This chocolate torte recipe is like a brownie on steroids. Tortes are Italian cakes that have no flour. Although it looks elegant and white-table-cloth-worthy - don't be fooled. Tortes are dense!
The ground almonds are what gives this that flavor that people refer to as an "authentic Italian cake flavor" It's not for the dainty-lady-tea-parties. It's for the serious chocolate lover. Standby with a glass of milk or a shot of amaretto if you dare.
One thing to note. Although my kids LOVE this, it won't disappear quickly - because it's so rich! One small slice is truly satisfying. *WOW* That sounded like a commercial.
If you have any questions about this recipe - scroll to the section below. And Enjoy! Thank you for stopping by -
* 1 3/4 sticks (7/8 cup) unsalted butter
* 7 ounces (1 1/4 cups) blanched whole almonds
(See how to blanch almonds )
* 6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened!)
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* Preheat oven to 350 F. and butter a 10-inch cake pan or springform pan and cut wax paper to fit on bottom of the pan. Seriously, don't skip the wax paper unless you want a good cry later.
* Melt butter and cool.
* In a food processor finely grind together almonds and chocolate.
* Separate eggs.
* Beat the yolks and granulated sugar (with a mixer - you need it really well mixed) until they're thick and pale.
* Beat in almond mixture and butter.
* Clean your beaters - then get another bowl add a pinch of salt and your egg whites. Beat these until they have what's called stiff peaks.
* Whisk one fourth of egg whites into almond mixture.
* Fold in remaining whites. Folding means you do it gently. But don't leave any white showing. It needs to be one color. It's not a mix or a "beat".
* Spread your batter evenly in the pan.
* Bake torte in middle of oven , or until it begins to pull away
from side of pan.
* Cool and invert. See invert tips below!
Nope. Sorry. That is what gives this taste and texture. This chocolate torte recipe relies on the ground almonds for the unique texture. So you gotta do them! (See how to blanch almonds )
So to get ANY cake to invert not just this chocolate torte recipe. Here's what I do:
Let's talk about garbage chocolate. These would be the type of chocolate you wouldn't want to use in any cake recipe let alone THIS chocolate torte recipe:
I use Hershey's Special Dark because it's easy to find. And usually handy. And I can replenish it on any shopping trip. Bottom line - don't be cheap. Use
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