Frozen Lime Torte with Mixed Berries for Decoration Day

Memorial weekend is upon us.  I decided to make a cool and refreshing dessert for our cook out.

Our family calls it “Decoration Day”.  For generations it has been called Decoration Day.  Unlike many families in the U.S. we actually memorialize our ancestors.  We drive 45 minutes east of Salt Lake City to Henefer.  A small town in rural Utah where my mother was born and raised.  

We have 5 generations of our family buried in the Henefer cemetery.  I remember when I was just a little girl my grandmother and her sister Erma would save soup cans, peel off the labels and use them for flower containers.  They would purchase plastic flowers and put them in the cans then pour Plaster of Paris into the cans to hold the flowers in place.  Aluminum foil was then wrapped around the can to make them look pretty.  Oh how I wish I had a picture of those lovely cans.  

We would then drive around the cemetery (sometimes in the trunk of the car) and carefully place a flower or two on 4 generations of family.  I didn’t realize then how great these people were.  They migrated to Utah from England for religious freedom, they gave up precious belongings and trekked with handcarts across the plains until they landed in Utah.  Suffering all along the way.  

This is a photo of my parents standing in this lovely cemetery.

Yes, that is sage brush in the back ground.  I remember a time when the entire cemetery was sage brush.  Henefer has come a long way since I was a girl.  Thankfully they planted grass.

We no longer save soup cans for plastic flowers.  We have stepped up to silk flowers!  I decided to take the grandkids along to introduce them to our annual tradition of sticking silk flowers into the hard cemetery ground.   My mother always purchases a beautiful fresh flower arrangement for her parents.  The reason why fresh flowers are not used much is because deer come down from the hills and eat them.

As we drove away from the cemetery, my granddaughter said, “Thanks Grandma for taking us to the ‘groves’ “.   Graves, Emi.  They’re called graves.  We had such a fun day.

How is that for a family tradition?

Let’s make a torte.  I found this recipe more than 25 years ago in a food magazine.  It was either Gourmet or Bon Appetite.  For the life of me I can’t remember which. Obviously pre-computer era because I had hand written it on lined notebook paper and stuffed it in a file.  

For the Lime Torte you will need:

Spread walnuts and almonds out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Toasting the nuts brings out amazing flavor.

Transfer the nuts to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.

To the nuts add the brown sugar.

Melted butter.

And lime zest.

Pulse several times until the nuts are finely chopped.

Pour the nut mixture into a 9-inch springform pan.

Use a piece of plastic wrap to help press the crumbs firmly up the sides and over the bottom.  Place in the freezer and freeze until ready to fill.

Meanwhile make the filling.  Juice several fresh limes until you have 2/3 cup.  My limes are pretty small and not super juicy.  I juiced about 10 or so.

Pour the juice into a large mixing bowl.

Add the sugar.

Milk.

Egg yolks.

And lime zest.  Whisk together.

Place the bowl over a saucepan that has about 2-inches of water in it.

Clip on a candy thermometer  and bring the water to a simmer and cook mixture until the temperature reaches 170 degrees F, whisking constantly.

NOTE:  I learned that if I had used a metal bowl it would have only taken about 5-7 minutes to reach 170 degrees.  Instead I kept stirring in this glass bowl to make it more visible for about 15 minutes.

 Live and learn.

Remove lime mixture from heat and add 4 ounces of white chocolate.

I’m using white baking chips.

Transfer the mixture a large shallow bowl.  I helps to cool the mixture off by pouring it into a cool bowl.

Place the bowl in the freezer and stir occasionally until well chilled and beginning to thicken – about 45 minutes.

While the lime mixture is chilling, pour 2 cups heavy whipping cream into a large bowl.

Beat cream until stiff peaks form.

Remove the chilled lime mixture from the freezer.

Pour over the whipped cream.

Gently fold.

Fold until the lime mixture and whipped cream and thoroughly blended.

Pour the mixture into the frozen prepared nut crust.

Smooth the top of the mixture.

For the blackberry sauce you will need:

In a medium saucepan, add the frozen berries and sugar.

Pour in the juice.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring the berries to a simmer.

After the mixture begins to boil, remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Pour the mixture into a food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree.

Place a metal sieve over and bowl and pour the mixture into the sieve.

Press on the solids and stir the mixture around until most of the puree have fallen into the bowl.

Discard left over seeds.

Cover sauce and refrigerate until chilled.  This can be done one day in advance.

When ready to serve.  Remove the frozen torte from the freezer.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan.

Carefully unclasp the springform pan.

Remove ring and lift the torte from the bottom of the springform pan.

Place on a serving platter and arrange a berry mixture on the top.

Serve immediately with the blackberry sauce.  Return unused torte back to the freezer.

A fresh finish to a great family tradition that I rarely complain about.


Frozen Lime Torte with Mixed Berries