Golden honeydew Melon Torte

I have been holding on to this German melon torte recipe for awhile now. Good thing I did because golden Honeydew melons are everywhere here in the markets now. It was time to give this baby a test drive.


Speaking of markets. Yesterday I was in Aachen and did a quick lap through the farmer's market by the Dom. In addition to lots of honey melons, white asparagus is everywhere this time of year. I came upon a long line of people waiting to have their white asparagus shelled. 

The vendors provide free access to the machine. Everyone buys their asparagus and then politely lines up and waits their turn. I had never seen this before so I thought it was interesting.


Back to the star of today's post: 

This torte is not too sweet, tastes fresh and is designed to showcase the honey melon flavors.

Golden Honeydew Melon Torte

Slightly adapted from Großmutters kleine Gebäcke, Garant Verlag 2010

For the Cake Layers:

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup flour sifted 
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to  350 degrees F.
• Line two 9 inch spring form pans with parchment paper and grease the paper and 1/3 up the sides of the pan. 
• Beat the eggs and sugar together until thickened.
• Add extract and mix through.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, add the sifted flour and salt and mix in by hand.
• Evenly divide the batter between the two pans creating a thin layer.
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until slightly golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out dry.
• Remove from oven, let stand for 5 minutes before removing from pans.
• Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the melon Cream

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 ounces honey
• 5 sheets of white gelatin
• 2+3/4 cups whipping cream
• 1 Honeydew melon cut in half and deseeded
• 1 teaspoon lemon sugar 

Directions:

• Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate and encase it with a torte ring.
• Over a double boiler beat egg yolks and honey together until thick.
• Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water until soft and squeeze excess water from them.
• Add gelatin leaves to egg mixture and beat until dissolves.
• Transfer pan to cold water and beat until cool.
• Beat the cream until stiff and fold 2/3 of it into the egg mixture.
• Take one half of the melon and cut it into sections. 
• De-rind the sections and cut the melon into little pieces.
• Add the pieces to the egg whipped cream mixture and pour on top of the cake layer surrounded by the torte ring.
• Top with the second cake layer.
• Gently whisk in the lemon sugar to the remaining whipped cream and spread it on the top cake layer.
• Take the other half of the melon and cut out melon balls with a melon ball cutter. I didn't have one so I improvised with a metal coffee scoop.
• Arrange the melon balls on top of the torte.
• Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.

Yield = 8-10 slices