Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Torte
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010I’ve been working on this recipe for about a month now, and luckily there have been several social occasions on which I could test my variations: this torte is RICH – a small slice goes a long way. One torte could easily serve 15 or so people. That said, I’ve found that with practice and dedication, one can work herself up to being able to eat much more than just one small piece.
The inspiration for this torte comes from a chocolate tart recipe I tried out of the big yellow Gourmet recipe book.
Many thanks to my herbalism class at Sacred Plant Traditions for letting me take pictures. This was our last day of class together, and we had quite a feast. This group knows how to eat: marinated broccoli, quinoa with apple and chive blossoms, vegetarian chili, curried egg salad, and that’s just what I remember off the top of my head.
So without further ado:
Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Torte
Crust:
- One 9-inch springform pan
- 1 7.25 oz. package of Pamela’s ginger cookies (yields about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
- 5 T. butter
Filling:
- 10 to 12 ounces 60% or 70% cacao dark chocolate
- 9 T. butter
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 c. organic raw sugar
- 1/2 c. whipping cream
- generous pinch of sea salt
- 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
Wrap the bottom plate of your springform with foil or parchment paper and assemble the pan. Preheat oven to 350 and place a cookie sheet on a lower rack to catch any drips (my springform always seems to leak a little butter from its bottom seam).
Soften the unsalted butter for the crust and mix with the cookie crumbs. If you use a different kind of cookie for the crust, you just want to make sure that it equals 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. If you don’t have enough, I’ve had good luck mixing in some shredded coconut to make up the difference. Press the crumb-butter mixture into the bottom of your springform, bringing it about an inch up the sides.
Bake your crust for about 10 minutes. It will be slightly puffy and the sides may have slumped down a bit. Set the springform on a cooling rack and use a spoon to press the sides back up if necessary. Allow crust to cool.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 9 Tablespoons unsalted butter with the chocolate until completely combined and melted. Remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, cream, salt, and vanilla, then add the chocolate mixture. Pour this filling into the crust, using a spatula to make sure that you’ve gotten every single delicious drop. Smooth the top of the torte with the spatula, then place in the oven to cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. It will not rise much. The edges will be set but the center will still be wobbly. Remove and place on cooling rack to bring to room temperature, a couple hours.
Once cooled to room temperature, place in the refrigerator to chill until the torte is firm, another couple hours. Cut into small slices and serve.
Some variations I plan on trying in the future: adding a layer of jam between the crust and the filling; mixing coconut, dried fruit, or nuts into the filling, or using half dark chocolate batter with half white chocolate batter to do a swirled torte.
