My boyfriend and I had been dating for two years when I moved to college. From the beginning, I mad it abundantly clear that I was going out of state. No boy would change that; if you were in this for the long run, then it would be long-distance.
I don’t think I realized how hard it would be to keep that attitude. I love my school, but I also love him, and the balance between the two is a constant tug. Right before I moved there my freshman year, he came up with my family and I to see the city. I was doing student orientation all day while he oriented himself to campus. We did not see each other until dinner.
We had come upon a random but nice looking Italian place downtown with public parking nearby. We had no recommendations or reasons to assume it was good, but we were hungry and tired and willing to settle.
Two years later, I now know that this is one of the most popular places in town.
Anyway, the meal itself was lovely, but the dessert is why I remember this night. I wanted cheesecake, but when my boyfriend looked at me with those pleading eyes- the “I’m about to say goodbye to you for four years” eyes- and asked to split the chocolate torte, I could not refuse.
To be entirely honest, I did not think it was remarkable. Tortes are typically very light, but this place kept them chilled, making it sink into a very dense hunk of fudge. Naturally, my boyfriend was entirely enthralled in this slice of chocolate bliss.
Since then, he has referenced the torte several times, and we keep meaning to go back to the restaurant and order it. But, there’s always something more pressing to do when he visits, or I want to make dessert for him myself, or we’re broke, etc.
So, when I was picking a dessert for Valentines day this year, I knew what to make immediately. I’d wanted to make it last year, but we ended up doing a Mardi Gras theme and having King Cake. This was the year of the chocolate.
I, however, make my tortes correctly. They are served room temp, so that the texture is a cross between a souffle and a truffle. There are only 5 ingredients in a real chocolate torte; I poured over dozens of recipes to find the perfect balance. Because a torte is so rich, I pour a tart raspberry sauce over the top. For a temperature contrast, a scoop of ice cream with hot ganache takes it to pretentious-baker level. It is not a cloyingly sweet dessert, actually. The torte is rich but not sugary, the sauce is tart… really, the ganache and cream are the sweetest part, and it’s kind of needed to cut the darkness.
So, there’s the personal story and what it tastes like. Here’s the recipe. Why should you make it? It’s easy, impressive, beautiful, make-ahead, romantic, mature, and more than nice enough for company. I really can’t sell it any better: this stuff is the best.
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 8 oz semi sweet chocolate
- 2 sticks butter
- 8 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the sauce:
- 2 cups raspberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 10 oz jar of seedless raspberry jam
Ganache and serving:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1.5 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- good vanilla ice cream- like, buy the expensive stuff that stays soft in the freezer. It’s worth it.
- sea salt, optional
TO PREPARE:
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan, and dust with cocoa powder. Tap out the excess if you can, but don’t make a mess. I always stress about this part, but tortes have so much butter, they don’t tend to stick anyway.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate and butter until smooth. Set off the heat too cool.
Beat together the eggs and sugar for 4 minutes until super airy and thick. Once the chocolate is cooled to room temp or just above, fold it into the egg-sugar mixture, along with the vanilla.
Pour into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, until the sides are set and the middle has a teeny bit of jiggle (it’ll set up as it cools)
Let cool to room temp.
While it’s baking, you can make the sauce: Combine the raspberries, sugar, and water in a small pan over high heat. Bring to a boil for four minutes, until all the berries burst. Carefully pour into a blender or food processor with the jam, and blend! I sometimes add a dash of bitters here, if you like. Put the sauce in the fridge to chill.
Right before serving: Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan until simmering on the edges. Pour in the chocolate chips and stir to melt.
Lay a pool of raspberry sauce on the bottom of each plate. Lay a slice of torte on top (it should cut easily with a pie-cutter). Sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with the other plates.
Scoop ice cream onto each plate, and drizzle raspberry sauce over the top. You’re getting all of the plates done in steps instead of one at a time, because the hot ganache will melt the ice cream. If you did them one at a time, the first plate would be a pool of melted ice cream before you finish the last one.
Finally, pour ganache over the top of everything and serve with a spoon and a fork! A fork for the cake, a spoon for the sauce. Trust me.
Everyone that has tried this in my life freaks out. I hope you do, too.
whenkathycooks 