My husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend. In keeping with tradition, we spent it quietly–no party, no other people; we didn’t even spend the day at the beach, his usual preference. Instead, we spent most of the day at home, enjoyed being free from obligations and allowed me time to make a little something for the special occasion…even if he would have preferred not to celebrate being one year older.
After 12 years together I knew that something simple would be in order. My husband doesn’t care much for elaborately prepared meals or fancy desserts so I prepared one of his favorites, Salt-Baked Fish and a dessert combining two of his go-to treats: chocolate and almonds.
I will admit that as I prepared this torte I wondered whether I really was making this for my husband or for myself. It’s been so long since I baked with chocolate and I love almonds just as much as he does. I couldn’t wait for this to come out of the oven, especially with the expectation of dressing it up with a simple chocolate whipped cream frosting. There’s virtually no flour here (a characteristic of tortes) but there is an abundance of dark chocolate both in the torte and the frosting. Looking at the sliced piece it’s almost hard to tell where the torte ends and the frosting begins. It hardly matters–each bite practically melts in your mouth with the occasional crunch from the pulverized almonds.
My husband couldn’t stay away from this torte and ignored my suggestions to enjoy it in moderation. With almost 14 ounces of 72% chocolate in the recipe one thin slice is plenty, at least for me. But he insisted on full cake-sized wedges for his birthday dessert, breakfast the next day, afternoon tea and after dinner again. I finally had to rescue the poor guy and took the remaining half to the office (but not before he smuggled another slice when I wasn’t looking). The torte was much-loved there, too.
Chocolate Almond Torte with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups roasted almonds
- 2/3 cup superfine sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 1/2 ounces chocolate I used 72% but you can use semisweet if you prefer
- 3/4 cup butter
- 5 eggs yolks
- 5 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- **For the Frosting**
- 8 ounces chocolate
- 1 cup heavy cream
- scant 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
Instructions
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To prepare the torte: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan, dusting off the excess. Process the roasted almonds, almond extract and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a food processor until the nuts are completely pulverized. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the flour.
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Melt the chocolate on top of a double boiler over hot water, stirring constantly. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and set aside.
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Using a hand mixer, cream the butter at medium speed until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining sugar and vanilla extract and continue creaming until the mixture is very light. Add the egg yolks one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated into the mixture before adding the next one. Add the melted chocolate and stir well to combine. Stir in the almond mixture and again, combine well.
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In another bowl beat the egg whites with the hand mixer until stiff, then fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula until combined.
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Bake for about 40 minutes (25 min if using convection) or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the torte on a wire rack, removing the springform rim after a few minutes. Let cool completely before adding the frosting.
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To prepare the frosting: Melt the remaining 8 ounces chocolate in a double boiler and set aside to cool to lukewarm. Beat the heavy cream in a bowl with a hand mixer until it's stiff, adding the scant teaspoon of superfine sugar after a minute of mixing. Start the mixer at lower speed, increasing as you go. The cream will get quite stiff after just 3-4 minutes and you want to stop just as the texture resembles that of soft butter. You can stop sooner than this but I found that the frosting held up better this way. Fold the lukewarm chocolate into the whipped cream and spread on top of the torte. You can serve immediately but I found that this torte tasted even better chilled the next day.
I love chocolate with almonds too! What a stunning torte and perfect for your weekend birthday celebration. With this for dessert, I know the day was a success! 🙂
Happy Birthday to the hubs! Oh, I sometimes forget how he and my husband can be tummy twins too. Hearing about his (lack of) self control with the torte reminds me so much of mine – these boys!
I’m SO glad he (and you) had a delicious celebration. This cake just stopped me in my tracks, it’s no wonder he found it irresistible.
This torte looks incredible… Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect choice with the 72% cocoa – that would have been my preferred chocolate as well! Or maybe I’ll go down to 62%, but not lower! Yummmmm…I can almost taste the rich, decadent, luxurious cake melting in my mouth. I need more adjectives to describe this cake! Ahhhh….beautiful!
This looks like just the kind of thing I’d make for my fiance for his birthday, although possibly as much for me as for him! It looks absolutely delicious and love the additional indulgence of chocolate whipped cream.
A gorgeous torte! Extremely tempting. I always used dark chocolate when baking (60-70%)…
Cheers,
Rosa
I’m not a chocoholic, but every now and then I do like to indulge. This would make an incredible indulgence! I love that you used 72% cocoa. Birthday cakes are not meant for anything less. 🙂
Gorgeous photos!
You have made this look and sound great. My husband also always wants his birthday to be a quiet affair with all the foods he loves, which are mainly seafoods and isn’t fussed about a cake, which is such a disappointment. Birthdays are about cakes.
Happy Birthday to your hubby! The torte looks amazing and it would also be hard for me to stop eating it. Your photos are gorgeous Jean.
Happy birthday to your husband. Amazing looking torte. I have lots of dark chocolate bars of Scharffen Berger and I am going to use one of them to bake something for this weekend. It’s my husband’s birthday and I am looking for some easy breezy recipe. The pictures look so good Jean.
LOVE the sound of this blissed out chocolate torte! Pinning now!
Happy Birthday to you Man 🙂 and that chocolate looks perfect .. neatly shaped and sounds rich!
My husband doesn’t care so much about parties too. He just likes simple meals to celebrate with his family. Good that you gave your husband a break about having it continuously. You can’t blame him! It’s too inviting! I would do the same thing too. It looks too good to pass.
Oh my – what a wonderfully rich and delicious cake to celebrate with! Fantastic!
Oh my goodness, I would be smuggling pieces of this torte around with me too! Happy Birthday to your husband- it’s worth it to celebrate growing one year older when chocolate and almonds baked in a cake are involved!
Happy Birthday to your hubby! This torte looks insanely good, I would have kept going back too!
Happy, Happy Birthday to your hubby! What a great way to spend the day and celebrate. You baked a delightful treat and need to make this soon. I can see why he went back for seconds and thirds. 🙂
can’t go wrong with a chocolate almond torte, looks beautiful and delicious too, happy birthday to your hubby.
This is something fabulous! I bet it was very chocolate. So lovely present!
Happy birthday to your hubby and sometimes there is nothing better than a low key at home celebration. I suspect you are right this cake was as much for you as him! 🙂 Almonds and chocolate such decadence!
Happy birthday to your husband! This chocolate torte looks divine. A fitting way to celebrate. Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe and post. I’m hungry for a bit of sweetness now. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I think my heard skipped a couple of beats when I first saw this cake. It’s gorgeous Jean. Rich in chocolate and the light whipped cream. I have so little self control …
Happy belated to your hubby! Who can enjoy this in moderation!? I love chocolate with almonds, and most of time I don’t eat chocolate unless there is almonds! This torte is calling my name… sounds and looks perfect for my liking! Saving this for holiday time when I forget about my weight it’s time to bake and eat this cake. I am pretty positive that I can finish more than half on my own!!
Did you say CHOCOLATE? That monster slice has my name all over it!