Favorite questions asked of you by grocery clerks.
1. Stocking up?
Situation: I placed 9 4-ounce bars of bittersweet chocolate on the conveyor belt at the grocery story at oh-dark-thirty the day after Christmas (a few years ago). The young clerk asked, "Stocking up?" I had planned to make a torte with a new recipe when I discovered I had purchased unsweetened chocolate, rather than bittersweet. A quick trip into town and I had the right stuff. Since the chocolate is the only thing I bought that morning and my total was $16 and change, ever since I have referred to this as
Sixteen-Dollar Chocolate Cake
You will need 36 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, three sticks of butter, a pint of cream, some eggs, and a smidge of sugar for this delectable dessert. Also a 10-inch round pan.
Torte requires:
1 lb. bittersweet or dark chocolate
½ cup butter
1½ ounces sugar (about 3 T. plus 1⅛ tsp.)
5 large eggs
¼ tsp. vanilla
Ganache requires:
1¼ lbs. bittersweet or dark chocolate
1 pint heavy or whipping cream
1 cup butter
I. Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare the torte, melting chocolate and butter together in top of double boiler over simmering water.
II. Whip sugar, eggs and vanilla together in a mixing bowl until mixture forms a ribbon when whisk is lifted.
III. Fold chocolate-butter mixture into sugar-egg mixture.
IV. Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with non-stick spray coating or butter lightly. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until set.
V. Remove from oven and allow to cool 20 to 30 minutes in the pan. Tamp the torte down slightly by pressing the bottom of a glass over the top of the cake. (I use a 9-inch round pan for this procedure.)
VI. For the ganache, chop chocolate and butter until fine and place in mixing bowl. Heat cream to boiling; pour hot cream over chocolate. Allow to stand 30 seconds to melt, then stir until smooth.
VII. Pour hot ganache over cake in pan, coating evenly. Set aside to cool completely.
VIII. To unmold, run a knife along the edge of the cake, then invert the pan onto serving plate. Place a hot, wet towel over pan to loosen.
Serves 18-24.
Voice of Experience:
I have never had the patience to use a double boiler and I don't bother with one here (but I am not a chef, either). I break the chocolate into bits and melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave. And for the ganache, I speed things up by breaking up the chocolate into bits and heating it with the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Then I pour on the hot cream. I refrigerate this cake. It makes it easier to cut into slivers.
1. Stocking up?
Situation: I placed 9 4-ounce bars of bittersweet chocolate on the conveyor belt at the grocery story at oh-dark-thirty the day after Christmas (a few years ago). The young clerk asked, "Stocking up?" I had planned to make a torte with a new recipe when I discovered I had purchased unsweetened chocolate, rather than bittersweet. A quick trip into town and I had the right stuff. Since the chocolate is the only thing I bought that morning and my total was $16 and change, ever since I have referred to this as
Sixteen-Dollar Chocolate Cake
You will need 36 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, three sticks of butter, a pint of cream, some eggs, and a smidge of sugar for this delectable dessert. Also a 10-inch round pan.
Torte requires:
1 lb. bittersweet or dark chocolate
½ cup butter
1½ ounces sugar (about 3 T. plus 1⅛ tsp.)
5 large eggs
¼ tsp. vanilla
Ganache requires:
1¼ lbs. bittersweet or dark chocolate
1 pint heavy or whipping cream
1 cup butter
I. Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare the torte, melting chocolate and butter together in top of double boiler over simmering water.
II. Whip sugar, eggs and vanilla together in a mixing bowl until mixture forms a ribbon when whisk is lifted.
III. Fold chocolate-butter mixture into sugar-egg mixture.
IV. Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with non-stick spray coating or butter lightly. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until set.
V. Remove from oven and allow to cool 20 to 30 minutes in the pan. Tamp the torte down slightly by pressing the bottom of a glass over the top of the cake. (I use a 9-inch round pan for this procedure.)
VI. For the ganache, chop chocolate and butter until fine and place in mixing bowl. Heat cream to boiling; pour hot cream over chocolate. Allow to stand 30 seconds to melt, then stir until smooth.
VII. Pour hot ganache over cake in pan, coating evenly. Set aside to cool completely.
VIII. To unmold, run a knife along the edge of the cake, then invert the pan onto serving plate. Place a hot, wet towel over pan to loosen.
Serves 18-24.
Voice of Experience:
I have never had the patience to use a double boiler and I don't bother with one here (but I am not a chef, either). I break the chocolate into bits and melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave. And for the ganache, I speed things up by breaking up the chocolate into bits and heating it with the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Then I pour on the hot cream. I refrigerate this cake. It makes it easier to cut into slivers.
Recipe source: Kansas City Star. This is Chef Todd Walline's Blue Hills Country Club flourless chocolate torte with ganache.
aka Sixteen-Dollar Chocolate Cake