torte Archives - Sugar et al

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.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Some of you on the other side of the hemisphere had a long one. I wish ours was as long but nevertheless it was a fantastic one. We celebrated Father’s day here in Australia on Sunday. Since my little ones are getting better at keeping secrets we had quite a few surprises planned for Daddy this time. And I was relieved that none of them were given away, innocently.. like the previous years. Between a fancy home cooked breakfast and dinner we planned lunch outside so I wouldn’t end up spending the entire day in the kitchen. But the highlight of the day was this Gluten Free Torte.

My husband is not too much into desserts but a chocolate indulgence here and there doesn’t hurt. So I was not surprised when he chose this Torte out of the options I gave him. Well, if you ask me ANYBODY would. A flourless, butterless cake with bits and chunks of bittersweet chocolate and pecans with the perfect moist gooey texture. It takes a lot on your part to resist the temptation of eating spoonfuls of batter before it goes into the oven and even worse when the Torte is cooling down. I can say with absolute certainty that this is the best thing I have ever baked in my life. My family loved it.

The Torte is actually quite light despite the chocolate overload in it. Needless to say, a good quality chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa butter ( I used Lindt 70% Cocoa) makes all the difference in this recipe. This is such a beautiful dessert whether you are serving it for a dinner party or for a special celebration. Taste aside, what I love the most about this Torte is the way it looks. So rustic…with specs of dark chocolate held together be a delicious meringue. And this is why you don’t need any fancy decoration to go with it even for a birthday party. Whipped cream contrasts the bittersweet flavour perfectly so a dollop of it or simply some swirls on the Torte is enough. Dust a little cocoa powder and there you have it.

Chocolate indulgence..the guilt free way (that’s what the best ‘Daddy’ in the world likes to call it)!

Linking up with the September Chocolate Party.
Bring your favorite chocolate dessert to Roxana’s home baking #chocolateparty and win amazing prizes from OXO, Calphalon, Keurig, Imperial Sugar, Honey Ridge Farms and Land O Lakes® Butter

Gluten Free Bittersweet Chocolate Chunk and Pecan Torte (adapted with variation from Fine Cooking)
Serves 8-10

100 g (about 1 cup) pecans/walnuts, or any nut of your choice (I used pecans and walnuts. As I was running short of the exact amount of pecans, I added some walnuts)
125 g (about 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp ) sugar
250 g good quality bittersweet chocolate (70% to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 medium orange (optional)
1/8 tsp. salt
7 egg whites (from large eggs), about 1 cup
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 8-inch springform pan.

Pulse the pecans/walnuts with 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 chocolate 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, along with the orange zest, if using, 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 1/2 cup sugar, beating at medium-high speed until the egg whites are glossy and stiff but not dry.

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 center 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.

Serve slices with a dollop or swirl of whipped cream.