This almost flourless chocolate torte cake is so easy to put together, I made it when I was 8 years old. The result is a deep, dense chocolate cake with the aroma of hazelnuts, which always reminds me of a hazelnut mocha.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 20minutes
Cook Time 1hour
Total Time 1hour20minutes
Servings 8servings
Calories 369kcal
Author Stephanie Stiavetti
Ingredients
6ouncesof dark chocolate (65-70%)chopped
5ounces (1 heaping cup)whole hazelnuts
1/2cup (1 stick)unsalted butterat room temperature
1/2cup plus 2 tablespoonssugar
1wholevanilla bean
4largeeggsat room temperature
1/4cupflour
3/4teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspooncinnamon
Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
Set the oven rack to the middle of your oven, and preheat to 400°F (204°C). Grease an 8-inch round springform pan with butter and set aside.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Start by setting a small pot of water to boil on the stove. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low and set a heatproof bowl into the pot so that it rests on top and does not fall in. Add the chocolate to the bowl and stir constantly until completely melted. Remove the chocolate from the heat and allow to cool completely.
Spread the nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. When the oven is at temperature slide the baking sheet into the oven. Roast nuts until they are fragrant and take on a nice golden brown color, about 6 minutes. Watch them carefully and don't let them get too dark! Remove nuts from oven and allow to cool completely. Lower oven temperature to 350°F (176°C).
Using a dry, rough washcloth, rub the nuts together to remove most of the skins. Transfer the nuts to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they form a semi-fine powder, about the texture of coarse sand, 10 to 12 short pulses. Do not over chop, or you'll end up with an oily, separated mess.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle lengthwise. Use the knife to scrape the tiny vanilla beans from the inside of the pod, adding them to the butter. Reserve the spent pod for some other use.
Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating each until mixed. Add flour, salt, and cinnamon, beating for another 30 seconds. Pour in the ground hazelnuts and scoop in chocolate, beating until well mixed, about 1 minute.
Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out with just a few streaks of matte-looking chocolate, about 30 minutes. The middle may still look a little underdone, which is fine as long as the toothpick isn't covered with what looks like wet chocolate batter. Once done, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack.
Once the cake is cool, carefully remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter and remove the parchment circle. Let sit for 20 minutes before dusting liberally with powered sugar for garnish. Serve immediately or seal in plastic before storing in the refrigerator. If serving the torte later, wait until just before you serve to dust with powdered sugar.