Strawberry Torte

Lots of people were writing about Coq au Vin yesterday, so I made some for dinner last night, except that I used white zinfandel instead of red wine. But I'm not here to talk about that, since everyone else did so well at it. Maybe another time.

Thor is very happy because another of his people arrived home last night. Son and dog are currently snoozing, which is better than the "happy dance" clogging my kitchen last night. Another son and his father are currently cooking up a scheme to maybe replace my kitchen and breakfast room floors (NOT before Christmas, guys!). It will happen if they want it to. I don't have much say over construction type matters, although I paint and wallpaper at will.

No, today is about a strawberry torte. My dearly beloved has been having tooth issues this week - it happens - and I needed an easy to chew dessert which would delight him to the core. What does this man love above all else? Meringue. Strawberries. Bingo! With so much ice cream experimentation going on, there just happen to be egg whites around. Many of them.

STRAWBERRY TORTE

Torte Shell:

4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups sugar

Filling:

1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pound strawberries, fresh or frozen, sliced

For the torte shell, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until stiff and shiny. Spoon into a greased pie plate. Bake at 275F for one hour, turn off the oven, and leave the torte in the oven until it cools down. No peeking, or your torte will collapse!

For the filling, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla. Fold in the sliced strawberries. Spoon into the cooled torte shell.

It won't look pretty when you serve it, unless you put it in the refrigerator for a while. But you can expect it to disappear, so it won't matter how it looks then, will it?

And Paula, your little one will just love this!