Our latest snowfall totaled around 12 inches, and it left the bare forest branches looking like mixer beaters covered in freshly whipped meringue.  The kitchen imitated nature the following day when my mom put together a frozen pineapple torte recipe from days gone by.  Even though it is an icebox dessert, there is something sunny and warm about the pineapple torte.  Her version reminded me a bit of key lime pie; I suspect because she toned down the sweetness.  I first learned of this dessert when she was searching for a recipe similar to what her mom used to make when company would come over for Sunday lunch.  She kept calling it an old-fashioned recipe, because it states to cook the custard until it “coats the back of a spoon.”  My grandma would plop the fluffy tropical mixture into her metal ice cube trays and put them in the freezer to set up. Refrigerator trays used to have removable dividers with a handle that you pulled up to release the ice. If you took out the dividers, the pineapple mixture went in the bottom part of the tray.  You can skip the freezer part if you please; it’s simply fluffy and delicious as is.  My mom told me that they normally had frozen pineapple torte in hot weather because it was a lot like ice cream. I found it to be perfectly perky and sunny for a February lunch, and I daresay it would be a pleasant finale to a pork BBQ meal anytime of the year.

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
dash of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 can 8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
2 T lemon juice
3 stiff beaten egg whites
2 T sugar
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (for a gluten free dessert, select the GF cookies)

Directions

Break egg yolks in double broiler.  Add salt and 1/3 cup sugar; add syrup from pineapple and lemon juice.  Cook over hot, not yet boiling water until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly.  Add pineapple; cool.  Make meringue of egg whites and 2 T of sugar.  Fold in whipped cream and custard mixture.  Coat sides of greased refrigerator tray with wafer crumbs.  Spread half the remaining crumbs on the bottom of the tray (or dish of your choosing).  Pour in fluffy custard mixture and cover with remaining crumbs.  Enjoy as is in parfait cups, or freeze firm for 4 hours and slice to serve.