Chocolate Torte

Adapted from Chocolate (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library) by Lora Brody (Time-Life Books, 1993). Recipe developed by Narsai David and Janice Feuer.

This is an almost-flourless (1 tablespoon of flour) chocolate cake. It’s very rich, so a small cake goes a long way. I make it every year for Walter’s birthday, and if I even try to suggest something new and different, he protests. This recipe needs to be made at least one day, and up to two, in advance to cure.

The only catch with this recipe is that it’s best to use a standing mixer because you beat five eggs with one tablespoon of sugar until the mixture triples in volume.

Serves 8 to 10

500g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the top of the cake (optional)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped softly, to top the cake

Preheat the oven to 425°F and position the rack in the middle of the oven. Butter an 8-inch springform pan or an 8-inch by 2-inch cake pan with a loose bottom.

Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper, either bought precut or cut to fit precisely. If you have to cut the paper yourself, the easiest way is to trace the pan bottom on the paper and cut it with scissors.

Butter the paper liner and dust the entire pan with cocoa powder (because flour would show white), then tap out any excess.

Melt the chocolate and butter the way Alice Medrich does, in a water bath:

Use a stainless steel bowl and a skillet a few inches wider than the bowl.

Roughly chop the chocolate and combine it with the butter in the bowl.

Bring a shallow layer of water in the skillet just to a simmer.

Set the bowl in the skillet and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Do not let the water go beyond a simmer.

Remove the bowl from the heat, scrape the mixture into a bowl large enough to eventually hold all the batter, and let cool for a few minutes.

Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. I use a KitchenAid fitted with the paddle rather than the whisk.

Beat on high speed until the mixture is light, fluffy, and tripled in volume, about 10 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour.

Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then carefully fold in the remaining egg mixture, being careful not to deflate the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Bake for exactly 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, place it on a cooling rack, and let cool completely to room temperature. The cake may deflate slightly, but it won’t matter. Do not refrigerate. I like to let it cure overnight before serving.

The cake will pull away from the sides of the pan as it cools, but run a blunt knife around the edge before removing it from the pan to be sure it doesn’t stick.

Dust the top lightly with confectioners’ sugar if you wish. (I have a holiday patisserie stencil set from Kaiser that I sometimes use around the holidays.)

Cut into small wedges and serve topped with softly whipped cream.

If you want to be truly luxurious—and who doesn’t on occasion—also serve crème anglaise and raspberry coulis on the side.

NOTE: One year, while making three of these cakes for Walter’s birthday party and talking on the phone with my friend Marsha, I accidentally left the tablespoon of sugar out of one of them. At the party two days later, Marsha took one bite and announced from across the room, “Victoria, I got the cake without the sugar!” The joke, of course, was that with that much chocolate, the cake was still sweet enough.