More low fat chocolatey delights

This is another recipe inspired by Alic Medrich. The chocolate walnut torte in Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts has been the next recipe on my list for a while, and when I had a function to attend I thought I'd try this cake, but in a slice tin and cut into individual portion-controlled bite size squares. Always good when you know people are watching their fat/sugar/carb/food intake, but still appreciate something sweet.

I had a feeling the recipe would be quite similar to the fallen chocolate souffle torte I made a few months ago, and in this I was correct. It has the same decadent, rich, flourless consistency that belies the fact that it is low in fat; things this good must be bad for you! They even look like something you should avoid.... In fact, the last few times I've made low-fat chocolate goodies from this book, I've had to make a sign to tape to the platter proclaiming they are low fat, so people won't avoid trying them.

However, I have to acknowledge that this isn't the best recipe in which to play around with pans sizes and individual portions. It's very difficult to cut and there was quite a lot of wastage (ahem...). The centre is gooey and the tops have that crackly crust that just shatters everywhere. To get them into small, bite-size portions was hard work. I probably wouldn't do it again using this recipe. It's definitely better suited to being served in larger portions, on a plate, with cutlery. It'd be the perfect light dessert after a good dinner.

Unbelievably, the supermarket didn't have any plain dark chocolate when I was shopping for ingredients. I didn't really want to go the cheap cooking chocolate route, so I bought a small bar of rum & raisin dark chocolate. The recipe only needs 75 grams and called for a tablespoon of rum, so I thought it would work well. And it did, if you like that flavour of commercial rum & raisin chocolate. I forgot that I didn't, and was surprised at how strongly the flavour carried through the cake. I'm sure some people love that taste, but next time I'm not settling for second-best...
Read on for the recipe:

Chocolate walnut torte pieces with rum & raisin flavour.
Based on Alice Medrich 'Chocolate Walnut Torte'

1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons plain flour
2 1/2 ounces (75g) rum & raisin chocolate, chopped fine (or plain dark chocolate)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites
Icing sugar, to dust.

1: Preheat oven to 350 (175C) and prepare a slice tin (or an 8 inch round cake tin) with baking paper and vegetable oil spray.

2: Grind walnuts with the flour in a food processor or blender until very fine. Set aside.

3: Combine chopped chocolate, cocoa & 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl. Pour in boiling water and whisk until mixture is smooth and fully combined. Stir in egg yolk, rum and vanilla. Set aside.

4: Beat egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining sugar and continue to beag at high speed until stiff. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

5: Scrape batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake until a skewer or toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. My slice tin took about 20-25 minutes. Cool in the tin.

6: Allow to cool completely (letting it sit in the fridge helps) before removing and cutting into squares. Dust with icing sugar.
Tagged with chocolate