German Strawberry Margarita Torte

I translated this from "Frau im Trend," a German cooking magazine. Cook time is actually all chilling time. This is a pretty creamy gelatin based torte chock full of fresh strawberries. It is bright pink and would be a nice treat for a special Valentine's Day dinner or would be a real showstopper for the Fourth of July.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• For the crust

• 125  g sweet unsalted butter, melted
• 150  g  shortbread cookies or 150  g  vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs

• For the filling

• 12  leaves plain gelatin
• 750  g fresh strawberries, washed,hulled,quartered
• 100  ml  carbonated lemon-lime beverage (such as Sprite)
• 2  teaspoons  tequila
• 150  g granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 lemon, juice of
• 200  ml heavy cream

• For topping

• 500  g fresh strawberries, thinly sliced,divided
• 1  teaspoon granulated sugar
• 20  g  chopped pistachios, optional garnish
• 1  teaspoon powdered sugar, optional garnish
•  fresh mint leaves or  lemon balm leaves (optional)

Directions

1. Mix together melted butter with cookie crumbs and form a crust in the bottom of a parchment lined 26 cm size springform pan, using a spoon to help press firmly; chill 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Place gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften.
3. Portion out 750 grams of the berries into a blender and puree along with tequila, lemon-lime soda, 150 grams sugar, and the lemon juice.
4. Remove the gelatin leaves from the water and squeeze out the extra moisture.
5. Place gelatin in a saucpean and cook over low heat until melted, remove from heat.
6. Add a small amount of the berry puree into the gelatin and whisk together (this is to temper it- do not skip), then pour the gelatin mixture into the rest of the puree and mix together; chill in fridge 30 minutes.
7. Beat the cream until soft peaks form, and then gently fold into the partly gelled mixture until combined.
8. Pour into the crust, smooth evenly with a spatula, and chill 3 hours.
9. Take 100 grams of the remaining berries and puree along with 1 tsp.
10. sugar.
11. Remove the outer ring from the springform pan and pour the puree over the top.
12. Decoratively place the remaining berry slices on top of the torte, completely covering the surface.
13. Toss nuts with powdered sugar- then press the nuts in a ring around the outer edge (or just sprinkle them on top if you prefer- or omit them).
14. Garnish if desired with some fresh sprigs of mint or lemon balm.