# Trying to perfect a warm flourless chocolate torte recipe



## [email protected] (Sep 8, 2004)

I'm fanatical about chocolate desserts, but don't know enough about the chemistry involved to get what i want all the time.

this warm chocolate torte recipe turns out very well, but it's not quite what i'm looking for ... it's basically a souflee ... very light and fluffy. i'd like a bit more bitter chocolate intensity, and also some more density ... more melt-in-your mouth lusciousness, compared with its current evaporate-into-thin-air mouth feel.

my first instinct is is to up the amount of chocolate by adding 1/2 oz more bittersweet chocolate and 1 oz of unsweetened chocolate--a 40% increase in chocolate relative to other ingredients. any thoughts from the baking gurus?

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3-1/2 ounces valrhona guanaja, coarsely chopped ?3-1/2 ounces sweet butter, soft 3 egg yolks,2TB + 2tsp granulated sugar, 2 egg whites

Prepare in 6" cheesecake pan

Preheat oven at 300 degrees. 
Butter the inside of pan.

Melt chocolate on low heat or in double boiler. Set aside to cool. Cream the butter in an electric mixer. Beat in the cooled chocolate. 

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3 teaspoons sugar until lemony colored. Beat in the chocolate mixture. 

Beat egg whites to form soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and beat at high speed to hold soft peaks. Fold in the chocolate mixture. 

Fill pan 1/2 full. Recipe can be made 3 hours ahead to this point.

Bake 15 to 25 minutes. It's done when top looks dry and when torte doesn't jiggle when shaken.

Set baking sheet on a rack to cool. After 10 minutes. ?
Transfer to dessert plates. Dust with sugar.

(this is a reduced recipe for my experimental purpose. full reciipe is for 10oz chocolate and 10-3/4 pastry ring)


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

I have the tried and tested recipe of the most gorgeous chocolate cake,
rich chocolate taste, but it is not flourless....
Interested????? qahtan


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## [email protected] (Sep 8, 2004)

sure, i'm interested in taking a look. 

although past a certain point better isn't about better ... it's about the particular qualities you happen to want. the recipe above is fantastic. it's just not the exact thing that i'm going for! 

You might try my ideal recipe and prefer the one that i moved away from.


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

This is Gary Rhodes cake recipe..
If you like chocolate you will love this one..... qahtan

RICH STOUT CAKE 

This is a chocolate cake with a difference. It's a basic chocolate cake recipe with the addition of rich stout which makes a very deep, rich cake, not only with the flavour of stout but also the colour to go with it. Guinness works very well in this recipe. The combination of the soft brown sugar and stout gives you fuller texture and taste. Also 100-225g (4-8 oz) of plain chocolate can be grated into the mix to give an even stronger taste. It's very good to eat as a cake, or for real chocoholics, you could warm a slice in the microwave and serve it with a Rich Chocolate Sauce (see p.248). 

225g (8 oz) unsalted butter 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
350g (12 oz) soft brown sugar 
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 
4 eggs, beaten 
400 ml (14 fl oz) stout (Guinness) 
225g (8 oz) plain flour 
100g (4 oz) cocoa 

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350 F /gas 4. Butter a 20-25 cm (8-10 in) deep cake tin. Cream together the butter with the soft brown sugar. 

Gradually add the beaten eggs. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix the stout with the cocoa powder. Now add the flour and stout mixes alternately to the butter and eggs until completely and evenly bound. You will find the consistency to be quite soft. 

Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until set. You may need to cover with a piece of brown paper after an hour to prevent it browning too much. Allow to cool before removing from the tin. The stout cake is now ready -cheers! 

Variations 

Pouring a glass of stout always leaves you with a lovely finish on the top. You can do exactly the same with this cake. Melt 100 to 175g ( 4-6 oz) of grated white chocolate with 100-175 g (4-6 oz) of butter and 1-2 measures of Irish whiskey until just softened, then leave to cool. You now have a rich white chocolate icing to spread on top of the cake. 

To make a glass of Stout Cake Pudding, simply blitz some of the cake to a crumb stage and spoon into 300 ml (1/2 pint) glasses, leaving 1-2 cm (1/2 û 3/4 in) clear at the top. Soak the sponge crumbs in a flavoured syrup or perhaps add freshly grated chocolate or even fruits or raisins. Finish the dish with Irish Whiskey Sabayon (p.245) and pour on top. This, as you can imagine, looks just like a real half pint of thick creamy stout and tastes just as good! 

Here's the sabayon to go with the cake variants. Enjoy it. 

Sabayon 

Sabayons go particularly well with ice-creams or can be spooned over tarts or flans and then made into a golden brown glaze under the grill. This recipe is different from the original. You can add almost any flavours and tastes to suit the dessert of your choice. 

4 egg yolks 
6 tablespoons Marsala, 
50 g (2 oz) caster sugar 

All these flavours can be made using the same method, whisking together the yolks with the sugar and the flavour of your choice over a pan of simmering water, which will at least double the volume. 

MAKES 900 ml (1-1/2 pints) 

Note: The sabayon can also be made in an electric mixer. To help it along, simply warm the bowl first. 

Variations 

There are many other flavours that can be added to a sabayon. To this quantity, the grated zest of 1-2 lemons, oranges or limes can be added, replacing half the Champagne or white wine with the juice of the fruit. This will give you a very strong citrus fruit sabayon that will eat well with a steamed sponge or maybe ice-cream of the same flavour. Of course, all of the flavours can be mixed. A good home-made or bought raspberry ice-cream or sorbet with a lemon sabayon is delicious. Or perhaps chocolate ice-cream or steamed sponge with orange sabayon or a good white chocolate ice-cream with lime sabayon. 

To add even more taste to these, three-quarters of the liquid, wine or flavouring can be replaced with lemon curd or good orange marmalade to make it even more flavoursome. 

Reducing the sugar content to 25 g (1 oz) and adding 3-4 tablespoons of golden syrup with 1-2 tablespoons of water gives you an amazing golden syrup sabayon. Eating that spooned over a golden syrup steamed sponge instead or as well as custard is wonderful.


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## [email protected] (Sep 8, 2004)

that sounds like an interesting cake. have you tried it with real chocolate? in my experience it's not possible to come close to the depth of flaver of good chocolate with cocoa powder.


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

Yes many times I have made it to the recipe, and added about 7 or 8 ozs grated dark German chocolate.

qahtan


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I made the stout cake yesterday and it came out superb. I didn't add any chocolate because I wanted to see the flavor without before messing around with that. I brought it to work and have asked for people to leave their opinions. So far, all is very positive. Thanks for the great recipe.


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

You will find it even more yummy if you add grated chocolate to it.;-( qahtan


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## gardenia (Aug 13, 2006)

I'm by no means a baking guru ! but I do make a great (flourless) Mexican Chocolate Torte. I think you would have a denser cake if you use just whole eggs (up to 7 for a 9-inch cake). The whipped egg whites may be what makes it fluffy?


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