Strawberry Torte

• cup butter↗1⁄2 cup
• cup sugar↗1⁄2 cup
• egg yolks↗4
• cup flour, all-purpose↗1 cup
• cup milk↗1⁄3 cup
• teaspoon salt↗1⁄8 teaspoon
• teaspoons baking powder↗2 teaspoons
• teaspoon vanilla↗1 teaspoon
• egg whites↗4
• cup sugar↗1 cup
• walnuts↗
• cups whipping cream, sweeten to taste↗2 cups
• quart strawberry, cleaned and hulled↗1 quart

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. 2

   *Prepare an 8" or 9" cake pan lining it with parchment paper (or grease the pan).

3. 3

   Cream the butter and the 1/2 cup of sugar.

4. 4

   Add the egg yolks and vanilla, mixing well.

5. 5

   In a seperate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.

6. 6

   Blend the dry ingredients and milk alternately into the butter mixture.

7. 7

   Pour the batter into the prepared pan and set aside.

8. 8

   With clean beaters, whip the egg whites, adding the 1 cup of sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form.

9. 9

   Spoon the egg whites over the top of the unbaked batter and sprinkle with walnuts (whole or pieces).

10. 10

    Bake at 325F about 40 minutes or until cake tests done (cooking time will depend on your oven and pan size).

11. 11

    *Using the parchment paper will allow you to easily lift the torte from the pan to test for doneness by piercing through the bottom of the cake with a toothpick.

12. 12

    Cool the torte completely.

13. 13

    Whip the cream and sweeten to taste.

14. 14

    *You can substitute the cream with Cool Whip (or other) to lessen the calories and fat.

15. 15

    Top off the torte with the whipped cream just before serving, adding whole (or cut) strawberries as your final layer.

16. 16

    This torte should be made and enjoyed on the same day as the cream will soften the crispy meringue layer - still good but not the same!