A classic dessert for special occasions, this gluten and grain free Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Torte is rich and delicious. It’s deeply appreciated by lovers of dark chocolate. The surface is light and meringue-like, while the body is dense and textured. It’s so rich that just a thin wedge with a coffee should suffice … but people usually take up the offer for seconds.
Perfect with Coffee: Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Torte
Looking for the recipe? Scroll all the way down.
I’ve been making this Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Torte – in one form or another – for many years. I used to follow the Chocolate and Almond Cake recipe in Stephanie Alexander’s “The Cook’s Companion”, but of course switching to the Paleo Diet meant adjusting the ingredients. Since then I’ve also made changes to the quantities, and I mess around with the nuts. This combination is a a great Paleo variation. What is it that makes hazelnuts and chocolate together so devine?
I’ve made this with butter, clarified butter, and coconut oil and they’re all fine. The important thing is the quality of the chocolate. I prefer Lindt with 85% cacao because it contains no soy lecithin and just enough raw cane sugar to take the edge off the bitterness, without being sweet. Anything over 85% is too bitter for my tastes. Whenever I bake with it, I feel like I need to add a little more sweetener to round out the flavour.
Make sure to line your cake tin so you can remove the torte easily: slide an eggflip under the base and shuffle it onto a serving plate And it’s not a bad idea to line the drip tray in the oven with a sheet of aluminium foil, just in case your spring-form pan leaks.
Value Adding to the Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Torte
- Serve this tort with some kind of cream! Try thick coconut cream infused with vanilla. If you do dairy, go all out with whipped full fat cream. Be decadent with mascarpone.
- Add colour with fresh strawberries and blueberries on the side. Or slice the torte into two rounds, and fill with the berries and cream.
- Enrich the flavour. Add coffee – espresso of course – to the batter. Just a couple of tablespoons will do. Or rum, for lenient Paleo celebrations.
- Expand the thin wedge into a generous portion, and you’ve transformed the treat-with-coffee into a fully fledged dessert.
Play with it! You can’t go wrong.
More Sweet Morsels
Paleo Bounty Balls – Always so good, and fun to make!
Homemade Baci – Choc Hazelnut Kisses – Why wait for Valentines?
Chestnut, Choc Chunk and Hazelnut Cookies – There’s always room for these. If you can’t find chestnut flour, sub with ground almonds.
Before You Go
Enjoy experimenting with this recipe. More importantly – enjoy eating and sharing it! Tag me on Instagram with photos of your own Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Torte @angie_paleomantic. I can’t tell you how great it is to see my recipes replicated – it’s one of the great joys of a food blogger!
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- 100 grams Lindt dark chocolate 85%
- 100 grams clarified butter
- 50 grams muscovado sugar
- 75 grams almonds
- 75 grams toasted hazelnuts
- 3 eggs, separated
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line an 18cm springform cake tin with parchment paper, and lightly grease the sides.
- Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl over simmering water. When the chocolate is melted, add the clarified butter and the muscovado sugar. Stir until the butter has melted and the muscovado sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat.
- Coursely grind the almonds and hazelnuts using a spice grinder. It's perfect if small pieces of nuts remain. Add to the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.
- Beat the egg whites until firm.
- Add the yolks to the chocolate mix in a stream, stirring continuously to combine. Add one third of the egg white, fold through, then add the rest, continuing to fold.
- Pour the batter into the cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven until cooled completely.
- Sift cacao over the top of the cake using a fine mesh seive before serving.
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