A friend baked this divine Chocolate Almond Torte for a party a few years ago, and I begged her for the recipe. I couldn’t tell you the original cookbook it came from (all I have is a photo of the page on my phone), but I have been pulling it out for special occasions ever since. For me, it’s an added bonus that it’s wheat and gluten-free.
Don’t be fooled by this dessert’s single layer, low profile. The addition of the Chocolate Honey frosting (ganache-like in its texture and preparation), takes this to a whole other heavenly level.
Chocolate almond torte before being frosted.
- 15m
- 25m
- 40m
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely ground almonds/almond flour
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and line the base of an 8" round cake pan with waxed paper. Butter the sides of the pan.
- Melt the chocolate in a small pan over low heat; or in the microwave (20 seconds at a time).
- Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.
- Using a handheld electric blender, beat the egg yolks until ribbons form - about five minutes.
- Blend the yolks into the creamed butter and sugar.
- Add the chocolate, ground almonds, vanilla essence and salt to the mixture, blending after the addition of each ingredient. Be sure to scrape down the bowl.
- Whisk the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
- Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture using a metal spoon - be careful to keep as much air in the batter as possible. Then add the remaining egg whites.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan, and then pop in the oven for 25 minutes. If you have a convection oven you may need to reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
- You want the cake to be set and moist, so don't be tempted to overcook this. It will be springy to the touch, and your skewer should come out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack, removing the parchment paper and setting right side up. If you wanted to keep things simple, dust with powdered sugar when cold and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
- Alternatively, frost with this divine chocolate honey ganache. You will take the cake up to a whole other level of decadence.
Nutrition
- 10m
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Melt all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring well to combine.
- Once everything has melted, place your saucepan in a bowl of iced water and use a handheld, electric mixer to beat the chocolate. As it starts to cool, it will become thicker and glossy.
- If you're able to catch just the right point, the frosting will be pourable and will set as a glossy coat. Or you can let it go to the next stage: a spreadable frosting you can manipulate into deep swirls. Either way - it's delicious.
- If you wish to garnish with toasted almond slivers, go right ahead.
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