Chocolate and Amaretti Torte with a Divine Chocolate Frosting
The recipe for this chocolate and amaretti torte with a divine chocolate frosting could not have come at a better time than during the national Chocolate Week 2009. I am a chocoholic and a piece of good chocolate can melt my heart in seconds.
We were invited for supper by Janie and John Turner from UK Thermomix a month ago when Janie made a version of this super deliciousness for pudding. It was superb and has been playing on my mind ever since.
The simplicity and ease of this recipe is striking, however packed with flavour it is guaranteed to produce oohs and aahs from everyone who is privileged enough to get a slice.
The whole recipe gets made in the thermomix apart from the baking of the cake. There are loads of reasons why I love my thermomix but two serious reasons are the fact that I only need two Thermomix bowls to make the entire recipe from beginning to end, this cuts down on the amount of washing up that I need to do; the second reason is the speed that I can complete the task in, it’s quick and easy without too much effort. It’s definitely my favourite kitchen gadget!
I quite like the addition of amaretti biscuits instead of ground almonds and amaretto liquor. I suppose if you did not have amaretti biscuits available and are desperate for a slice of this deliciousness then substitute them with the nuts and liquor. Use the same amount of ground almonds instead of amaretti biscuits and add a teaspoon of amaretto with the egg yolks.
I greased a 17cm spring form cake tin with butter and dusted it with cocoa powder instead of using flour, this will ensure no white floury blotches on the side of the cooked cake.
When making this cake it’s important that you do not over whip the egg whites. I add a quarter of the sugar to the egg whites when whipping these ingredients to produce the “marshmallow” meringue effect, this helps my torte to remain moist and creamy on the inside. The other important pointer to keep in mind is not to over cook the cake as it’s so easy to do. I set the cooking time for 50 minutes and then test the cake by inserting a metal skewer, if the skewer comes out clean but moist then its done, but if there is a residue left on the skewer then the batter is still raw so return the cake to the oven and test after every additional 5 minutes. Remember the cake will continue cooking for a few minutes after you have removed it from the oven, due to the heat inside the cake.
The divine chocolate frosting is so easy to make and only requires two ingredients, the purity of the frosting is what makes my heart melt even faster! mmmm…it’s yum!
Chocolate Amaretti Cake
- 200g caster sugar
- 110 g amaretti biscuits
- 60 g dark chocolate, broken in pieces (70% bitter chocolate)
- 60 g plain flour
- 220g softened butter + extra for greasing the cake tin
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1tsp cocoa powder
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas 4. Grease a 17cm x 6cm spring form cake tin with butter and dust cocoa powder.
Using the built in weighing scales weigh the amaretti biscuits, chocolate and flour directly into the TM (Thermomix) bowl. Grind it on speed 8 until powder, tip out and set aside.
Using the built in weighing scales weigh 150g of the sugar directly into the TM bowl and grind the sugar for 5 seconds on speed 10. Add the butter and mix together, gradually increasing to speed 5 until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and insert the butterfly whisk and beat on speed 4 until light and creamy.
Add the yolks one at a time through the hole in the TM lid onto the running blades at Speed 3.
Add the amaretti mixture to the TM bowl a little at a time, through the hole in the lid with the blades running at Speed 3.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside while whipping the meringue.
Wash the TM bowl, lid and butterfly with hot soapy water, rinse, and dry thoroughly. It is important that the bowl and whisk are grease free at this point.
Weigh 50g of the remaining sugar into the TM bowl and grind the sugar on speed 10 for 5 seconds, add the egg whites and whip for 10 seconds on speed 10, this will make the egg whites foamy and make the whipping process easier.
Scrape the sides down and insert the butterfly whisk and whisk the egg whites for 1 minute 3 seconds on Speed 4 until the meringue forms stiff, but not dry, peaks.
Add about a quarter of the egg whites to the remaining cake batter in the bowl and stir to loosen the consistency, then fold in the rest of the whites.
Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Do not over bake; the cake should be moist.
Let the cake cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes before you loosen the sides and remove the cake , let the cake cool further on a cooling rack while making the frosting.
Non Thermomix Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas 4. Grease a 17cm x 6cm spring form cake tin with butter and dust cocoa powder.
Place the chocolate in the freezer to get really cold. Crush the amaretti biscuits in a pestle and mortar and mix the amaretti crumbs with the flour.
Grate the really cold chocolate on the finest side of a grater (the reason fir chilling it is so that it does not melt as you hold it in your hands) and mix the finely grated chocolate with the amaretti and flour mix, set aside.
Cream the butter and 150g of the sugar until pail and fluffy, add the egg yolks one at a time, beat well after each addition.
Add the amaretti and chocolate mix and gently fold it into the creamed butter.
In a separate bowl whip the egg whites with the remaining 50g of sugar until soft peaks, fold the whipped egg whites into the butter mixture.
Spoon the cake batter into the prepare cake tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Do not over bake; the cake should be moist.
Let the cake cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes before you loosen the sides and remove the cake , let the cake cool further on a cooling rack while making the frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
- 100g dark chocolate, 70% bitter chocolate
- 90g single cream
Chop the chocolate into small pieces, place the chocolate in the TM bowl and grind it at speed 10 for 10 seconds until a powder.
Add the cream, set the time for 4 minutes at 70°C, speed 3, scrape the sides down.
Place the cake on a cooling rack and pour the chocolate frosting over the cake, let the frosting cool and set, garnish the cake with chocolate shavings.
Non Thermomix Method:
Chop the chocolate into small pieces, set aside.
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, as soon as the cream starts to boil remove it from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate, stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
Place the cake on a cooling rack and pour the chocolate frosting over the cake, let the frosting cool and set, garnish the cake with chocolate shavings.
Serves 8
Food Fanatics Tips
If you have 2 TM bowls, leave the cake batter in your first bowl and use the second bowl to whisk the egg whites. Then add a quarter of the whites to the first bowl (with the Butterfly Whisk still in it) and mix a few seconds at Speed 2 to loosen the mixture. Add remaining whites and mix at speed 2 to fold them in. Easy!
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I just brough one that I made last night and it was a success. My only problem was it dipped in the middle a little too much but the frosting covers that problem