Chocolate Cashew Torte (Gianduia)
Prep Time: 45m
Cooking Time: 40m
Servings: 12
Gianduia (a chocolate Hazelnut torte) is a rich, flourless chocolate cake. I switched out the hazelnuts (which are pricier and hard to find) with cashews instead.
I made a white chocolate mirror glaze, but it's traditionally served with a hazelnut spread.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups whole cashews
- 1¾ sticks butter, cut into cubes
- 7oz dark chocolate cut into squares (I used 70% dark chocolate)
- 6 eggs, separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Put cashews on baking tray and roast for 10 minutes in center of oven. Watch carefully: don't burn them.
- Reduce temp to 350° F. Grease a 10" springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
- Blend cashews in food processor until finely ground. Leave a few courser pieces for texture. Set aside a fifth for topping later.
- Put butter and chocolate into heat proof bowl and set it above a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally and once most of the chocolate has melted, removed bowl and let the chocolate melt from the residual heat.
- Stir in the ground cashews and leave mixture to cool for 5 min.
- Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with an electric mixer for 5 min until pale and creamy, then stir in chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined.
- In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Do not over-whisk.
- Working quickly, stir in almond extract into the choclchoc mixture. Add a couple of spoonfuls of whisked egg whites and mix until thoroughly combined. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Spoon mixture prepared tin and bake for 35-40 min or until cake is well risen and firm.
- Remove the cake and allow to cool for 30 min. Undo the springclip and invert cake onto serving plate, then gently peel off the lining paper, and leave to cool completely.
- When cake is cold, cover with hazelnut spread (or other icing), then spread remaining chopped cashews on top.