Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Torte 28/325

Jim & Me at CC13

The Relation

Jim Eagleson (again??) is my first cousin, twice removed. He is the author of many a happy birthday post in the Cousin Club Facebook page. If you remember, he is also the wonderful man who sent me the digital copy of the cousin club receipts book. Not only do I have that to thank him for, but I pull many of these photos from the Facebook page, a good portion from his happy birthday posts! So, if I haven't said it enough, THANKS JIM!

Cheesy Mixture

The Process

Man, I love goat cheese. It is just... amazing. This torte? An absolute delight to make. I mean, there were challenges, but (spoiler alert) it's delicious. Also, expensive. Twelve ounces of goat cheese puts you back about $15, so make sure you're serving only the classiest of guests.

I am going to overemphasize the need for a 6-inch springform pan. I did not have this particular piece of equipment and tried to use a regular 6-inch cake pan. I figured, if I created a wax paper nest inside of the pan, I could easily pull the finished creation out of the pan.

NOT a springform pan

I put the first layer of cheese mixture down, followed by pesto, followed by more cheese mixture. At this point, I must have just entirely blacked out, because I topped it with the sun-dried tomatoes, entirely skipped the second layer of pesto and third layer of cheese. I quickly realized my mistake and tried to scrape off the tomatoes and add the right layers.

With the new layers added, this thing was about a half to one full inch over the top of the cake pan. It's got height. I wrapped the whole thing in saran wrap and put it in the freezer. Why the freezer? Because I was supposed to be at a game night in an hour with the torte, and receipt clearly says to refrigerate for several hours. Oops.

Tall Boy

One thing is for sure, the torte came out of the pan pretty easily. The wax paper, however, was not so easy to remove. I'm highly confident some of it was consumed.

The Feedback

Climbing Pals Brooke, Dom, and Grant found the torte delightful despite its lack of curb appeal. I served it with Ritz crackers and Triscuits. As there were four of us, and approximately two pounds of torte, I had a fair amount leftover. If you also end up with leftovers, I highly recommend making paninis with chicken and spinach with it! Amazing.

The Receipt

Not pretty... but yummy!

GOAT CHEESE & SUN-DRIED TOMATO TORTE - CC04
Jim Eagleson

8 oz softened cream cheese
12 oz goat cheese
½ lb softened butter
1 cup basil pesto
1 cup drained minced sun-dried tomatoes

Place the cheeses and butter in a bowl and beat until they are well blended and fluffy. Butter the sides and bottom of a 6-inch spring form pan. Layer ⅓ of the cheese mixture in the bottom and spread half the pesto over it. If the pesto is very oily, drain it a little do it isn’t so runny. Repeat. Spread the remaining third of the cheese mixture and cover with the minced tomatoes. Place saran over the top and refrigerate for several hours. Remove from fridge ½ hour before serving to allow torte to soften. Remove the spring form pan and serve with bread or crackers.