For my FIRST food post exclusively on The Kitchen Paper, I thought I should give you guys something awesome. I mean, all of my recipes are awesome, but this one is EXCELLENT! I’ve made this cake a few times over the years, and it is my go-to gluten-free recipe: I love it! Even if I don’t have a reason to cook gluten free, this dessert is a crowd pleaser for sure.

Not only is it delicious, but it couldn’t be easier. Ingredients: butter, chocolate, chocolate, vanilla, sugar, and eggs. Easy.

Start by melting the butter and chocolate chips together. Don’t overheat it, but make sure it’s smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder (um, sift it first. I was an idiot, although it didn’t actually hurt anything) and the vanilla.

Let that mixture cool a little bit while you beat the heck out of some eggs and sugar. Make it nice and thick!

After you bake this cake, it’s gonna look funky. You might think you’ve messed up: do not worry! It should look like this:

Let it cool for an hour before using a spatula to press it all down to one level. You’ll be flipping the cake over anyways, so this will be the base.

While you’re letting the cake cool, you’ll make the glaze. Start with the blackberry coulis: wine, sugar, and frozen blackberries in the blender. If this were summer, I’d tell you to stop right there and enjoy your smoothie; however, it is cold as heck right now, so keep going. You’ll cook it up, with some spices thrown in, before straining it and letting it cool.

Finally, you’ll make the chocolate glaze and pour it (if you can prevent yourself from eating all of it with a spoon) over your inverted torte.

SO DELICIOUS.

Flourless Chocolate Torte with Blackberry Coulis

Adapted from Bon Appétit, April 2006

For the Torte
2 2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (16 ounces), divided
1 cup unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

For the Blackberry Coulis
1 lb frozen unsweetened blackberries
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons semidry white wine
6 Tbsp sugar, divided
3 whole cloves
2 Turkish bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp bourbon

fresh blackberries, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a 9″ springform pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with parchment, and butter then parchment.

Combine 1 2/3 cups chocolate chips with 3/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Melt, over low heat, until completely smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla, and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

While the chocolate is cooling, combine the 5 eggs with 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp salt and mix on high until very thick, about 6 minutes. Carefully fold in the chocolate mixture, and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 42-45 minutes. The center will fall, and edges will remain lofty. Let the cake cool, in the pan, for an hour before using a spatula to press the edges down to the same height as the center. Invert the torte onto a plate, and remove the parchment. Let cool completely.

To make the coulis, combine the wine, 4 Tbsp sugar, and the blackberries in a blender. Blend until smooth, then transfer to a saucepan and add the cloves, allspice, and bay leaves. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a simmer — then reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 8 minutes. Strain into a bowl, discarding the solids, and mix in the bourbon and remaining sugar, if desired.

For the glaze, combine the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Melt over low heat until smooth, then remove from heat and whisk in 2 Tbsp of the blackberry coulis. Let the glaze cool 15 minutes before pouring and smoothing over the torte. Let the glaze set, about 1 hour, before serving.

To serve, garnish each slice with extra blackberry coulis and fresh blackberries.

0