I am not usually a spontaneous person. I live by my planner. I love to make lists. Baking is a very orderly habit. But this weekend, on a bit of a whim, I am on a trip to Maine with a group of friends from my law school class. We have this unbelievable house on a lake. I spent today canoeing, playing games, and generally enjoying my life. It’s really exactly what I needed.

So, obviously, I had to bake something. And, when you’re with a group of law students, the clear winner would be a torte (a classic 1L class is torts…get it?). I remembered that my grandmother had made a torte for my dad when he and my mom started dating, so I sent out some texts to family members to dig up the recipe.

Turns out, no one had it. Which shocked me. So I recruited my mom to find it, and she discovered that the reason no one had it is because it’s rather simple – yellow cake sliced thin, filled with whipped cream, and frosted with chocolate frosting.

Now, that doesn’t actually bother me, but when I post to the blog, I usually feel like my readers don’t want me to tell them to make a boxed cake, get some icing, and fill it with whipped cream.

Thus, I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, preserving the basics but making the components from scratch. I drew heavily from Magnolia’s Bakery, which is never a bad decision, and followed the same format as Grammy. So while this isn’t her torte exactly, I still think that she would approve of the twist.

Starting with the cake, beat the butter in a stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy.Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the flours, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beating until well combined. Separate the batter into three pans sprayed with baking spray and lined with parchment paper.Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pans before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.While the cakes are cooling, whisk together the whipping cream and sugar on high speed of the stand mixer using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Once the cakes are cool, use a long knife to create two layers of each, resulting in six total.Stack the layers, spreading whipped cream between each layer, until you have the base of the cake. Finally, make the chocolate buttercream. To start, melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.In the stand mixer, beat the butter using a paddle attachment until creamy. Add the milk and beat until incorporated.Add the chocolate and beat to combine. Add the vanilla extract and beat well.Add the sugar and beat until desired consistency. Add more sugar or milk until spreadable on the cake. Finally, ice the torte and store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. When my dad found out I was making Grammy’s torte, he was very upset that I would just bring it up to Maine without letting him try it. So I actually made two tortes, and my mom assembled the second to make it look the way Grammy used to. She succeeded:Mine wasn’t completely traditional, but I also was aiming to serve 16 people rather than 4, so I think the full cake look works. We’ll be trying it tonight – hopefully it’s almost as good as Grammy’s!

Grammy’s Torte

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Cake:

1. Beat the butter on medium speed in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until creamy.
2. Add the sugar and beat for 3 minutes until fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined.
4. Combine the two flours. Add them in four additions, alternating with the milk and vanilla extract, beating after each addition.
5. Spray three 9 inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Separate the batter into the three cake pans.
6. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Cut each layer into two thin layers.

Whipped Cream:

1. Whisk the whipping cream and sugar in a stand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
2. Spread between each layer until you form the base of the torte.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy.
3. Add the milk and beat until incorporated.
4. Beat in the chocolate until smooth.
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until desired consistency.
7. Frost torte top and sides.