Mint Torte Cake

I know, I know, "torte" means cake, so it is redundant to say "Mint Torte Cake," but that is what we called it growing up so that is how I will always say it!

It was the classic birthday cake that we all had for at least one of our birthdays. As the older kids got older, they started requesting grown-up desserts like pecan pie and ice-cream cake. But to this day, I will always want mint torte cake for my birthday dessert.

For each of our birthdays, Mom would ask us what we wanted for dinner and she would make whatever it was. For most of my childhood birthdays, I would request chicken alfredo and of course mint tort cake. We may not have always gotten the latest and greatest in technology and toys, but we always had a fantastic birthday dinner, made with love by Mom. And I will always remember her carrying out the cake, with candles on top, singing "Happy Birthday," with the rest of the family joining in.

Anyone else have a favorite birthday dinner that Mom would make?

Here is the recipe for Mint Tort Cake:

Preheat oven to 350.

½ c. milk

½ c. cocoa

Cook milk and cocoa in saucepan to melt, not boil. Set aside.

1 ½ c. brown sugar

½ c. butter

3 eggs

Cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir in chocolate mixture.

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp mint flavor

½ c. milk

2 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tsp baking soda dissolved in ¼ c. hot water

Stir in vanilla, mint flavor, and milk. Fold in flour, salt, and baking powder just to moisten. Stir in baking soda water. Pour batter into 2 sprayed round cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mint Cream:

Beat 2 c. cold heavy cream until it puffs (about 3 min). Beat in ½ c. sugar, couple drops mint flavor, and green food color until cream holds its shape.

Slice cakes lengthwise. Stack them alternating cake and whipped cream. Top with Andes mints.

Quilting

Mom made this quilt for one of the nurses that worked with her after her diagnosis. 

When I graduated high school and went to college, I came home that first Christmas and discovered my old room off the laundry room had been transformed into Mom's Sewing Room. She had waited most of her married life for a sewing room. Prior to my room being requisitioned, she would stay up nights sewing in her and dad's room, something she said she often felt bad about because it would keep Dad up. But I never heard him complain. :)

When Mom was quilting, whether it was in her and Dad's room, or after the move to my old room, we kids would often come and sit either on her bed or on the floor in the sewing room. We would tell her about our day, our problems, the things that we were excited about, ask for her advice, or just sit and bask in her love. I know she thought of that room as her sanctuary but she never minded invasions. She even kept a jar of butterscotch candies to tempt the grandkids!

My request to all of you is that if you are lucky enough to have one of her quilts, dolls, cards, etc., if you would please email me (mcclurea6@gmail.com) a picture of it with a short description of when you received it and anything special about it. I will add them to this blog post. Dad has said how much he would like to have some record of all her projects and how cool would it be to see all of the stories attached to these works of art! Thank you and love to you all!

Can anyone tell me where this was taken? Was it one of her quilts she entered in the county fair competition?