Flourless Snickers Torte

A flourless snickers torte made with chopped snickers and a few ingredients to create a delicious gluten free treat. Easy and perfect for a celebration.

Motherhood has it’s perks. I am not talking about the unconditional love and cuddles, cute little surprises and all that stuff. Those are too precious to even put in words. I am talking about the fun stuff. Like being able to sing nursery rhymes in the shower without being judged. Or having someone to get you the TV remote in an instant. Like eating nachos for dinner. Like having a pantry filled with candies and chocolates. Well, the kid in me is always in awe of motherhood.

I have been very excited to experiment with this recipe. For months I have imagined how candies would work in a torte. Why candies? Because there is a sense of familiarity that comes with them. A bit of childhood and nostalgia wrapped up in those bars. Basically, it is fun to make and exciting to share. If you have never made a torte before, it is nothing but a flourless cake. In this case, it is without added butter or fat too. So what gives it body and keeps it moist? It is meringue, possibly the most beautiful and scientific thing in this world. I have made this torte several times, each time with a different nut and a different variety of chocolate.  I chose Snickers bars for two reasons. First, Snickers bars consists of nougat, peanuts, caramel and milk chocolate. So they are without flour. And they would be more suited to a flourless cake than any other chocolate bar.

When I was smashing Ferrero Rocher chocolates for my Mousse Cake a few months ago, my boys found it amusing and handed over two Snickers bars to me. ‘Here, add these to the cake too’ they said. That is the second reason I wanted to make a Snickers torte.

This Snickers torte is like biting into a giant snickers chocolate bar. Every mouthful will speak for itself. It is nutty, chocolate-y, oozing caramel, sticky, moist and outright delicious. It is also easy to make. Do not feel intimidated by the meringue. All you need to ensure is that you beat it to stiff peaks (peaks that hold shape when the beaters are lifted). Here’s a video from the Kitchn in case you are making meringue for the first time. Baking for me, is all about having fun in the kitchen and learning from my mistakes.
The great thing about this torte is that you can eat it even if you are avoiding gluten. This can be also made with plain dark chocolate. You can use this recipe.

 

Flourless Snickers Torte
Serves 8

100 g (about 1 cup) pecans, or any nut of your choice
125 g (about 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp ) sugar
250 g snickers bars, coarsely chopped
a pinch of salt
7 egg whites (from large eggs), about 1 cup
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 8-inch spring form pan.

Pulse the pecans 1 tbsp of the sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Scrape the nuts into another bowl. Use a paper towel to wipe excess oil from the sides of the processor bowl, add the snickers bars with 1 Tbsp. sugar, and pulse until it forms crumbs ranging in size from coarse meal to 1/4-inch bits. Add the chocolate to the nuts and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large clean, dry bowl at medium speed until the egg whites are creamy white and soft peaks are formed when the beaters are lifted. Gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating at medium-high speed until the egg whites are glossy and stiff but not dry.

Pour half of the chocolate mixture over the egg whites and fold in with a large rubber spatula until nearly incorporated. Repeat with the  remaining chocolate mixture, folding just until evenly incorporated.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the Torte is puffed and golden brown on top and springs back when gently pressed with your fingers. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out moist and possibly stained with melted chocolate, but not coated with raw batter. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Slide a thin knife or a small metal spatula around the sides of the Torte to release it from the pan. Remove the pan sides and transfer the cake to a serving platter.