My Birthday and Graham Cracker Torte

6/12/2012

My Birthday and Graham Cracker Torte

Dear Readers: 

I was born in December under the sign of Sagittarius if you believe in all that stuff.  Not that I doubt my own abilities; but decided today to research to see what the "professionals" have to say about us December babies.  On the plus side, we are optimistic, jovial and good-humored and honest (I doubt that I'm really optimistic but definitely have the other three traits.  So far so good.  You know there are two sides to everything, so on the less positive side, we are careless, irresponsible, tactless and restless and suffer terribly from "foot-in-mouth" disease.   I don't believe I'm irresponsible or careless but definitely on more than one occasion have spoken too soon without thinking first!  


Since my birthday falls on the 17th (in case you want to write it down so that you don't forget), my mother always told me that I couldn't have a birthday party because it was too close to Christmas.  Jeff gave me my first birthday party after we were married.


There were however a few constants about my birthdays growing up.  The Christmas tree was always decorated on my birthday and sometime during the evening, Mom would let me pick a gift from under the tree - wrapped in Christmas paper. 

My birthday dessert was Graham Cracker Torte that Mom made in a skillet whose handle had fallen off years before.  The bottom and sides of the skillet were covered in graham cracker crumbs.   The crumbs were covered by the most amazing custard filling, topped with whipped egg whites and crumbs sprinkled on top.  Mom popped it in the oven for 10 minutes and after cooling, it was ready to go.

Now here's the deal about desserts in my family growing up.  We didn't stand on ceremony and hygiene didn't worry any of us.  We did on occasion actually scoop out this yummy dessert on plates; but, more often than not one of us kids would stick a spoon into the torte and have a bite or two on the run leaving the spoon for the next guy.  For reasons I can't explain this was okay in my family and nobody thought anything of it. The five of us would grab a bite with nary a thought about eating off a used spoon.  And, none of us were ever sick because we ate Graham Cracker Torte.

Fast forward many years and my brother and sister-in-law came to visit Jeff and I.  I made this delicious filled with memories dessert for my brother and I.  To be sure we had dessert plates and everybody had their portion and then - I stuck a spoon inside the pan and for the entire next day my brother and I would happily run to the kitchen, grab a bite and leave the spoon.  I know this lack of hygiene wouldn't work for everybody but it brought back many happy memories for me and my brother.

For those of you who like to bake, here's the recipe:

Crust:  

24 graham crackers rolled fine

1/2 c melted butter

1 teas. cinnamon

3/4 c sugar

Mix these ingredients together and they form the crust for the bottom and sides of your pan.

Filling:

3 c milk

4 egg yolks

2 Tbls. cornstarch

1/2 c sugar

1 teas. vanilla

Bring filling to a boil stirring constantly.  Let chill slightly and gently pour in the pan. Top the custard with the beaten egg whites.  Sprinkle 3-4 heaping tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs on top and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Leave in the oven at least an hour until cool.

Topping:

4 egg whites

1/2 c sugar

1 teas. baking powder

Beat eggs until they form stiff peaks. Gradually fold in sugar and baking powder.

After this yummy dessert is cool - dig in and enjoy.  I promise you will enjoy it every bit as much as I did.  I haven't made this dish in many years - but this may be my birthday present to myself this year!  

P