Gluten-Free Chocolate Torte
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We drove through the mountains of Colorado and into the valley of Utah this afternoon. Met the grandparents at Burgers Supreme for chicken and fry sauce. Unpacked our bags in the guest room. And now the kids are whispering and giggling in their room, too wound up to sleep. Visits to Utah are so exciting.
For the kids.
I get excited, too. Don’t get me wrong. We have a house full of people here that we love, but do any of you get that cringe in your belly when you have to go back to the place you grew up? Maybe you LIVE in the place you grew up, in which case, I tip my hat to your bravery. I can not imagine walking the self-same streets I walked when once I was a flawed teenager dreaming of the perfect woman I would one day become.
And now I am a flawed woman. Whyever does it work that way? When do we get to become the cool saavy chicks we always knew we were?
I dunno. I think it all has something to do with chocolate. Or, perhaps it is chocolate that is keeping this ring around my belly. This soft little spot here and here. And that one there.
Except, you see, this chocolate cake is splendid. No flour. No sugar. Excepting a bit of powdered sugar on top, but that doesn’t count. It’s made with maple syrup and butter. But the butter doesn’t count either, of course. So there’s that.
I’m thinking. A slice of this once a week is definitely a mandatory step to becoming that flawless woman I once knew I’d be. Oh, not on the inside, mind you. I’m rather embracing being quirky and imperfect. It gives me room to grow, offers me space to learn a lot of lessons. And learning is splendid.
No, flawless in the midsection. And rump. And maybe a bit perkier up in the…
Don’t tell me this is the impossible dream, girls. Because I’m walking the streets of Utah tomorrow and would like to hold my head high knowing that once, I was a flawed teenager. And today, I’ve got a little junk in the trunk. But tomorrow. Chocolate cake and silky thighs.
Sheesh. What was I cringing for. Being back home is fabs.
Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Torte
I love how simple and not-too-sweet this recipe is. It reminds me of the sort of cake you'd eat at a Parisian cafe, just minutes after drinking a hot cup of coffee and eating cheese on a baguette. It's that sort of a cake. Chocolatey and rich, soft and moist, a rather healthy treat compared to those over-frosted, hyper-sugared chocolate affairs one often endured post dinner.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons hot water
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanillapowdered sugar for garnish
Directions:
Preaheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tart pan with nonstick baking spray (the sort that has flour added in).
In a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until thick and light yellow in color, about 5 minutes. You want your beaters to leave a trail in the yolks for a couple seconds before the yolks drizzle back into the bowl. When it looks like that, you'll know you've arrived! Gradually add the 1'4 cup of the maple syrup to yolks and beat for several more minutes. Add half of cocoa powder and stir in with a spatula. Once the cocoa is in, stir in the remaining cocoa powder. Continue stirring with spatula, scraping sides as needed. When cocoa is mostly incorporated, add the melted butter and vanilla. Mix on medium speed with beaters until smooth.
Transfer this mixture to a large bowl, then clean the bowl and add the egg whites to the stand mixer. Beat egg whites just until almost at the soft peak stage. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup and beat until soft peaks form. Now use a spatula to add 1/4 of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture. Stir together well.
Fold in half of the remaining egg whites. Don't overstir them! Once the are mostly incorporated into the chocolate mixture, add remaining egg whites and continue folding until batter has a consistent color.
Scrape into prepared pan & use your spatula to even the top of the cake out until it's flat. Bake for 18 – 22 minutes until the center is set. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before gently pulling the side wall of the pan away from the cake.
Sift powdered sugar over the top of your cake before serving. Serve with fresh berries.
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Bev Weidner on December 29, 2011 at 9:43 am
I would like to DANCE with that torte. Holy ….
Tickled Red on December 29, 2011 at 12:27 pm
{giggle} I’ll hold my head up high with you as I much on some of this torte. It’s time for me to drop a lil’ junk from my trunk. Have fun in Utah!
Katie on January 3, 2012 at 6:33 pm
THANK YOU for featuring a gluten free recipe! I eat gluten free {not by choice my friend but because of the evil, do-gooder celiac disease, lol} and I’m always thrilled when someone gives a big shout out to me and those like me, with recipes like this! I can’t wait to try it!
jas on January 8, 2012 at 12:30 am
deeeelicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe out, so simple and gluten free -whoop whoop! oh and here’s to those silky thighs and a little junk in the trunk, imperfect is better anyways!
Jeannie on January 16, 2012 at 11:23 pm
This cake looks so awesome! I would love to give this a try; can I substitute the syrup with honey?
rachel on January 27, 2012 at 9:15 am
just a side-note, if using the baking spray with flour, wouldn’t that be adding gluten?
i do know that dusting with powdered sugar serves the same purpose as dusting with flour, so maybe for truly gluten free you could use regular non-stick spray and dust the pan with the sugar. i’m going to make this tonight for my friend who is gluten-free, and it looks and sounds AMAZING! can’t wait! thanks for sharing.
Heather on March 28, 2012 at 2:10 pm
This recipe looks great! I have a suspicion that I’m sensitive to gluten so thanks for a great dessert than I can actually eat.
Quick question though; you mention hot water on your list of ingredients but not anywhere in the directions. Am I missing something? Is there some baker’s secret that I don’t know about? Please fill me in–what do I do with the water?! Thanks :)
Mary on April 30, 2012 at 2:12 pm
I’m wondering about that water, too.
I found a few gluten-free recipes by doing a search for gluten-free (one of the mentions was actually about if you are NOT on a gluten-free diet). Is there any chance you will do more GF recipes and tag them? Thank you!
Dorise on August 31, 2012 at 4:45 pm
How can it be Gluten Free, when you FLOUR the pan???
Pingback: 19 Best Gluten Free Dessert Recipes
Kieran on May 8, 2013 at 9:21 am
I too was stumped by the hot water but I called my mom, who is an amazing cook, and she said it is common to dissolve cocoa powder in hot water before mixing it into a recipe. I’m going to try it! Hope my mother in law likes it!
Kieran on May 8, 2013 at 10:35 am
Turned out great! Just pulled it out of the oven. I dissolved all the cocoa powder in hot water and it took 5 tablespoons to get it to a smooth texture. Next time I think I’ll try dissolving half of the cocoa powder in the 2 T hot water and add the rest in powder form to see if it makes a difference.