2011 Cooking Club Week 11: Amaretto and Chocolate Torte

degausserxo

This is an incredibly rich, decadent dessert - probably not the best choice if you're on a diet! It keeps really well in the fridge, and is actually a lot nicer the day after making it; cold, and with a mug of coffee. It serves 8. (My camera is on the fritz at the minute, so I've no step-by-step pictures to share.. sorry!)

Ingredients:

• Softened butter, for greasing
• 350g dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids, any more is probably too dark)
• 6 tbsp Amaretto di Saronno liqueur
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 50g amaretti biscuits, finely crushed
• 200g caster sugar
• cocoa powder, to dust
• lightly whipped cream or mascarpone, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Fan 160oC/Gas mark 4. Lightly greast a 20cm round cake tin with removable base, line the base with greaseproof paper.

Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of simmering water, and as the chocolate begins to melt, stir in the liqueur (I've made this torte both with and without the liqueur; it's not an absolute necessity as the amaretti biscuits have quite a strong taste of amaretto anyway, so if you're looking for a more chocolatey rather than amaretto-y torte, or if you don't have any amaretto to hand, it's alright to leave it out.. it's just as delicious!). When the chocolate has completely melted, remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks in a bowl until thick and creamy. Mix the crushed amaretti biscuits into the chocolate mixture, and stir in the yolks.

In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the whites to soft peaks. Whisk in the caster sugar, a tablespoonful at a time, until you have a firm and glossy meringue. I've found that depending on the size of the eggs you use, more or less sugar might be needed, so adding the sugar by the tablespoonful is preferable to just dumping it all in. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate and amaretti mixture, a third at a time.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the torte is risen and the top is crusty. The surface may crack, but the middle should still be moist. Turn off the oven and leave to cool slowly inside for at least an hour. Remove the torte from the oven and allow to cool completely before unmoulding. This is crucial, as the torte will be of a slightly cakey texture when removed from the oven, and it needs to set completely.

Transfer to a plate and dust with cocoa powder to serve. Cut into slices and serve with the whipped cream or mascarpone (I personally prefer that squirty cream from a can, as it's a lot lighter than cream you'd whip by yourself, and the torte is quite heavy anyway).

Enjoy!

Darkginger

Wow, that does look gorgeous! Unfortunately I AM on a diet, so it'll have to wait a while before I try it - but it's definitely on my list of things to eat in the future

Beanstalk

i'd love to try this soon, amaretto is a pure class drink.

Dotcomdolly

Is there any way around buying a full size bottle of Amaretto? I'm guessing that'd be pretty expensive, no?

degausserxo

I don't actually know how much a bottle is, we've had one lying around the house for a while. You can actually make it without the amaretto, the amaretti biscuits have a strong enough flavour.

angeldelight

Well I made this today and I can tell that made properly it would be absolutely delicious! however I was having a bit of a disastrous time while making it, I was under huge pressure timewise and had never made a meringue before so wasn't really sure what I was doing! I had to take it out of the oven soon after it was finished cooking as I needed the oven for the main course I was doing (hadn't read the full recipe before starting ). It ended up with the top being too brittle and hard (I also tapped it when I took it out and the whole top shattered, oops) but underneath it was gorgeous chocolately squidginess. Oh and the amaretti biscuits added a lovely taste, I didn't bother with the liquer

Pigwidgeon

Ooh this sounds lovely. I think I might give it a try during the week