torte

The first time I made this torte, it was for a house blessing, so I made a powdered sugar house on it. This time, I made the torte for a bachelorette party/shower, so I tried to make hearts, but I made too many. I have learned that one must keep the design simple with powdered sugar. Anyway, I promised to post this recipe from Green and Black's organic chocolate, so here it is.

Ingredients:

3 Green and Blacks bars: I usually use the "Maya Gold" for all three, but you could do two dark and one Maya Gold or one Dark and two Maya Gold. It just depends upon how strongly you want to taste the orange and spice.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter

5 large eggs, beaten lightly

1 T ground almonds or 1/4 t. almond extract

Pinch of sea salt

Confectioners sugar or gold dust (if you are a rich cook. LOL)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 to 9 inch spring form pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave for one minute. Stir until fully dissolved. Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan, whisking until smooth. Whisk the eggs, almond, and salt until well combined, and then quickly pour in the melted chocolate and the butter and sugar mixture. Fold in the chocolate, butter, and sugar until they are completely incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared spring form pan, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes (depending on your oven). Let cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar or gold dust, and then remove rim.

For the perfect dessert, serve this with homemade whipped cream. Chill the beaters to your hand mixer and a big mixing bowl in the refrigerator. Then pour half a carton of whipping cream into a bowl, and beat the cream into stiff peaks. Do this right before eating, or the whipping cream will "melt." Serve a dollup of whipped cream with each slice of torte.