Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte

This recipe is one from my "Mom's Book". I've adapted it just a little, the original recipe called for sun-dried tomatoes and pesto, but I prefer roasted red bell pepper puree to the tomatoes.  I've made this countless times over the years and each time for non-Halloween events. Normally, I use a medium sized bowl to form the torte, so that the finished appetizer looks like a dome. In fact, I got the idea to make this torte into a brain by accident a few years ago when I made this torte for a potluck Superbowl party. Rather than waiting to add the red bell pepper puree to the torte when I arrived at the party, I mistakenly layered the bell pepper puree to the inverted torte before I left the house. On the way over, the puree had started to bleed down the edges of the plastic wrapped goat cheese and began to look a lot like a ghoulish brain. By the time I got to the party it looked hideous. I think everyone was afraid to eat it and who could blame them, it wasn't Halloween so the ugly appetizer was not appreciated. Sometimes the missteps lead to better pathways...fast forward to this year, while on my weekly 99cents Only Store run, I see these Brain Molds for a buck. Ding! Ding!...I'm gonna make that ugly ass torte and its going to look fabulous as a brain! This time on purpose! And not only is it going to look festive and ghoulish, it's quite frankly and most importantly, amazingly delicious!

I made this torte twice in a week because I wasn't that happy with the photos and then I ended up liking them both. So you'll see this torte brain two ways, one with the puree added to the brain mold prior to the first cheese layer, which creates a creepy bloody brain and one without the puree which will give you the white brain pictured above. Enjoy being creative and playing around with this delicious appetizer! My husband had a great idea after I'd made the second torte, he suggested adding olives to the front of the brain to mimic eyeballs. I'll definitely try that next year. Happy Halloween!

Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte
Makes ~3 cups


2- 8oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
1- 4oz. Goat Cheese, room temperature
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup prepared pesto
1 cup roasted red bell peppers, pureed

In a medium sized bowl or food processor, combine room temperature cheeses and finely minced garlic and mix until incorporated. Set aside.

Place about 1 1/2 cups roasted red bell peppers into a mini food processor and puree. Set aside and refrigerate.

Assembly
note: use room temperature cheese mixture when assembling the torte. If chilled, bring to room temp before assembling.



1. Line the brain mold with plastic wrap.(For a non-Halloween appetizer, use a medium sized bowl instead.)

2. For the white brain (pictured above) layer about 1 1/4 cup of goat cheese mixture into the plastic lined brain mold. Use a spoon to smooth out the cheese. Fold the plastic wrap lightly over the cheese and with the back of your hand press down on the cheese to imprint the brain mold into the cheese.

3. Open the plastic wrap and next layer the 1/2 cup pesto and smooth out.

4. Spoon in the remaining cheese mixture in small amounts to carefully cover the pesto. Once a thick layer of spoonfuls cover the pesto begin to smooth out cheese, taking care not to mix in the pesto layer with the cheese. 

 
5. Fold over the plastic wrap to cover the cheeses and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour or overnight to cool and firm up the cheeses and pesto. 

6. Once chilled, firmly press the plastic covered torte with the back of your hand to further mold the brain. 

7. When read to plate the torte, make sure the torte is completely chilled. Do not attempt to unwrap and flip it onto a plate if it is at room temperature. Unwrap the plastic from the face up cheese layer and place your serving plate over the top of the mold. While holding the plate and the mold, flip over the two together so that the brain comes out of the mold and is now resting on the plate. Carefully remove the rest of the plastic wrap from the brain.

8. Spoon the roasted red bell pepper puree around the molded torte and serve with sliced baguettes or crackers. 

To make the Bloody version of the Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte (above): Before adding the first cheese layer, add two tablespoons of bell pepper puree to the plastic lined brain mold. Then continue with assembly instructions at step 1.

Here are some other Halloween Inspired recipes to try:
Black Bean Hummus, "Beet"ing Hearts Salad, Candy Corn Sugar Cookies