Chocolate Almond Torte

Every year, I promise myself to shop for Christmas presents early so I won't join other Christmas shoppers' hustle and bustle. But then again, things come up left and right and Christmas shopping always gets done the last minute. But then again, again, it won't be Christmas if there's no Christmas shopping rush! 

To help celebrate the holiday rush, can I interest you in eating a slice of Chocolate Almond Torte? Dense, chocolatey and nutty. Every bite will surely start a symphony of chewy, chunky and chocolatey goodness. Maybe I'll just share a slice with you, I'll save the rest for me... kidding!

Martha's recipe calls for pistachios but I still have a lot lonely looking almonds begging for my attention so I used them for this recipe instead. 

Chocolate Almond Torte
350 degrees/60 to 70 minutes

Adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients

For The Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

3/4 cup shelled, unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

For The Chocolate Ganache And Topping

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup shelled unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

Directions:


To make the cake:
(1) Line 8-inch round cake pan with parchment or waxed paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
(2) In a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bowl from pan.

(3) Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then eggs, buttermilk, and almonds. 

(4) Fold in flour mixture just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. 

(5) Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; run a knife around edge, and invert onto a wire rack. Remove paper, and let cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap in plastic, and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days).

To make the ganache:

In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer; remove from heat. Add chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes; whisk until smooth. Let cool until mixture falls back in ribbons when lifted with a spoon, 2 to 6 minutes.

Spread ganache over the top of the cake. Decorate the cake with almonds and for the Chrismassy feel, sprinkle the cake with red and green sprinkles. For added sparkle, add some gold dragees too :)