home recipes archives press reader raves about  
 
 

In this Issue: Vintage Summer Salads Omar Khayyam's Spinach Salad with Zesty Dressing, Spice 'n Easy Hash Brown Potato Salad, Crunchy Cauliflower Salad, Swedish Potato Salad, Nut Tree Green Frosted Potato Salad, Gone But Not Forgotten Resto Recipes Bill Zuber's Rhubarb Kuchen, Fritzel's Creamy Griddle Cakes with Blueberry Sauce, Anna Maude Cafeteria German Chocolate Pudding, Green Goddess Chip Dip, Pie Revival Whoopie Pies, Banana Cream Pie, Montana Mom's Rhubarb Custard Pie, Cream Plum Pie, French Silk Pie, Taco Pie, Natchitoches Fried Pork Pies, Pork Apple Brunch Pie, Zesty Lemon Sponge Pie, Old World Sour Cream Raisin Pie, Poppyseed Refrigerator Torte, Celebrity Citings Joel Grey's Chinese Chicken Salad, Sinatra's Spicy Sausage and Sweet Green Peppers, Reader favorites Chocolate-frosted Peanut Butter Cake, Armenian Manti, Pickles, Preserves & Such Zucchini Relish & Dixie Relish, Famous Nut Tree Bread with North Carolina Pear Honey, Calumet Baking Powder Biscuits, Kumquats in Syrup, Old-fashioned Creamy Coleslaw, “You know...for the kids!” '50s Picklenik, Back from the Bar Oak Bar Plaza Sweet, Better Left Lost Canned Asparagus Casserole,

 

Poppyseed Refrigerator Torte

Recipe origins are slippery things, aren't they? When reader Cynthia J. asked us to find a Chicago Tribune recipe for a Poppyseed Refrigerator Torte from 1967 that her grandma used to make, we complied. That torte was credited to a woman in Cudahy, WI. But more recently, we came across a very-similar recipe that won a blue-ribbon in the Wisconsin State Fair in 1963. Hmmmm.....suspicious, eh? Our guess after testing both recipes? Ms. Cudahy refined the original blue-ribbon-winning recipe and submitted it to the Trib. Whomever gets the credit, the light and airy result is delicious.

print email
Makes one nine-inch torte
Crust Ingredients
  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
Filling Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp plain gelatin
  • 3/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup poppy seeds
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 eggs separated
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Instructions
  1. Combine crumbs, sugar, pecans and butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a buttered 9-inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; cool. Dissolve gelatin in cold water. mix sugar, salt, poppy seeds, and cornstarch in saucepan. Gradually blend in milk; cook and stir over medium heat untiil smooth and thick. Blend a small amount of hot mixture into beaten egg yolks; add to hot mixture and cook 3 to 4 minutes longer, stirring. Add softened gelatin; stir to dissolve. Blend in vanilla. Chill until mixture begins to thicken. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff. Fold egg whites into gelatin mixture; pour in spring form pan. Refrigerate several hours or, overnight. Serve topped with whipped cream.

While there's no lemon in this poppyseed torte, our guess is that substituting lemon extract for the vanilla specified in the filling, may give you just a little lemon tang.
Recipes by Alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Recipes by Meal Part
Appetizers
Baked goods
Breakfast
Confections
Desserts
Drinks
Meat
Pasta
Poultry
Preserves and Pickles
Seafood
Salads
Sandwiches
Sauces and Salad dressings
Soups
Vegetables and side dishes