TWD/BWJ: Poppy Seed Torte

I tried.

I expected greatness.

But no. Just no.

This one didn't do it for us.

My husband said, "It tastes liquid-y and strange."

That about covers it.

But I did learn some things:

1) Real apricots have pits. And it's easy to over-poach them. Yes, I've led a sheltered life.

OK, they were "plumcots".
But I'm guessing that's pretty close.

2) "Cleaning out" the coffee grinder by running a piece of bread through it is not such a good idea. Gummed it up pretty quickly.

3) Hungry young men will eat anything with a big bowl of ice cream. "It's an acquired taste," my son said. "The first couple of bites were odd, but it's growing on me." (Remember, there was ice cream involved.) 

Feel free to laugh!
Everyone else's torte was so lovely. Mine was just sad.

4) Penzeys Spices is an incredible place. If you have one of these stores near you, please go there. Just for a visit. Personally, I think the website leaves something to be desired (not enough pictures) but if you can go there in person you will be forever changed. All these years I've heard people rave about fresh spices and thought they were just being overly perfectionist. I mean, really, if I had a bottle of something purchased from the grocery 5 years ago, no way I was going to go buy another one. They found spices in the pyramids, for goodness sake! But Penzeys is spice wonderland. There's a store over on the other side of town, and a friend from church was always handing things off to me in little Penzeys bags. The store was on my route to a quilt workshop, so I stopped. Actually I was in search of a spice mix called "Sunny Paris" that someone mentioned in a chicken recipe. I'd forgotten all about the poppy seeds until I saw bags of them. Which is why I took on the Torte. It didn't work out, but the Penzeys experience more than makes up for it.

Very few of the Tuesdays With Dorie bakers seem to have made the Poppy Seed Torte. Probably because of the quantity of seeds required (2 cups!). But some made it and liked it. You can see their links here. 

Finally, a shoe. Hitching a ride on the back of a truck.