Poppy Seed Torte is a staple of my mother ‘s vast dessert repertoire and a feature at many of our family events. It has a graham cracker crust, with a creamy poppy seed custard filling, and is topped with a graham cracker dusted meringue that is baked for a short time to a golden brown. This poppy seed torte was my very favorite dessert growing up as a kid, and is still as good as I remember it.
Poppy Seed Torte is a classic and traditional Midwestern dessert. It was a feature at church potlucks, family reunions, and card clubs in the largely German-American small towns of southeastern Wisconsin. As a kid, I remember the dessert table often being quite prolific at family gatherings. There were sometimes upwards of dozens of dessert options that were works of art made by ladies who wore aprons over their fancy Vogue dresses and high heel shoes. These were the ladies who gathered in the kitchen preparing vast quantities of food while children ran in the yard and the menfolk held court in the living room.
Jump to Recipe
It is hard to find this version of Poppy Seed Torte in the usual recipe books. A search online turns up all kinds of cakes, poppyseed rolls, and other German and Polish versions of desserts that do not quite hit the mark of the dessert that I remember. So, when I asked my mom to dig up her old recipe she did me one more and we made it together!
Mom’s Original Poppy Seed Torte Recipe
We found my mom’s original handwritten version of the recipe in an old metal recipe box that held other favorites as well. Watch for some of these to appear in subsequent posts. Here is mom’s Poppy Seed Torte original recipe card (I love this!):
Three-Part Preparation
Crust
The base of this torte is a graham cracker crust. Start by pulsing graham crackers in a food processor to coarse crumbs. Save some of the crumbs to sprinkle over the top of the torte before backing. Combine the remaining graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and sugar until it looks like sand. Press this mixture into the bottom of a pan to make the crust.
Custard
The filling for the Poppy Seed Torte is a sweet custard made with milk and eggs yolks. The yokes are added to milk and simmered in a pan with poppy seeds and corn starch until thickened to a custard.
Then butter and vanilla are added and poured over the graham cracker crust.
Topping
Once the custard is poured into the crust it is topped with a meringue. Here’s a “thrifty” part that I love about this recipe; the whites from the 4 egg yolks used in the custard are used to make the a soft meringue beaten with sugar. The key to making a good meringue is not to overheat the egg whites. Once thickened to a smooth soft peak, STOP MIXING! Then add spoonfuls of the meringue over the custard filling and spread out over the top.
What makes this torte special is the meringue topping. Dust the topping with the additional graham cracker crumbs and pop in the oven for 15 minutes to set.
Cool the torte and place in the refrigerator to chill for 2-3 hours. Poppy Seed Torte is best served chilled. Still my favorite dessert of all time.
Poppy Seed Torte
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with whisk attachment
- 9" x 13" pan
- Medium size saucepan
- Food processor
Ingredients
Crust
- 1/2 lb Graham Crackers (reserving 1/4 cup for topping)
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Butter
Custard Filling
- 3 cups Whole Milk
- 1 cup Sugar
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 1/4 cup Poppyseeds
- 1/4 cup Corn Starch
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
Meringue Topping
- 4 Egg Whites
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar for topping
Instructions
- In a food processor pulse graham crackers to coarse crumb. (Reserve 1/4 cup of cracker crumbs to sprinkle over the top of the meringue). Add 1/2 cup of melted butter and the 1/4 cup of sugar, and continue to pulse until the graham cracker crumbs look like coarse sand. (This can also be done using a plastic bag and a rolling pin, and combining in a bowl)
- Add graham crackers to an ungreased 13" x 9" baking pan and press crust until smooth using the flat side of a measuring cup, pushing crumbs up around the sides to create a crust. Set aside to make the filling.
- Separate 4 eggs, reserving the egg whites for the topping. Add the egg yolks, along with the 3 cups of milk to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stiring to combine.
- Add poppyseeds, cornstarch and 1 cup of sugar to pan and continue stirring to combine. Cook over medium heat until thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. While still hot add butter, vanilla and salt, stir until butter is melted and incorporated.
- Pour the custard mix over the graham cracker crust in the baking pan
- Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer, slowly adding the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to combine. Continue whipping until egg whites reach a soft peak that curls when held up on a spoon. Remove from stand mixer, and add to the top of the custard in dollops, smooth ing out over the top of the torte.
- Sprinkle with remaining crushed graham cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
- Chill in refrigerator before serving.