For your sweetie: Chocolate raspberry torte

Years and years ago, I received a free sample pack of Make It Italian recipe cards in the mail. I never ordered the complete recipe card collection and most of those sample cards have long since disappeared, but one of those recipe cards has been well-loved and well-worn over the years; a recipe for a rich, delicious Chocolate Raspberry Torte.

I’ve made this torte many times over the years for guests and for our own enjoyment, with a few little adaptations. It’s always a treat; dense chocolatey cake, with a sweet raspberry filling and and rich, dark chocolate ganache. And when the time came to decide on a sweet, chocolatey treat to make for my sweeties on this Valentine’s Day, this torte came first and foremost to my mind.

So, whip out your baking supplies and whip up this sweet treat for the sweeties in your life!

P.S. I won’t tell a soul if you make it just for yourself instead! You deserve it!

(See next page for recipe)

Chocolate raspberry torte
Adapted from a Make It Italian recipe card

For the cake:

6 eggs, divided
3/4 cup (plus 1 teaspoon) sugar
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
4 (1-ounce) squares semisweet baker’s chocolate, melted
3/4 cup flour
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 cup raspberry liqueur (optional)

For the filling:

1/2 cup raspberry jam

For the ganache:

4 (1-ounce) squares semisweet baker’s chocolate
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Fresh raspberries and chopped walnuts, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch or 10-inch round cake pan.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites with the teaspoon of sugar for several minutes until firm peaks form. Set aside.

Rinse the beaters. Then, in a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and softened butter until creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until well blended. Gradually beat in the melted chocolate, flour, cocoa powder, and liqueur until well blended.

Gently stir in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites, until well combined. Then, fold in the remaining beaten egg whites.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely. Then, halve the cake and spread the raspberry jam between the two layers.

To prepare the ganache, heat the cream just until boiling. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Spread the ganache along the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with fresh raspberries and chopped walnuts. Chill in the refrigerator to set the ganache.

Amy Deline blogs at The Gourmand Mom.

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