I torte you may like this recipe!

It's Chocolate Week and to celebrate this I made a chocolate torte.  Hazelnut is currently one of my fav' flavours, and it goes well with chocolate so i decided to make them into a rich, dark and moist torte.

Chocolate, Hazelnut and Rum Torte

9 inch Spring form tin

Ingredients

For the Torte
250g blanched hazelnuts
200g caster sugar
100g good quality milk chocolate
100g good quality dark chocolate
6 large free range eggs (separated and at room temp)
50g unsalted butter

For the Ganache
80ml double cream
2 tablespoons spiced rum
100g dark chocolate

To decorate
50g milk choc
a disposable piping bag, and cocktail stick
and caramel covered hazelnuts (optional)

-preheat the oven to 160c
-butter your tin, line the base with a circle of baking paper, and coat the sides with sugar (pour a little in, tip on it's side over a bowl -to catch unused sugar- and twist the tin like a steering wheel)

 -start on the torte, pop the hazelnuts in the food processor and blitz until as fine as possible (but avoid, over-blitzing as it becomes claggy and clumpy)

-tip out onto kitchen towel and set aside
-melt the chocolate and butter over a bowl of simmering water remove from the heat and allow to cool
-put the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until very light, pale and thick.  it should falls from the whisk in what looks like ribbons
-in a separate (extra clean) bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks
-fold the nuts through the egg yolk mixture with a large metal spoon
-then fold through the melted chocolate in the same way
-finally fold the whites through this mixture a third at a time
-pour into the tin and bake for 40-45mins(ish), test with a skewer in the middle of the torte and it should come out clean
-leave it in the tin for 10mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool
-when the torte is cool, make the ganache, and melt the milk chocolate-(over a pan of water again)
-chop the dark chocolate very finely and pop in a bowl
-in a pan heat the cream and rum to boiling point and pour over the dark choc, leave it to malt the chocolate and the whisk together until smooth and shiny
-fill a disposable piping bag with the melted milk chocolate and snip of the end
-put the cool torte on a plate or stand
-spread the ganache over the top (well actually bottom, which is now the top..if that makes sense) of the torte and smooth
-pipe equally spaced lines of milk chocolate over the top in one direction
-use a cocktail stick and carefully drag it in lines again across the top at 90degrees to those just piped
-then if desired back the other way in between the pretty pattern just created

-add extra chocolate, or hazelnuts if desired to add to the decoration

this makes a lovely dessert at a dinner party and is nicec served with a dollop of creme fraiche to cut through the richness

Enjoy....

Yummy!

C

x