Soda Cracker Torte
This Soda Cracker Torte is a unique vintage dessert with a light and airy meringue crust, crunchy walnuts, and sweet raspberry preserves.
Servings 12
Calories 481kcal
Cost $15
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Stainless mixing bowl
- 9X12 baking dish
Ingredients
- 28 soda crackers (saltines) about one sleeve, crushed
- 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 6 egg whites (see notes about preparation)
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 14-16 ounces raspberry jam or preserves
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 2 TB sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts optional for topping
Instructions
- Prepare a 9X12 oven safe pan by spraying with nonstick baking spray. Add a long strip of parchment paper if you want to lift the entire torte out of the pan.
- Preheat oven to 350°F
Meringue Base Layer
- Crush the soda crackers, chop the nuts and combine in a large bowl.
- In a separate clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites until they begin to turn white and form soft peaks.
- Add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is very stiff.
- Fold in the egg white mixture into the saltines and chopped walnuts.
- Spread the egg white mixture into the pan.
- Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until firm and SLIGHTLY brown.
- Let crust cool.
Raspberry Layer
- Stir the jam or preserves until it is easy to spread.
Whipped Cream Preparation
- Place pint of heavy whipping cream into mixing bowl.
- Beat until it begins to stiffen and add 2 TB of sugar.
- Continue beating until it turns into whipped cream.
Putting the Torte Together
- Spread jam carefully on top of meringue layer.
- Top with prepared whipped cream.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts or grated chocolate on top.
- Serve immediately or keep in refrigerator until serving time.
Notes
Nutrition information is provided as an estimate only.
Prep Tips:
- Nuts - The recipe calls for walnuts but pecans would also work.
- Crackers - "Soda crackers" are what we commonly call saltines now. At one time, Saltines were a trademarked name for a brand of soda crackers. So whatever you call them, they are those little 2X2 crackers that come in long sleeves, four sleeves to a box.
- Preparing the Pan - I used a strip of parchment paper which you can see in the pictures, to line the pan. This allowed me to CAREFULLY lift the torte out to add the preserves and whipped cream.
- Preserves - The recipe called for raspberry jam, though you could use another flavor that you prefer. I used preserves from Trader Joe’s and it’s become my favorite preserves of all time. It does include sugar. Use either jam or preserves (not jelly), so you have pieces of fruit in that layer.
- Whipped Cream - I love fresh whipped cream and it’s pretty easy to make. Homemade whipped cream should hold up pretty well, so you could make it as early as the day before. I forgot to do this, but chilling the bowl and the mixers helps the whipping cream to form better.
- Separating the Eggs - Egg white are the base of the meringue layer. When you crack your egg, let the white of the egg fall into a little bowl, making sure no yolk goes with it. If you have a clean egg white, add it to your mixing bowl. It’s very important that no egg yolk is in your egg white mixture, so don’t crack your egg over the main mixing bowl.
Nutrition
Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 583IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg