Skip to main content

Martha Stewart's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte

Dense, fudgy and irresistibly chocolaty, is the best way to describe Martha's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte from her latest baking book, 'A New Way to Bake'.  This cake is the perfect dessert to serve for any kind of special occasion, especially if your guests love chocolate.  Because it is a flourless cake which relies on over half a pound of chocolate to make, it is important to choose a good-quality chocolate.

The cake is almost like eating a luxurious truffle, except that it is lighter and exceptionally richer.


I couldn't wait to start making this cake over the weekend when I saw the recipe, because I wanted something that wasn't going to be too demanding for my aunt's visit.  The batter came together on top of a double boiler, much like a brownie recipe, and was then poured into a prepared cake pan for baking.   

No need for a mixer! 


Martha says that the cake is best made ahead of time and chilled before serving, so that's exactly what I did.  After chilling for several hours in the refrigerator, I unmolded the eight inch layer onto one of my jadeite cake stands (Martha by Mail) for serving.


OK, so I took some liberties with the chocolate topping.  Instead of using the two ounces of chocolate called for in the recipe, I doubled it and added a few drops of peppermint oil to the chocolate to give it that irresistible mint flavor. All of it was poured over the cake and was smoothed out with a small offset spatula.

A sprinkling of ground walnuts is what the recipe asks you to add, but I thought a sprinkling of multicolored dragées would make my aunt's cake even better.  Everyone loved it.


Wedges served on old Fire King jadeite and a few cups of strong coffee made the ending of our meal pretty sweet. 


I can't tell you how perfect this cake is to serve for anyone who can't have gluten in their diets, for the chocolate aficionados in your life and/or for those who claim not to like sweets.  Everyone will want a slice of Martha's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte if you display it on one of your nicest cake stands and keep it within eyesight of your get together.  As I said, a cup of strong coffee or espresso is all you need to accompany the dessert.

Happy Baking from Martha's latest book!

Comments

  1. Looks delicious. Is this the recipe?

    http://www.marthastewart.com/1062416/flourless-chocolate-walnut-torte

    I don't see a recipe link in your post and I'd like to make it this weekend. Thanks David!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wasn't aware that this recipe already existed online! Yes, it's the exact same recipe!! :)

      Delete
  2. Whoop! Whoop! I will make it based on your review and your photos! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The cake looks delish! I can't wait to get my copy of the cookbook!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank You for Posting!

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Salt Cellars

There was a time when salt cellars played an important role on the dining table for the host or hostess.  As a result of it being such an expensive commodity several hundred years ago, salt was seen as a luxury and it was the well to do that made salt cellars quite fashionable & a status symbol for the home.  A single salt cellar usually sat at the head of the table and was passed around throughout the meal.  The closer one sat to the salt cellar, the more important one was deemed by the head of the household.  Smaller cellars that were more accessible and with an open top became a part of Victorian table settings.  Fast forward to the 20th century when salt was no longer a luxury and when anti caking agents were added to make salt free-flowing, and one begins to see salt cellars fall out of fashion.  Luckily for the collector and for those of us who like to set a table with Good Things , this can prove to be a boon. Salt cellars for the table come in silver, porcelain, cut glass

Vintage Wilton Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes have certainly evolved over the decades just as tastes and styles have in our American way of life.  There was a time when elaborate & very formal towering feats of sweetness were the standard for every bride & groom.  Growing up in a household where I witnessed several wedding cakes take shape from start to finish, I can tell you  that every single one of these was a true labor of love.  For mom, Wilton was the go-to supplier in every aspect of cake baking, including the wedding cakes which flew out of our house every single year for friends & family.   Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers It’s fun going back and looking at Wilton’s methods and styles for wedding cakes during the 1960s and 1970s.  Back then, the shapely cakes were not simply stacked and covered in perfect fondant the way they are these days, but were iced and decorated with real buttercream, along with a multitude of accessories.  There was even a working fountain available that could b

Collecting Jadeite

With its origins dating back to the 1930s, jadeite glassware began its mass production through the McKee Glass Co. in Pennsylvania. Their introduction of the Skokie green & Jade kitchenware lines ushered in our fascination with this jade color.  Glassmakers catered jadeite to the American public as an inexpensive alternative to earthenware soon after the Depression, both for the home and for its use in restaurants.  The Jeanette Glass Company and Anchor Hocking introduced their own patterns and styles, which for many collectors, produced some of the most sought after pieces.  Companies marketed this beautiful glass under the monikers of jadite , jadeite , jade glass , jad-ite , jade-ite , so however you want to spell it, let it draw you in for a closer look.  If you want a thorough history of the origins of jadeite, collectors’ pricing, patterns & shapes (don’t forget the reproductions in 2000), I highly suggest picking up the book by Joe Keller & David Ross called, Jadei