My Life is a Picnic
A Canadian Celiac Blog
Flourless Hazelnut Chocolate Torte
My husband is German. My mother in law is an amazing cook. It has been a while though since I've been able to eat her baking. My kids loved going to Oma's house when they were young because at Oma's house, you have cake for breakfast. That is a great thing, especially when she made these absolutely amazing nut cakes, chocolate cakes, spongy cakes, light cakes. I always felt like I could eat the whole cake. And often, I think I did.
This cake reminds me of Oma's cakes. Delicious, nutty, and light as air. I could probably eat the whole thing. That would be a problem because everyone around me is feeling the same way. They will fight over the last piece. Or they will sneak it when they offer to clean the table. Yes, they will offer to clean the table, the kitchen, the dishes... just so they have access to the rest of the cake. It's that good.
I love that this cake is naturally dairy and gluten free! No substitutions. No weird or expensive ingredients. And one REALLY GREAT CAKE!
Enjoy,
Therese K.
Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Torte
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar, divided into 2 x 1/4 cups
1 1/2 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts- I used Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut meal)
3 TBSP cocoa powder (I prefer dutch process)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F
Grease sides of a springform pan, line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and cocoa powder. In a separate small bowl, mix together hazelnut meal and baking powder.
In a mixer, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until frothy. Slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar until a stiff meringue forms. Be careful to not over beat and dry out your meringue.
Add the hazelnuts and baking powder to the egg YOLK MIXTURE. It will form a paste. Mix it well.
Gently fold in the egg whites in thirds, being careful to not deflate your meringue. You should have a fluffy batter in the end. Be sure that the hazelnut mixture is uniform throughout the meringue.
Gently spoon into a prepared pan. Smooth the top, and add some chopped hazelnuts as garnish.
Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes.
Cool on cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge to gently unstick it from the sides of the pan. It is normal for it to lose some of its puffiness as it cools, but it shouldn't fall completely.
Once cooled, loosen from the parchment using a large frosting spatula, and place on serving dish. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
I served this with So Delicious' Coco Whipped Topping (the one in the freezer that's like cool whip). Delicious! You could use whipped cream if you can tolerate dairy.
