Ann's Extra Cake - Chocolate Almond Torte

After searching through all of my dessert books, I finally remembered the recipe for the extra cake I made in December (yeah, I know the official one isn't up yet. Bah!). I made this cake for a Christmas party with friends. I'm usually looking for ways to use up the almond flour that I always have around (it's so useful!), so I made this cake since I had all the ingredients. It turned out great! Everyone at the party loved its dense, pure, bitter chocolate flavor, and its almost-fudge-like texture (which is why I kept thinking I'd accidentally copied one of Listle's cakes). It also served as a delightful Santa Lucia/birthday cake for melyngoch.



Chocolate Almond Torte
adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

13 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into teaspoons
2.8 ounces almond flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 3-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment and grease the paper. Cut an 18-inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the outside of the pan.

2. Put the bittersweet chocolate and butter in a medium stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted. Remove the bowl from the pot and set the mixture aside to cool until tepid.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt.

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs at medium speed with an electric hand mixer until blended. Gradually adding the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, increase the speed to high and beat until light and pale, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the tepid chocolate and the ground almond mixture, mixing until almost completely blended. Finish blending with a rubber spatula.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan in a roasting pan, place in the oven, and pour enough hot water into the pan to come almost halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Set the pan on a wire rack and carefully loosen the foil. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

6. Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Remove the side of the pan and carefully invert the cake onto a cake plate. Remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment round. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before serving.

7. To serve, cut the cake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.