites. Spread into two well-greased and lightly floured 8-in. round baking pans. , Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in vanilla and nuts of desired. , Split cakes in half and spread filling between layers. Chill. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

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.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak poppy seeds in 3/4 cup milk and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla for 1 hour. Meanwhile, separate eggs. Let butter and egg whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set egg yolks aside until needed. Grease the bottoms of two 8x1-1/2- or 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans. Line pans with waxed paper; grease and lightly flour. Set pans aside. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• For filling: In a heavy medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in 1-1/2 cups milk and egg yolks. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour filling into a bowl. Cover the surface with clear plastic wrap. Chill until completely cooled. Do not stir.
• For cake: In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups sugar to butter, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on medium to high speed until sugar is nearly dissolved. Alternately add flour mixture and poppy seed mixture to butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just until combined. Thoroughly wash beaters.
• In another large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter. Evenly divide batter between prepared cake pans. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes for 8-inch pans or 25 to 30 minutes for 9 -inch pans or until a wood toothpick inserted near the centers of the layers comes out clean.
• Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.
• To assemble, carefully split each cake layer horizontally in half. Place one cake layer, cut side up, on a serving plate. Spread with one-third of the filling. Top with second cake layer, rounded (top) side up. Spread with one-third of the filling. Top with 1 more cake layer, cut side up; spread with remaining filling. Top with the remaining cake layer, placing it rounded side up.
• For frosting: In a chilled large mixing bowl beat whipping cream and 1/2 cup sugar with chilled beaters of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spread top and sides of cake with frosting. Chill up to 2 hours, or until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour 9-inch-diameter spring-form pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Melt 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water, stirring chocolate until smooth. Remove melted chocolate from over water. Cool chocolate 10 minutes.
• Using electric mixer, 3/4 cup sugar, unsalted butter and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted bittersweet chocolate; beat until just combined. Mix in poppy seeds. Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold half of beaten egg white into chocolate mixture. Fold flour into remaining beaten white. Fold egg white mixture into chocolate mixture.
• Pour batter into prepared spring-form pan. Using spatula, smooth top. Bake until tester inserted into center of torte comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and store torte at room temperature.)
• Cut around sides of pan to loosen torte. Remove pan sides. Sift powdered sugar over torte. Place on platter. Serve with whipped cream.