Chocolate Torte

You get a last minute invitation to dinner and you have less than 2 hours before you need to leave, what do you make? If you have anymore than an hour’s notice, you can make this torte! No need for softened butter since melted butter and melted chocolate make for a quick batter and everything can easily be mixed by hand. Just don’t forget to preheat the oven! This torte served warm gives brownie/lava cake energy while a cold version is rich and dense.

Ingredients:

Chocolate – Use chocolate chips or chocolate bars. I wouldn’t use anything sweeter than semi-sweet. You want this to be dark and rich!

Butter – Yes, this cake is basically just chocolate and butter but that’s why it tastes good.

Sugar – The bitterness from the chocolate really offsets the sweetness.

Chocolate Torte

Print Recipe
A quickie dessert that can be made gluten-free and eaten hot or cold.
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate, gluten free, torte
Cook Time 20 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 9 in springform pan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup almond flour or AP flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 5 eggs
  • powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • In the microwave or over a double-boiler, melt butter and chocolate and mix together. If using a microwave, microwave in 15 second increments and stir in between to ensure nothing burns. Once completely mixed, set aside to cool.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together almond flour, sugar, eggs, and salt.
  • While waiting for chocolate and butter to cool, line your springform pan with parchment paper to ensure that none of the batter leaks out of the pan.
  • Mix the chocolate/butter mixture into the almond/sugar mixture.
  • Pour into parchment lined pan and bake at 400F on a middle rack for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Optional – dust the top of the torte with powdered sugar before serving. for even more richness, serve alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup drizzled on top.

Try another baked good like Bread Pudding or Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

I’ve exhausted my pumpkin resources for the year, so this will (sadly) most likely be the last pumpkin recipe for a while. Might as well end it on something big and extravagant like a multi-layer pumpkin cake! There’s a restaurant near me that have serve absolutely massive cakes. Definitely something straight from Matilda. They’re two layers and just so impressive. Each cake layer has got to be at least 4 inches, so the cake with the frosting pushes a full foot in height. I don’t have the cake pans to make a cake 4 inches thick and 2 feet in diameter (and it’s probably a a good thing that I cannot make a cake that large, who would eat it all?). For a normal sized gathering, my cake is much more reasonably sized.

Ingredients

Pumpkin – I like using fresh pumpkin! You can make your own using my recipe, Homemade Pumpkin Puree.

Sugar – This cake is not too sweet, just enough!

Oil – I use vegetable oil in this recipe. It’s much easier to mix into a batter and makes a really moist batter. Also can I say it’s slightly healthier than butter?

Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Print Recipe
A semi-fancy cake for any fall gathering.
Course Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate, hazelnut, pumpkin, walnut

Equipment

  • 2 cake pans 10-inch

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1.5 cups oil
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp clove
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 3.5 cups flour all-purpose
  • 3 tsp baking soda

Whipped Cream

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Other toppings

  • 1 cup hazelnut spread
  • 1 cup walnuts toasted

Instructions

  • Mix together eggs, sugars, salt, oil, pumpkin and baking spices until well combined.
  • After no lumps remain, add all-purpose flour and baking powder, mixing until just combined.
  • Spray baking pans with non-stick spray and evenly distribute batter into pans.
  • Bake at 350F for ~45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • If baking ahead, the cakes can be removed from the pans, wrapped in plastic, and then placed in the freezer for easier handling when it's time to assemble. Do not assemble the cake until the cake layers have been fully cooled.
  • To make the whipped cream, add the heavy cream, salt and sugar to a mixer or mix by hand until stiff peaks are achieved.
  • Assemble the cake in the following order:
    1st layer of cake, hazelnut spread, half of the toasted walnuts, half of the whipped cream, 2nd layer of cake, rest of the whipped cream, and rest of the walnuts
  • Keep refrigerated until time to serve.

Some other pumpkin recipes: Pumpkin Basque Burnt Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars.