Using your favorite fruit and cake mix, create this marvelous and easy-to-make torte.

Step One: Prepare your favorite cake mix (white, yellow, or butter recipe), according to package directions. You may want to correlate your cake mix with your choice of fruit. For example: Cherry cake mix if using cherries; strawberry cake mix if using strawberries; pineapple, etc. or add the juice of the selected fruit to a white cake mix instead of the water.

Step Two: Prepare Meringue using: 1 c. sugar 1 tsp. cream of tartar 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract or correlate flavoring with choice of fruit 1 c. pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds

Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually adding sugar and cream of tartar until meringue forms stiff peaks. Add choice of flavoring.

Divide batter evenly into two greased and floured 9 inch round pans and top each with half of the meringue. Sprinkle with either pecans, walnuts, or almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until meringue is golden.

Step Three:

FRUIT CREAM FILLING:

Pour 16 ounces of selected crushed fruit into strainer; drain well (pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, apricots, or peaches). Set aside. Add juice to cake batter instead of water. 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese 1 tsp. selected flavoring

Cream above ingredients, adding drained fruit or fold drained fruit into Cool Whip (8 ounces). Place one layer, meringue-side down, on serving plate. Spread with fruit filling. Top with second layer, meringue-side up. If using Cool Whip, refrigerate several hours. (DO NOT FROST SIDES OF LAYERS.)