Flourless Chocolate Torte
A decadent chocolate dreamworld; only true chocolate lovers may enter. This is a classic flourless chocolate torte that comes together simply and bakes into a fudgey, crinkle-topped cocoa dusted terrain. All you need is a bit of sweetened whipped cream to seal the deal. Can you tell I really like this one?Â
- Yield: 8 to 10 slices 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 11 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
- 2/3 cup plus 1 TBSP unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder, divided
- 10.5 ounces semisweet chocolate (56 – 65% cacao), chopped
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract (optional)
- 5 egg whites
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
TOPPINGS SUGGESTIONS:Â
- Lightly sweetened, freshly whipped creamÂ
- Salted caramel (either store-bought or homemade)
- Hot fudge, melted chocolate, or warm chocolate ganache
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust your rack to the middle position. Liberally butter your 9-inch spring-form pan (using 1 TBSP of the butter), getting a layer of butter all over the pan’s bottom and up the sides. Add 1 TBSP of the cocoa powder to the pan and then tap the pan against your sink, turning it a bit, to allow the cocoa to coat the surface.Â
- Put the remaining 10 TBSP butter and the chopped semi-sweet chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat (on high) in 15-second intervals, stirring after each one, until the mixture is fully melted and smooth; takes about 1 minute total. Set aside to cool slightly (5 minutes).
- Whisk the egg yolks into the slightly cooled chocolate. Sift the remaining 2/3 cup cocoa powder over the bowl and add the vanilla and almond extract (if using). Whisk until smooth and well-combined.
- Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl (if you’re going the hand-held route). Beat on medium speed until foamy; 15 seconds. Add the cream of tartar and beat on med-high speed until you get soft, white, slumpy peaks; 30 seconds more or so.
- Now that you’re safely in the soft peaks zone, keep your mixer speed on medium-high and begin gradually adding your sugar, in a slow-steady stream. Beat until your mixture is glossy and you’ve achieved stiff peaks (the whites should stand at attention when you lift the beater out of the mixture); takes about 1 to 1.5 minutes).
- Stir ¼ of the egg whites into the chocolate batter. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter, using a large swooping motion, turning the batter and egg whites over themselves gently, and easily. Just fold until there are almost no white streaks of egg white left.Â
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake until the center is just set (no jiggles); 32 to 36 minutes. Don’t use a cake tester, as it won’t come out clean at any point due to the cake’s consistency. You should see that paper-thin, shatteringly crisp crust on the top of your torte at this point. Cool completely before removing from the pan. Serve with your toppings of choice, and enjoy.Â