There’s nothing more decadently chocolate than this chocolate torte!
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What’s better than chocolate cake? Chocolate Torte! It’s richer and denser than a regular cake, and best of all makes you sound fancy when you say it.
I’m sharing this decadent dessert in honor of St. Patrick’s day! Somehow a rich chocolate cake felt like the perfect dessert after corned beef and Guinness.
Full disclosure: this torte will take time. It’s not the simplest and definitely needs a few hours to pull together. But it’s not complicated, just requires more than your beat-and-bake cake recipe.
From my standby, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. I dream of somday cooking all the recipes in the book but there’s about 5000 plus a million variations, so that’s probably not in the cards. But a girl can dream, right?
Make the batter: eggs, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and chocolate!
Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350°F. Let it cool for 10 minutes before taking out of the pan. When it’s fully cooled, cut it in half to make two layers.
Make the filling and spread it on the bottom layer. The filling should be thick and almost fudgy.
Once you’ve added the filling, let it chill for a few hours or overnight.
Next, make the glaze. Heat cream and butter, then stir in chocolate, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar.
Pour the glaze while it’s still warm and spread over everything.
If you’re going seasonal, top with sprinkles!
This cake is thick and rich and decadent, perfect with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It’s rich enough to be cut thin and serve to a crowd.
Chocolate Torte
Ingredients:
For the cake and filling
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 oz unsweetened baker’s chocolate
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup flour
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
For the glaze
- 3/4 cup cream
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9 inch cake pan. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and water over very low heat, stirring. Let it cool and set aside.
- Beat the whole eggs for a few minutes until light, then add 1 cup sugar. Beat until the mixture is thick. Stir in 1/2 cup flour slowly, then the chocolate mixture. Add the rest of the flour along with the 1 tsp vanilla and salt.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. It’s done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then put on a cooling rack.
- While it’s baking, make the filling: start with the egg yolks in the blender. Add 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tbsp cocoa powder. Blend a bit, then add butter a chunk at a time. Once fully blended, refrigerate if it’s too runny. The goal is to be spreadable but not hard.
- Once the cake has cooled, cut it in half horizontally. Use a bread knife and go slow! Spread the filling across the bottom layer and replace the top. Pop it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
- While the cake chills, make the chocolate glaze. Heat the cream & butter in a saucepan until melted and nearly steaming. Then turn off heat and add chocolate, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Pour the glaze over the cake: it should be smooth but not too liquid, spreadable and thick but not dripping off the top.
While it takes a little more work, this cake is totally worth it! If you’re doing something festive for St. Patrick’s Day, put this on the menu! Best of all, it keeps well so you can make it the day before. Alternately, leave off the sprinkles and it’s perfect for a dinner party or chocoholic’s birthday party!
What are your St. Patrick’s plans??