Chocolate Decadence

The Bag-ette successfully commandeered the kitchen with some delectable results. Behold, "THE FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE TORTE!" Indeed.


My obsession with chocolate torte developed in the past few months. There is a quaint little Mexican restaurant that we like to frequent. The Bag Lady is rather partial to the fish tacos, whereas I'm more committed to the pork ones. The tacos are particularly lovely because they are not made with those nasty, crunchy, processed, corn things. Homemade flour tortillas are lightly crisped to retain their shape when filled with all manner of good things, yet the shell stays slightly chewy. It brings a new definition to the word "taco." Forgive me, I digress, this post is about dessert. The flourless chocolate torte is to die for. It is a creamy, decadent, rich, positively sinful concoction. It caresses the tongue as it gently melts into silkiness, inducing a cocoa coma which can only be cured by another bite.

I had been pondering a reproduction for some time but had not yet attempted the feat. Then it happened! To my utmost joy and wonder I was looking through a magazine and the heavens opened! I heard an angelic chorus! There it was, a base recipe for me to begin my experiments. Here is what I came up with. Although I am still a dedicated fan of my restaurant's version, this was highly satisfactory.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

8 eggs cold
1 pound Semisweet Chocolate
1 Cup butter

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees, coat springform pan with nonstick cooking spray (or in my case more butter--it tastes better). Wrap pan's bottom and side with foil to prevent water bath from seeping into pan. Boil a pot of water.

2. Beat eggs with hand mixer on high, until they have doubled in volume.

3. Combine chocolate and butter and heat until melted. Fold eggs into chocolate mixture in 3 additions until fully mixed.

4. Pour mixture into springform pan. Place pan in a large roasting pan in oven. Pour boiling water into roasting pan to come half way up side of springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-47 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE!!! You will end up with a dry, crumbly, disgusting mess.

5. Remove cake to a wire rack and cool completely. Garnish as desired. Chill leftovers.

*Ok, I made a few modifications. I used a little over a pound of chocolate. Since I like a very dark chocolate torte, I used a mixture of Guittard semi sweet chips and baking chocolate. It was lovely. Also, if you don't want to mess with wrapping your pan in foil (which I didn't) simply place your springform pan in another pan. Then place that pan into the roasting pan and pour the water into the roasting pan. The pan in the middle will protect the torte from water seepage, while still allowing the necessary steam action to take place. The magazine suggested garnishing with powdered sugar, I thought that was pansy and went for caramel and crushed oreos. My Mexican restaurant uses chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and strawberries. Beautiful.


This is an absolutely perfect dessert for a birthday, Valentines Day, or any day that has a name which ends in the letter "Y". I think I will be trying a white chocolate version with a tangy raspberry sauce next. It would seem that Momma isn't the only mad culinary scientist.