Decadent Chocolate Torte with Raspberry

celebrate life With cooking with chocolate

Chef’s Note- This decadent chocolate torte is incredibly divine! My husband insists on having it for his birthday every year (a request that I am more than happy to accommodate as I enjoy this torte as much as he does!). There are a lot of steps in this recipe but it’s absolutely worth it to create the perfect Chocolate Torte.

P.S. Try to get Madagascar nibs (my favorite) if you can as they pair perfectly with the raspberries!

Serves 12

Preparation Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Cake

1/4 cup Chambord (raspberry liquor)

7oz dark chocolate (64% to 72% cacao)

3 tablespoons water

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cup into bits (1 stick)

3 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar

4 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 ounces roasted cacao nibs (optional: used to coat sides of cake)

12 raspberries (optional: used to decorate the cake)

Glaze

8 ounces butter (about 2 sticks)

2 tablespoons corn syrup (or glucose)

12 ounces dark chocolate (64% to 72% cacao)

To Make the Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a round 8-inch cake pan, 2–3 inches high, with a circle of waxed or parchment paper or use a spring form pan.

Cut chocolate into bits and allow to melt with 3 tablespoons water and the butter in a small bowl in the microwave on 50% power for 20 seconds. Stir well. Repeat melting 20 seconds at a time and stirring until until melted and smooth.

Separate eggs. Place the yolks in a bowl with 1/2 cup sugar. place the whites in a clean, dry electric mixer bowl with the salt

and cream of tartar. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy and pale yellow. Whisk into the chocolate mixture. Then whisk in the Chambord (raspberry liquor) and in flour. Set aside.

Beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar at high speed of an electric mixer with soft peaks (almost firm) have formed. Continue to beat, sprinkling in the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar until meringue is firm and glossy. Fold about 1/3 of the meringue mixture into the chocolate batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining meringue quickly and gently using a cutting motion with a rubber spatula. Turn the batter gently into the prepared pan, distributing the mixture evenly.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake tests done around the edges, but remains moist and seemingly underdone in the center. Test with a toothpick to be sure. Allow the cake to carry-over cook in the pan on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate glaze.

To Make the Glaze

Cut chocolate into bits and melt with butter, and corn syrup in a small bowl in the microwave on 50% power for 10 seconds. Stir well. Repeat melting 10 seconds at a time and stirring until melted and smooth. Allow the glaze to cool until almost set but still spreadable.

Run a knife around the edges of the pan. Unmold the cake onto a stiff piece of corrugated cardboard cut to fit exactly. The cooled cake will have settled in the center, leaving a higher rim around the edges. Press those edges firmly with your fingers until they are level with the center. Spread the edges of the cake with just enough of the cooled chocolate glaze to smooth out any imperfections, cracks or ragged places on the surface. Do the same on the top of the cake, if necessary.

Reheat the remaining glaze in microwave for 10 seconds until it is smooth and pourable, but not thin and watery. If there are any cake crumbs in the glaze, strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Place cake on a turntable or plate and put the remaining glaze at once on the center of the cake. Use a metal spatula to coax it over the edge as the cake is rotated slowly. Use the spatula only to be sure that every part of the cake is coated; do not keep spreading or working the glaze.

Lift the cake off the place and place it on a serving platter (its cardboard base will make this very easy). Allow the glaze to set up just a bit before decorating so the nibs will stay put. Decorate with 12 fresh raspberries in a circle pattern and coat the sides with cacao nibs for a bit of a crunch!.

Karen Neugebauer is internationally recognized as being one of the best chocolatiers in the artisan chocolate industry and is the owner and Master Chocolatier of Forte Chocolates, located about an hour north of Seattle in beautiful Mount Vernon, Washington. To get more information or to contact Chef Karen for custom projects/consulting services please send an email to info@fortechocolates.com or call 360-982-2159.

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