Old Fashioned Poppy Seed Torte Recipe

Did you know you probably have 99% of the ingredients to make poppy seed torte? The only one you may have to run out and buy is poppy seed, but I'm confident all the other ingredients are staples in most households. You can buy a box mix to make poppy seed torte, but really this recipe is easy to follow and tastes just like you remember when grandma made this as a special treat or holiday dish to pass. Give it a whirl and let us know how you liked it!

Preheat oven to 350F

Crust:
2 1/2C graham cracker crumbs (3 packages of graham crackers)
1t salt
1/4C sugar
1/2C melted butter

Mix crust ingredients and press into an un-greased 9x13 pan.
*If you have a pan with a cover, that's the one I usually grab for torte recipes

Place pan in pre-heated oven until crust starts to brown a bit (just like you do for a cheesecake)



Poppy Seed Filling / Custard:
2 3/4C milk
1/4C poppy seeds (the fresher, the better)
1C sugar
3T corn starch
2T butter
5 egg yolks (4 if the eggs are quite large - we use farm fresh eggs so size can vary greatly)...you'll use the whites for the topping though - so set them aside


I place all the ingredients in a pan and I whisk them together then place on the stove over medium heat. I continue whisking and stirring until the mixture turns from liquid into a thick custard and then I immediately remove from the heat.

Carefully spoon the custard mixture onto the prepared crust.

Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes on the counter (no need to refrigerate)


Once the custard has cooled, begin the next process which is the topping...


Topping:
5 egg whites (4 if the eggs are super large)
5T sugar
2T vanilla

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then add sugar and vanilla and fold those into the mix.

Spread topping mixture onto the custard and crust in your pan. I'm not good at making it peakie when I spread it, but if you are...go for it!

Once the topping has been applied and spread, place in the oven (350F again) for 15-20 minutes until the top of the topping starts turning light brown (like a marshmallow expertly roasted on a bonfire)

Allow to completely cool

Refrigerate over night

Serve

Enjoy!

***I'm super impatient....but don't be...if you cut into it too soon the custard will ooze out. Yes, I did it and although delicious, it wasn't as pretty as it should have been.

xoxox
Crystal