Chocolate Bomb Truffle Torte
For me at least, confidence, bravery and daring required getting a whole lot of years under my belt (that and a fair amount of therapy and healing, but that’s a conversation for another forum). Growing up the artsy and bookish gay kid, I’m not sure I could have imagined a time when I would honestly feel like almost nothing and no one intimidates me, but here I am. And it’s refreshing.
I’ll take risks, experiment, embark on learning whole new skills, and give just about anything a whirl, working at it until I get it right. Well, unless I truly just don’t want to…or as my husband would put it for himself, “I’m sixty-five!” This particular announcement was made after his last birthday, followed by an explanation in colorful language that this meant he no longer had to do anything he didn’t want to.
I asked, “And that’s different from sixty-four, sixty-three, sixty-two, and ‘My mother is dead, I’m not eating that’ how?” (Hmm, that probably needed a bit more exposition, sorry. Oh well, welcome to the strangeness that is my life with an Irish-Catholic atheist storyteller whose favorite topic is death. Hey, it’s not boring!)
His response? “Fair.”
All this is to say that I avoided a whole incredible world because it seemed daunting. In particular, the world of flourless cakes!
Yep, they’re fancy — but that’s because they are so rich (and best with quality ingredients), not because they are difficult. Thus, welcome to my first blog post where I am going to speak overtly about the actual recipe.
Here it is: Essentially, you pour hot sugar-water over chocolate and butter, let it sit for a minute, stir until smooth and let cool. While that happens, you mix up a bunch of eggs and flavorings, then when the chocolate is cool, you mix the two. Bake. Ta-dah!
Honestly, the trickiest thing about this torte is getting it out of the pan…which isn’t hard when you’ve done it a time or two. And if it doesn’t go so well? A giant dollop of whipped cream will hide A LOT! But no one is going to care whether or not it looks perfect once they take a bite.
BONUS, in addition to impressing your friends, family, neighbors, church/school groups or whoever, these beauties are gluten-free (which means you can expect to see all sorts of variations pop up over time — see the Milk Chocolate + Hazelnut version already on the blog).
Believe me, you can do this! You’re braver than you think. Give it a whirl.
The pictured torte is covered in a semi-sweet ganache shell and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate (made by gently melting chocolate chips).
These are some of the items I find especially helpful for this bake. (These are affiliate links.)
Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
King Arthur Espresso Powder
Valhrona Baking Milk Chocolate Wafers
Fat Daddio’s Aluminum Cake Pan, 9-Inch
Chocolate Bomb Truffle Torte
makes one 9-inch cake
INGREDIENTS
1 pound bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional (but YUM!)
3/4 cup butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
1/2 cup water
1 + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
7 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons Madagascar bourbon vanilla
*3 tablespoons good quality bourbon, such as Maker’s Mark or Bulleit
INSTRUCTIONS
Set the rack to center and preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch cake pan, line the bottom and sides with parchment, and lightly grease or spray the paper. Boil a kettle of water for the water bath.
Place the chocolate, espresso powder and butter in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and salt to a boil. Stir until the sugar is fully melted, then pour the mixture over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. Gently whisk until the mixture is completely smooth, and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
In a medium-large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs to break them up, but don’t whip. Stir in the vanilla and bourbon. Add the eggs to the cooled chocolate mixture and stir with a spatula until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Set a roasting pan or deep baking ban on the oven rack, place the cake pan in the center, and slowly pour boiling water into the roasting pan, filling halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Carefully slide the rack into place.
Bake for 50-55 minutes. The top should feel set if you tap the center gently.
Carefully lift the cake pan from the water bath, and place on a rack to cool for 1 hour or until the pan feels only slightly warm to the touch. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to remove the cake from the pan, set the pan into 1 inch of very warm water for a minute. Dry the pan, run a knife around the edge of the pan outside the parchment, center a serving plate on the pan, hold the two together firmly, and carefully flip them over. Tap firmly on the sides of the pan until you hear the cake release. Remove the pan and parchment, and return the cake to the refrigerator.
Top with sifted cocoa powder, ganache, caramel or other topping of your choosing. For a restaurant-worthy alternative, pool a sauce on the serving plates and set slices into it — in which case, I recommend a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top!
*AFRAID THIS IS TOO BOOZY FOR YOU? For a more subtle and less boozy bourbon flavor: Place 1/3 cup of bourbon in a small saucepan. Bring to a light boil for 2 minutes, swirling the pan to limit bubbling. You should end up with 3 tablespoons (with rich bourbon flavor but no notes of the alcohol). Set aside to cool to room temperature.
SERVING TIP: Cut slices with a very sharp clean knife while the cake is cold. (Dipping the blade in warm water and wiping dry between cuts is quite helpful.) Allow the slices to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
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