Almond Chocolate Cherry Torte
There are many ways to celebrate the delightful combination of almond, cherry and chocolate. This torte is currently my favourite way and has been adapted from a recipe I found on the Lazy Cat Kitchen blog.
Now. I actually don't think I can really call this a torte as a traditional one contains many eggs to create the rise in substitute for flour. However, this recipe does contain ground nuts which is a traditional torte ingredient and so I’m sticking with it.
Besides, this is definitely not the usual method of cake baking. The combination of this dessert being vegan, flourless and gluten free means that the batter comes together more like a thick mousse that you then bake.
In the temperate northern hemisphere, late May-July is cherry season. You will hopefully start seeing trays of in season cherries cropping up at your local farmers markets. Better yet, if you are lucky enough to have access to a cherry tree you might have a full weekend ahead of you preparing and storing cherries in various ways. Though preserving is great, I think it’s important to also take the opportunity to eat (lots of) fresh cherries as, like many soft fruits, the season isn’t that long. What better way to do that than to make dessert!
For this recipe it is definitely easier to use a food processor to get the right consistency, however an electric hand whisk will also work fine.
ALMOND CHOCOLATE CHERRY TORTE
serves 8-12 • 60 minutes (plus chilling time)
for the cherry compote:
140g / 1 cup fresh or frozen sour cherries, destoned
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
60ml / ¼ cup water
1 tsp rose water (optional)
1 tsp arrowroot powder or cornflour
to decorate:
fresh cherries
toasted almond flakes
seasonal flowers
for the torte:
200g / 7oz dark chocolate (at least 70%)
300g / 10oz silken tofu, room temperature
100ml / ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp almond milk, room temperature
60g / ¼ cup smooth almond butter
200g / 1 cup raw cane sugar or coconut sugar
25g / ¼ cup cacao powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
150g / 1⅓ cup almond flour
1 tbsp arrowroot powder or cornflour
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 355ºF. Line a 20cm / 8in loose bottomed cake tin with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (in a bowl sitting over a simmering pan of water) before setting it aside to let it cool slightly.
To a food processor, add the tofu, almond milk, almond butter, sugar, cacao powder, cinnamon and the melted chocolate . Blend until completely smooth. For ultimate smoothness, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before blending.
Finally add in the almond flour, arrowroot and salt. Blend again to fully combine everything into a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin and spend out evenly. Transfer to the oven to bake for about 40 minutes.
This torte needs to be completely cool before serving. Ideally, keep it in the tin and let it cool for an hour or so before transferring to the fridge for another 4 hours.
To make the cherry compote, add the cherries, water, and syrup to a pan. Let it simmer over a low heat to let the cherries break apart and soften; this should only take a few minutes.
In a small cup, mix the arrowroot (or cornflour) with a couple tablespoons of water before adding it to the compote. This will slightly thicken the compote.
Remove the compote from the heat and stir through the rosewater, if using. This compote can be added to the torte warm or cold depending on your preference.
When ready to serve, remove the torte from the cake tin. Spoon the compote over the cold torte and decorate with more fresh cherries, toasted almond flakes and seasonal flowers. Carefully slice and serve with extra cherry compote and fresh cherries.