Chocolate Torte

This Chocolate Torte is a great make ahead dessert to serve this holiday season. Rich and chocolatey. Perfect for any chocolate lover. It’s made with almond flour, so gluten free. 

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. I’m not prepared at all. But this non-traditional dessert may just be perfect for your Thanksgiving meal. Not only it’s a chocolate dessert, it’s made with almond flour, so no gluten. Isn’t it great?

This recipe is from the cookbook French Pastry 101. It’s written by a fellow blogger, Betty Hung. Other than blogging at Yummy Workshop, Betty is a co-owner of French-inspired Beaucoup Bakery in Vancouver, Canada. And she actually bakes the pastries too. She is very talented and skilled. When I visited her bakery a few years ago, I fell in love with the place. Everything was delicious and I wish I could be living right next to the bakery.

When I heard that Betty was publishing a cookbook, I was so excited! The cookbook is focus on classic French baking for beginners. Palmiers (butterfly cookies), mille-feuille, financiers, madeleines, and eclairs, you can find them all in the book. There are 60 recipes. It’s great for someone like me who is interested in French pastry baking, but feel a bit intimidating. The instruction steps in the book are clear and easy to follow. I like that there are tips for each recipe. An insider tip is always helpful. The cookbook is out now! You can find it on Amazon or local bookstores. If you like to bake or you know someone who does, this will be an excellent gift. Yes! You can get yourself gift too!

While I was flipping through the cookbook, I was drawn to this chocolate torte. Other than macarons, I have never baked with almond flour. I was very curious and anything chocolate is interesting to me. This torte is heavenly for any chocolate lovers. It’s rich and chocolatey, which reminds me of fudgy brownies. It pairs so well with the sweet creme Chantilly (whipped cream).

This cake doesn’t have any leavening agents, like baking powder or baking soda. So you need meringue, which is just a whipped egg white. When whipping egg white, be sure to use a clean and dry whisking bowl. To prevent meringue from deflating while incorporating, carefully fold everything together instead of whisking or stirring. That way, the cake will rise during baking.

I love that this cake can be made it one or two days ahead. Keep in the fridge and top with creme Chantilly just before serving. It’s also fairly easy to make. Most importantly, it tasted really good. So perfect for a dinner party. Hope you will give this a try!

I don’t think I’ll be posting next week, as I need to focus on preparing our own Thanksgiving meal. Wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! ❤️

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Chocolate Torte

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword chocolate cake, chocolate torte

Servings 1 (8-inch) cake

Ingredients

• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (30 grams) almond flour
• ½ cup + 3 tablespoons (60 grams) dark cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (150 grams) dark chocolate, chopped, preferably couverture (Betty used half each of Valrhona’s Alpaco and Manjari chocolates)
• 6½ tablespoons (90 grams) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 5 egg yolks
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 grams) granulated sugar (divided)
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coffee extract or liqueur
• 6 large egg whites (at room temperature)
• 1 batch Crème Chantilly (recipe followed)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325˚F (160˚C), and line the bottom and the sides of an 8-inch (20-cm) round cake pan with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, sift together the almond flour, cocoa powder and salt, and set it aside.
• Place the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat over a pot of barely simmering water until it is melted, about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat once it is melted – don’t overheat it.
• Whisk in the egg yolks until they’re well blended. Add in the almond flour mixture and mix to incorporate them. Add in half the sugar, whipping cream, vanilla and coffee extracts, and mix until cohesive. Set this aside while you make the meringue.
• Beat the egg whites in the mixer with a whisk attachment on high speed for about a minute, until a little foamy. Add in the remaining sugar in two to three additions, and beat until medium peaks form.
• With a rubber spatula, fold a third of the meringue into the chocolate mixture until it’s incorporated. Last, gently fold in the rest of the meringue. When you fold the first portion of the meringue into the chocolate mixture, you are lightening the batter, so when you add the rest of the meringue, you will minimize deflating the meringue. Always fold gently to preserve as much aeration as possible.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and use an offset spatula to level the top. Place the cake pan onto a sheet tray.
• Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. It is done when a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool it completely, add a dollop of crème Chantilly and dust with more cocoa powder before serving. The cake can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Notes

When melting the chocolate and butter, refrain from overheating it as the fat may separate.

Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature so they will whip to the most volume. When making the meringue, it is important that the egg whites are frothy before adding the sugar. If the sugar is added too early when the egg whites are not yet structurally stable, the meringue will not get the most volume.

(Reprinted with permission from French Pastry 101 by Betty Hung, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018.)

Disclosure
French Pastry 101 was sent to me for review by Page Street Publishing Co. The opinions are my own.