Highland Park Berry Torte

Written by Jeremy Plunkett, Manager

This recipe comes to us from one of our favorite diners, the Highland Park in Rochester, NY. We’ve had several opportunities to visit this one-​of-​a-​kind Orleans diner in the past 5 months, and we’re happy to say that the apple pie is still about the best there is. And just about every other meal we’ve had there sets the standard in diner fare.

Berry Filling

• 1 10 oz. bag frozen blueberries
• 2 10 oz. bags frozen raspberries
• ³⁄₄ cup sugar

Frosting

• 7 oz. white chocolate, chopped
• 1 ¹⁄₈ cups sweet (unsalted) butter (2 sticks +), room temp.
• 1 ¹⁄₂ lb. cream cheese, room temp.
• 1 ¹⁄₂ tbsp. vanilla extract
• ³⁄₄ tsp. almond extract
• 3 ¹⁄₂ cups powdered sugar
• ¹⁄₂ cup sour cream

Cake

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 ¹⁄₂ cups cake flour
• ¹⁄₂ tsp salt
• 3 ¹⁄₂ tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 7 or 8 egg whites

For berry filling:

Place berries in two different sauce pans. Add ¹⁄₄ cup of the sugar to the blueberries and ¹⁄₂ cup to the raspberries. Simmer for one hour, until very thick, cool, then chill in the refrigerator.

For frosting:

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until light. Gradually add in cream cheese until just combined. Beat in both extracts, add the powdered sugar, and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate, and beat until just combined. Stir in the sour cream. Chill until spreadable.

For cake:

Cream the butter and sugar. Sift the cake flour before measuring. Re-​sift twice with the salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the butter-​sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Beat until smooth after each addition. Add the extracts. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then fold them lightly into the cake batter. Pour into three 8-​inch greased round cake pans. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool on wire racks.

Assembly:

Cut each cake in half horizontally, for a total of six thin pieces. Spread the first layer with a thin layer of frosting, then half the chilled raspberries. Frost each of the remaining layers. Leave every second layer without berries; add blueberries to the third layer and raspberries to the fifth. Use the remaining frosting for the sides and top. Chill for one hour.

To serve:

Slice into 16 thin slices.