Chocolate Almond Torte

Our family loves chocolate cake...and this chocolate cake is definitely not to be missed!

Lena from Frozen Wing, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and I baked this cake for our bake-along and the recipe is from Joy of Baking.

My family and I are very happy eating this moist and delicious chocolate cake. As it is gluten-free, I've given a couple slices of these to my Celiac friend.

As described in the recipe, the cake will rise during baking but falls during cooling, leaving a crisp and cracked crust. So, don't be upset if you sees cracks on the cake. It is perfectly normal!

 

The cake is moist and surprising quite light in texture.

Here's the recipe from Joy of Baking (with my minor modification in blue)

1 cup (100 g) finely ground almonds
4 large eggs
200 g semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I use the 70% cocoa chocolate)
150 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
150 g granulated white sugar, divided
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 180°C (I use 160°C fan forced) and place oven rack in the middle of the oven. Place the

sliced or blanched almonds (I use almond meal) on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool. Once completely cooled, place the nuts in a blender or small food processor and process until finely ground (I skip this step).
Note: The almonds need to be at room temperature before grinding to prevent them from clumping. If you find the almonds still clump when you ground them, add about 1 tablespoon (13 grams) of the sugar from the recipe. The sugar will help prevent clumping as it absorbs any oil exuded from the almonds.

Increase the oven temperature to 190°C (I use 170°C fan forced) and line an 8 inch (20 cm) springform pan with parchment paper.

Separate the cold eggs, placing the egg yolks in one bowl and the egg whites in another. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until they reach room temperature (about 30 minutes).

Melt the chopped chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once melted, remove from heat.

Meanwhile place the egg yolks and 100 g granulated white sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the yolks and sugar until pale and thick (about 2 to 3 minutes). Beat in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Fold in the ground almonds.

In a clean bowl, place the egg whites and whisk until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whisking until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 50g sugar and whisk until stiff peak forms. Fold about 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate batter to lighten it. Quickly fold in the rest of the whites and mix only until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake has a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. The cake will rise during baking but falls during cooling, leaving a crisp and cracked crust. Once cool, run a spatula around the inside of the pan before releasing the sides. If not serving immediately, cover and place in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature. 

Dust with powdered (icing or confectioners) sugar. (I skip this step)

Note: I've made a 14cm cake using half of the cake recipe and reduce the baking time to 30 min. The "toothpick" test can be quite tricky; within a short moment of 4-5 min, the cake can be uncooked having lots of crumbs on the toothpick and can be ready having less crumbs on the tested toothpick in the next 4-5 min.

Happy Baking
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