Flourless chocolate torte: Another first time

I have been craving a simple chocolate torte for a few weeks now. Yesterday I got down to making one for myself. Of course, I didn't get more than a thin sliver, but that's another story.

Well a torte is a dense and rich cake, usually multilayered with fillings that could be anything ranging from butter cream and jams to ganache and mousses. Once cooled, the decadent cake is finished off with a fine glaze. Drool worthy I tell you. However, there are a few European versions are without layers too and since I was trying to make a torte for the first time I preferred to keep it simple. So I fished out a recipe that is so simple to make that you do a little jig just to celebrate its simplicity.

Now I always feel that it's best that you shop for your own kitchen. In fact, in recent times I have begun to enjoy shopping for ingredients, even the stench of the fish market excites me. But yesterday, I was feeling rather lazy. Besides, the very thought of stepping out in this heat and jostling my way through throngs of enthused shoppers while sweating like a little piggy didn't appeal to me much. I do not usually buy my ingredients from air conditioned malls, I have specific shops at specific old fashioned bazaars that I head to in times of need. So I bullied someone else to do that for me. Well, I didn't exactly bully him, he was headed that way anyway.

And though I will be grateful to him for getting me the ingredients, I was a tad disappointed because he got me chocolate compound instead of dark chocolate. Now like a friend, a former chef and now a professor of culinary sciences, said -- the difference between pure chocolate (for cooking) and chocolate compound is that in chocolate compound the chocolate liqueur and cocoa butter is substituted with vegetable oil and cocoa powder. However he pointed out that working with compound chocolate is easier than handling chocolate. And he said the difference isn't much either, unless you're a persnickety gastronome. To me though the difference in taste is hardly recognizable, there is a distinct textural difference, which I believe comes from the difference in the fat used, vegetable oil as opposed to cocoa butter.

However, to me the real problem was the sugar content in the compound, it was higher of course. So I had to work around that. Coming back to my recipe...Now tortes are usually made with lots of eggs and very little flour, the recipe I found had no flour at all. And it was a torte with no layers, just a dusting of cocoa powder to finish it off. I was not in the mood for jams or jellies, was a little too lazy to trump up a mousse or ganache and I am not a huge fan of butter cream. So I decided to keep it simple.

The method is pretty simple really. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Beat the eggs and sugar. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and bake. And you have a rich, dense, gooey torte ready. But I had the sugar level to deal with. The recipe comprised usual white sugar. Now I substituted the sugar with Demerara sugar (less sweet) and a little less than the quantity suggested. Later instead of just the cocoa powder, I finished it off with a dusting of both cocoa powder and icing sugar. The effect was nice indeed.

By the way, about torte,  it seems the Sachertorte, a classic layered torte with a layer of apricot jam and a coating of chocolate icing that originated in Austria, (invented by Austrian Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Wenzel Von Metternich) is a royalty of sorts among tortes. Did you know that in Austria December 5 is celebrated as National Sachertorte Day? Ah I was just reading about it here. Well, the next time I make a torte, Sachertorte it is going to be.

Ingredients
Unsalted butter - 175 g  + more for greasing the pan
Large eggs - 6
Chocolate Compound - 340 g
Demerara sugar - 5 - 6 tbsp
Pinch of salt
Unsweetened cocoa powder ad icing sugar for dusting

Method 

Preheat oven at 175 degree centigrade. Grease a 9 inch spring form  pan and keep. Chop up the chocolate and in a heatproof bowl combine the chocolate and the butter. Place the bowl on another bowl half-filled with oiling water. The bottom of the bowl containing the chocolate shouldn't touch the water. Set aside to let the chocolate and butter melt. Then stir to combine the melted butter and chocolate together, remove from bowl of boiling water and cool a bit.

In another bowl combine eggs, sugar and salt and beat until thick and pale.

Now fold in the chocolate mixture with the eggs mix, first half and once combines the rest. Pour into the greased springform and bake at 175 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the top is almost set, barely wiggles and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out with only a few crumb. Remove on to a rack and cool.

Finally finish it off with a dusting of cocoa powder and icing sugar. I would prefer to serve it cold.

Note that the above recipe is an adaptation of the original one. For the original recipe see here. 

Layers of joy

Last evening was a blessed one. A dear friend — rum and coke (yes I still love my rum and coke) — incessant talking — crazy revelations — and my brand new oven. A gift from a special someone. Of course I was elated and though a few technical hindrances kept me from cooking the inaugural meal I had to celebrate anyway and I did by making a lip-smacking dessert, a personal favourite.

I had learnt to make this dessert from a dear friend, my para mate,  Pooja, almost 10 years ago. We were still in school. In fact, I still remember the first time I tasted it.

Pooja is now an IT professional based in Pune and her family has moved from their old house in New Alipore to their new, more swanky apartment in, well...in New Alipore. But their old house remains somewhat special to a few of us who were regulars at her place.

One, her house was strategically located — a guy I had a huge crush on in my teens stayed right across.
Two, there was an old-worldish charm about her place. Her house even had a central courtyard. I especially loved that.
Three, her mom was a wonderful cook. (Well that holds true still)

So, yes it was during one of my frequent visits to her place that she brought in a bowl of this delectable dessert. A layered treat with rich chocolate and biscuits (she told me later it was biscuits, humble Marie). She said she had made it and I told myself she couldn't have.I didn't want to believe she had. It was bloodie good. Please note by now my culinary skills (limited though) were already being extolled in the circle and I was probably a little jealous. But one spoon of it and I knew it would remain my favourite forever.

Pooja often made the dessert when I would come visiting. I would pester her for days in advance. And finally, after a bit of coaxing she shared the recipe. Well, I tried but mine didn't taste exactly the same. But what I make now, after years, might not taste exactly the same as the one I had tasted that winter morning but it's delicious nonetheless.  And I made just that to celebrate.


Now I didn't have any measurements to follow, I always followed instincts.
But this is more or less the measurement I follow

Choco Marie camaraderie 

Ingredients 
Milk - 1 litre
Cocoa Powder - 60 gms 
Corn flour - 2 tbsp 
Sugar- 1 cup
Coffee - 11/2 tbsp
 Raisins - A fistful 
Marie biscuits : I large packet. 
2 glasses of water
Coffee: 4 tbsp. 


STEP 1: In a bowl mix cocoa,11/2 tbsp coffee and sugar. In half a cup of milk stir in the corn flour and keep. Add the rest of the milk little my little into the sugar and cocoa mix, stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Now stir in the corn flour. Microwave the runny milk-cocoa mix for 12-15 minutes, or until a thick chocolate sauce is what you have. Thick and luscious. Oh, about after six minutes in the microwave, bring out the bowl, stir in the raisins and put it back for the remaining of the cooking time.  

STEP 2: Add the coffee (4tbsp) in the water and bring to a boil and leave it on high heat for about 3-5 minutes. Now take a flat bottomed bowl of any shape. Dip the Marie biscuits (how many depends on the size of the bowl) in the coffee and make a layer at the bottom of the bowl. With a ladle make a layer of the cooled chocolate mic on the biscuit layer. Follow it with a biscuit layer and then chocolate. Repeat the process once more. 

Finally put it in the freezer to set. Once set transfer it to the refrigerator.