Life
Memories of a mother and sister are held in a cake baked each year in memoriam. By Jane Goffman and Sarah Goffman.
Mary Goffman’s torte
Our mother was remembered for many small but special things.
In the playground, other girls ate white bread and plastic ham. Our lunch boxes were filled with rich pumpernickel and dark rye, smoked cheese and figs.
Mary sewed our dresses, knitted our jumpers, cut our hair. She happily walked miles to take us to appointments, to parks, the library, to swim at Balmoral Beach. She shopped regularly at auctions for second-hand furniture, sanding down pieces in the garden, revealing warm timbers beneath.
Unlike the other mothers, she was older, taller, slim and stylish. She wore a handsome men’s Omega stainless steel watch. She had short grey hair. She never learnt to drive. Her friends were jazz pianists, nurses, an architect’s wife.
The kitchen at the back of our house faced the patio and large garden. The table was an old wooden door, covered in scratches. Above the counter were shelves with cookbooks, bowls, a big glass jar filled with honey. By the side of the sink was a pottery jar filled with her cigars. She smoked one a day, taking the time to watch the smoke unfurl in the morning sun.
Some Sunday nights, our parents would host noisy dinner parties. We were tucked into bed and would fall asleep to the muffled sound of boisterous talk, songs and laughter. Mary would save us each a wafer-thin slice of her special cake, her seven-layer sour cream torte. The next morning, before school, we gratefully accepted this divine gift.
Her recipe hails back to Central Europe, quite likely the Austro-Hungarian and German region. She herself was a Scot. She kept the recipe in a book, which we still have. On the cover, in green cursive, she had written “Recipes: from home and abroad!” She had decorated the “R” with a garland of leaves and what can just be made out as a butterfly.
We each make this cake at least once a year, for a special occasion, as it is quite a lot of work. We always think of Mary as we make it, and where she might have first discovered it before meeting the man she loved, our father, on a boat to Australia.
Mary’s seven-layer sour cream torte
- 475g plain flour
- 200g white sugar
- 240g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and diced
- 1 lightly beaten large egg (700g or 800g per dozen)
- 300g chopped walnuts (these must be good and fresh – not bitter)
- 240g pure icing sugar
- 1¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 570g sour cream
- 1-2 tbsp icing sugar for decorating at the end
1. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl, add the butter and work in by hand to a fine, sandy texture. Stir in the egg and continue mixing by hand until the dough holds together.
2. Divide into seven balls of about 135 grams each. Roll each ball onto a 22-centimetre non-stick baking round or into 22-centimetre rounds on separate greased baking sheets. These will be very thin and sticky. They are essentially large biscuits. Seven identical pans would be ideal, or use a set of four so by the time the first pair have cooled they can be wiped off and reused.
3. Set your oven to 165ºC fan-forced and the racks to the centre or lower half. You should be able to fit two rounds per oven rack diagonally, or two baking sheets at a time. This is the slow phase of the recipe and usually requires four batches. Reckon on an hour.
4. Bake in successive batches, for 10-11 minutes until the edges are just turning a light golden colour. You don’t want these biscuit layers to turn crispy; they should remain a thin, flat cake with a firm edge and softer centre.
5. While this is happening, someone else can be chopping the walnuts into small pieces. These shouldn’t be finely chopped, or they’ll turn to powder. Nor should they be too large to fit between layers. Roughly a quarter to half a thumbnail in size is a good rule.
6. In a small bowl, mix the walnuts with the icing sugar by hand to remove lumps. Add the vanilla to the sour cream and stir in with a spoon so it’s even, then combine with the dry walnut-sugar mixture to make a cream filling.
7. The layers will cool quickly. Find a flat plate or serving dish that’s pretty. Centre the first layer with baking paper below it. The sour cream and nut filling will spread onto six layers, and works out to roughly 185 grams per layer, so spread the cream to the edge, top with the next layer and repeat.
8. For the final, seventh layer, sprinkle icing sugar onto the top with a sieve and shake icing sugar onto the sides. Encase the cake in a glass cloche to form a good seal.
9. Chill overnight. This is a cake that improves as the flavours develop and the cream infuses the torte to perfection. It can last in the fridge for five days. Serve with fresh berries.
In memory of Mary (born in Berwick-upon-Tweed) and our little sister Emma, who was nearly four. They were kidnapped from our home in Sydney and murdered on February 11, 1972.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on October 11, 2025 as "Mary Goffman’s torte".
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