Flourless Chocolate Torte

Have any of our readers ever eaten at a Burton’s Grill? If you have one nearby or have the chance to visit one then do yourself a favor. Order dessert and pick the flourless chocolate torte. I had it for the first time on a girls’ weekend last year and proceeded to have it at least one other time that weekend. The same thing happened this summer when we were on vacation. My whole family thought it was divine.

It’s one of those desserts that you bite into and say, “Mmmm, this is SO GOOD.” Then swallow and take another bite and can’t help it when you keep saying, “Mmmm!” with each bite.

No worries if you do not have a Burton’s Grill nearby because I am sharing a recipe for a flourless chocolate torte that is has the same effect on you and your family or friends or whomever eats it.

Today we are not counting calories. It is the Christmas season which means we do not count calories. Okay? Right? You may have seen a phrase floating around on Facebook and the internet that says, “We should stop counting calories and start counting chemicals.”

Anything that starts out with these ingredients has to be good. Am I right?

You can use baking chocolate but I keep Ghirardelli chocolate chips (semi-sweet and/or bittersweet) in my pantry.

I love my pretty farm fresh egg shells. J

All that butter and chocolate are melting together. You’ll want to lick the bowl when you’re done.

Ready to go in the oven.

So it does not look exactly “pretty” when it comes out. That’s okay. You can stop here and just hope no one wants to eat any and you have lots of leftovers.

Or you could dust it with unsweetened cocoa powder or powdered sugar. And if you cut a stencil, then you can make it look pretty after all.

I used my Silhouette Cameo die cutter to cut my snowflake stencil.

See how dense it is?

We like to heat it (a WARM slice is key!) then top it with a dollop of whipped cream. 

Sometimes we like a blanket of whipped cream....... ;)

That warm slice of chocolate is like heaven in your mouth. The "Mmmmm"s will commence immediately.

Flourless Chocolate Torte
printable recipe here

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter or margarine, cut into small pieces, plus more for the pan
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate (2 cups)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
Unsweetened cocoa powder or powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan. Combine the chocolate and 1 1/2 sticks butter in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until melted and combined. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let cool slightly.

While the chocolate cools, combine the eggs, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick, 5 to 8 minutes.

Gently fold half of the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture to temper the egg until just combined, then gently fold in the rest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is no longer shiny and barely jiggles and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely in the pan. Remove the springform ring and transfer to a platter; dust with cocoa powder or powdered sugar, if desired.

I made this dessert at our neighborhood Christmas party. They all loved it! One neighbor asked what made it a torte. I had wondered the same thing and told her I wondered if it was because of their denseness and use of eggs. For my blog readers, I looked it up to educate us all. ;)

A torte uses little to no flour and mainly consists of sugar, eggs, butter, and flavorings.

I also read that tortes are dense because of the lack of flour. All tortes are cake but not all cakes are torte. Got it?

When I answered my neighbor, I actually guessed right. She also wanted the recipe. Now you all have it and can share with the world!

Besides tasting delicious, the other good thing about this recipe is you may already have all the ingredients you need in your pantry and fridge. Go check and get to baking!