No matter what, I can always count on a tasty baked good when visiting with my Oma (grandmother).
From Viennese Crescents to Christmas Stollen, my Oma bakes all of the traditional Swiss favorites whenever family is around and this Flour-less Chocolate Torte is just one of those fabulous desserts that is an Oma classic.
Having grown up in Switzerland, baking and sweets just come with the territory for her and she is always more than willing to share with me the recipes for these delicious treats.
She also happens to be one of my biggest supporters in all of my baking endeavors and I always look forward to making something of hers.
When it came time for one of the girls at the office to celebrate their birthday I knew this was the perfect cake for the occasion. She happens to eat a gluten free diet and because this cake is flour-less it just made sense.
To make the cake extra special I topped it with a layer of whipped cream and chocolate covered strawberries.
Oma's Flour-less Chocolate Cake
Fills one 9-inch spring form pan
Oven: 300 Bake time: 45 minutes
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 TBS butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs, separated
Preheat oven to 300. Spray your spring form pan with cooking spray.
In a microwave safe bowl (or over double boiler), melt chocolate chips and butter for about 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds or so and mix until smooth.
Separate egg whites in large glass bowl, reserving yolks in small bowl.
Beat egg whites until stiff.
Slowly add sugar and continue to beat until sugar is incorporated.
Add egg yolks one at a time to chocolate/butter mixture, making sure each yolk is fully incorporated after every addition.
Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture.
Pour batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven for about 45-60 minutes.
*To check if this cake is done a toothpick should come out fairly clean, but this is a very dense and rich cake so it may not be perfectly clean. The best way to tell is if there is a good crust on the cake and the sides have begun to pull away from the pan.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing sides of pan.
Homemade Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks are formed. If you have time, place in fridge for about 20 minutes to help stabilize.
Happy Baking!