chef david’s

out-of-this-world

flourless

chocolate torte

Chef David’s Out-Of-This-world Chocolate Torte

This cake is for serious chocoholics only. Casual chocolate nibblers need not apply. It’s rich, it’s decadent, and it’s out of this world … literally.

 

Believe it or not … This cake was developed by my friend Ellen’s first husband—a high-end chef from before the days of celebrity chefs—around 1980. He shared many of his recipes with us, but he’d never tell us how he made his fabulous chocolate torte. He refused to tell any of us how he made it. Mind you, this was before everyone was making flourless chocolate cakes. Tragically, David passed away at a very young age. And sadly, he took the recipe for his chocolate torte to the grave.

It was several years later that I found another recipe for a flourless chocolate cake. I made it. It was good, but not as good as David’s. One year I decided to bake it for Passover—by its nature, it’s kosher for Passover. As I stood in my kitchen, stirring my melted chocolate and butter, I looked up, and purely to amuse myself, shook my fist at the ceiling and said, “David, you &%$&#! Why didn’t you give us the recipe?” I picked up my measuring cup and started to measure the granulated sugar. Suddenly, in my head, I heard, “No! Confectioner’s sugar!”

Okaaaaay …

I got out the confectioner’s sugar. Then, as I was mixing my ingredients I heard, “You need to add a tablespoon of instant espresso powder.”

Yeaaaaah.

“And vanilla.” So, I did. The cake came out fabulous. I ran to the phone (phones were still attached to walls), called Ellen, and shouted, “David just gave me the recipe for the chocolate torte!” Ellen had watched him make it enough times that we were able to cobble together the rest.

 

This cake is all about the chocolate, so you should use the best quality you can find. I highly recommend this one. It’s not only amazingly fabulous, it’s also harvested and crafted without abuse or child slavery. You didn’t know? I didn’t either, until recently, but the chocolate industry is very nasty business. I’ve become very careful in the chocolate I choose to buy. Power is in the hands of consumers.

Ingredients:

  • 15 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

  • 18 tablespoons. (2 1⁄4 sticks) unsalted butter,

  •  cut into small pieces

  • 7 egg yolks

  • 9 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

  • 1½ tablespoons liqueur (the flavors that work best here are coffee, orange, or nut flavors, such as Kaluah, Gran Gala, Frangelico, or Amaretto)

  • 1 tablespoon espresso powder

  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract

  • Pinch of salt

  • 5 egg whites, at room temperature

  • cocoa for dusting the pan

Method:

  • Preheat an oven to 300ºF.

  • Grease a loaf pan or an 8” cake pan, and dust it with cocoa powder.

  • In the top pan of a double boiler, combine the chocolate and butter. Set the top pan over but not touching barely simmering water in the bottom pan and melt, then whisk until well blended. Or, Combine the chocolate and butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1½ minutes and then stir. Continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until the contents of the bowl look mostly melted. Now you can let it sit—the heat from the melted part will melt the rest. Set the chocolate/butter combo aside to cool slightly.

  • In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the egg yolks, 6 tablespoons of the confectioner’s sugar, the espresso powder, the vanilla and the salt on medium-high speed until pale and very thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the liqueur, then gradually pour in the chocolate mixture and continue beating until well blended.

  • In a deep, clean bowl, using a mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining 3 Tbs. granulated sugar and continue to beat until medium-firm peaks form, about 2 minutes. Scoop half of the egg whites onto the chocolate mixture and fold them in gently. Fold in the remaining whites just until no streaks remain.

  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly.

  • Bake until the torte puffs slightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out very moist but not liquid, about 40 minutes. Do not over-bake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 30 minutes.

  • Let the torte cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

  • To serve, invert the pan onto a serving plate. Just before serving, dust the top with cocoa powder.