I found a great torte recipe while watching Melissa d'Arabian of the Food Network. It's a potato-bacon torte. It looked absolutely delicious so I had to try it. The recipe says this is intermediete level, and I needed a little help with it being that I am not experienced in the kitchen. The finished product is delicious. It's a bit heavy, not one that is watching their calories, but if you want to splurge and love potatoes, bacon and cheese, then this is the recipe for you. Cook time is 55 minutes, total time is approximately 2 hours.

Ingredients:

4 strips bacon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:
1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Enjoy this with friends and family!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lJe2uRUqDlg/SzgbgrIEkLI/AAAAAAAACvY/wlxg1i24e0c/s400/Potato-Torte-3.jpg

Hi @cosmopinkice! This torte recipe was shared to me by my friend and became my favorite. I've tried to look for this online and I am very happy I found it. My husband loves this Frozen Mocha torte too because he loves the aroma of mocha.

Ingredients for this are:
1 c chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c melted butter
1 (8 oz.) pack softened cream cheese
1 (14 oz) can condensed milk
2/3 cup chocolate syrup
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbs. hot water
1 c heavy whipped cream
chocolate-covered coffee beans; this is optional

How to prepare:
1. Get a small bowl and place the wafer crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press them onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-in spring form pan that is greased. Set this aside.
2. Get a large mixing bowl and beat cream cheese, milk and chocolate syrup until it becomes smooth. Get the coffee granules and dissolve them in hot water. After this add this to cream cheese mixture. Next is fold the whipped cream and pour it over the crust. Cover and freeze for 8 hour or overnight would be better.
3. Remove this from the freezer 10-15 minutes before you serve this. Run a knife carefully around the edge of pan to loosen it. Remove sides of pan and garnish with coffee beans if so desired.

Since I love chocolate, I will be giving you the “Chocolate Torte” recipe that I find yummiest at Allrecipes.com.

“Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
•
• FILLING:
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•
• FROSTING:
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar”

Procedure:
1. Mix cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs one at a time while beating well after each one. Beat in vanilla then whisk cocoa and water until the mixture becomes smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt then add to the creamed mixture alternating with cocoa mixture then beat until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into 3 greased and floured 9 inches round baking pans. Then bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or when the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes then remove from pans to wire racks.
3. Beat in high speed the cream, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until soft peaks form then chill until firm.
4. Melt chips and butter in a saucepan in a medium high heat then stir in the cream. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the confectioner’s sugar. Chill for at least an hour then beat using electric mixer in order to achieve the spreadable consistency.
5. Spread half of the filling over one cake layer then top the second layer and spread the remaining filling. Top the third layer and frost top and sides of cake. Chill for two hours before cutting or serving.
This recipe is making me hungry! Yummy!

I don't know if it qualifies as a torte per se, maybe more a parfait, but I'll share anyway:

I've found a new dessert I love. I live alone and just threw it together one night. Put together in a clear glass so you can see it all for a nice presentation...yum. I could eat about 3 of them in one shot. Do it in martini glasses for individual servings for a group. You can make it seconds before you serve it.

Measurements don't really matter--you're building the thing. Start at the bottom with a layer of whipped cream.

-Hit it with a bit of demerara sugar (aka "Sugar In The Raw") and some cinnamon.

-Throw some berries--any--on it to cover. Strawberries and red raspberries work best.

-Repeat as necessary, several times in one single-person serving glass.

Not too many calories, a healthier guilty pleasure than the ice-cream bowl I used to go to. The demerara sugar's crunch is what completes it. The whole thing just came to me one night when I was standing in my kitchen.