Last weekend I needed to make a flourless chocolate torte for a church event. It seemed simple enough (even though I broke the first one), and goodness knows I love chocolate so, even a broken torte is a-okay in my book! Anyway, I of course had to make a second one for the event and it came out so delicious I just had to share it here.
This is gluten-free, but certainly not sugar-free. I bet you could play around with various sweeteners to improve upon that, though.
But here’s what I think makes this torte so great — the butter is completely optional! Yes, that’s right. The instructions on the recipe print-out were unclear. It called for a stick of butter, but didn’t explicitly state what to do with it. So I didn’t use any in the first torte I made (aside from using it on the pan and parchment). As I mixed the sugar and eggs into the melted chocolate, I was concerned because the mixture was so thick and grainy, but it really turned out fine in the end. The resulting dessert featured a texture that is a little drier, a little more brownie-like.
I actually brought leftovers of both tortes to library story hour this week so I could have some “taste testers” and get their thoughts. The consensus was that both were delicious, and could be considered two different desserts due to texture and richness.
So here you go! A yummy (and super easy) gluten-free dessert. (If you want to make it completely butter-free, use another type of fat to grease the pan and parchment — coconut oil would work well here.) Oh, one more thing. I did not have any sort of pan that my springform would fit into to use as a water bath, so I just filled a 9×13 Pyrex casserole dish with boiling water and set it on the rack underneath my torte. It worked fine for me, your mileage may vary.
Flourless Chocolate Torte
- 4 oz. (1/2 cup) bittersweet chocolate (*I just used semi-sweet chips — I think dark chocolate would be amazing)
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces (*optional, read above for my experience making it both ways)
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, plus additional for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start water boiling for the water bath.
Butter the inside of an 8-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper and then butter the paper.
If you are not using chocolate chips, chop your chocolate into small pieces. Melt the chocolate along with the butter in a double boiler and stir until smooth.
Remove the melted chocolate from the double boiler and whisk in the sugar. Add the eggs and whisk well to combine.
Sift 1/2 cup of cocoa powder over the chocolate mixture and whisk to incorporate the cocoa (this may take a few minutes and require scraping down the sides of the bowl).
Pour the mixture into your springform pan and place into the 9×13 pan (*see my note above if your pan will not fit). Place in oven and add boiling water to the 9×13 pan, filling it about halfway up the side of your springform pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the springform pan and cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Carefully (carefully!) remove the sides (you might want to use a knife and just go around the sides first to make sure nothing sticks. Gently turn the cake out onto a serving plate and remove the paper from the top.
When the cake is completely cool, garnish with sprinkled cocoa or powdered sugar. Or if you’re feeling crazy and motivated, a ganache topping would put this dessert over the top!
I made these last Saturday and was writing about it on Facebook. My brother actually made the recipe that night too and was very pleased with how his turned out! He suggested adding peanut butter chips. I think that is an excellent idea.
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It’s simple to throw together, and you could probably freeze it, too.
