I have a love for all things Italian. This may be because I have a Nonna or am lucky enough to have an Italian passport, but I think it has to do with the humility of their food – the emphasis on simplicity and a few, really good ingredients.
This cake is no different. It is a local reinvention of a fool-proof dark chocolate torte I found in an old Italian recipe book. It combines all the local flavours we love – Bar-One, Amarula and good old-fashioned Tennis Biscuits. It’s gooey, crunchy and covered in chocolate sauce – what’s not to love?
Ingredients
Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking 35-40 minutes
Torte
- 100g Bakers Tennis Biscuits, roughly crushed
- 30-45ml Amarula
- 50g slivered almonds
- 100g Bar-One, chopped roughly into 2cm pieces
- 5 XL eggs, separated
- 200g icing sugar
- 25g granulated sugar
- 5ml vanilla essence
- 50g butter, melted
- 25g cake flour
- 20g cornflour
Sauce
- 100g Bar-One, chopped roughly into 2cm pieces
- 50ml cream
Method
- Preheat oven to 150’C.
- Place your crushed Tennis Biscuits into a bowl. Add the Amarula until the mixture is thoroughly coated but not too soggy.
- Place on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for 30 minutes or until the crumble has completely dried out.
- While this is baking, place the slivered almonds in a pan and toast until lightly golden.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to a cool bowl.
- Melt the Bar-One in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of lightly simmering water, stir until completely melted and smooth and remove from the heat.
- Beat the egg yolks with half the icing sugar and granulated sugar until light in colour and thick in consistency.
- Beat in the vanilla essence, melted butter and chocolate.
- Sift in the flour, cornflour and fold well into the mixture.
- Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl to stiff peak.
- Slowly incorporate the remaining icing sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, maintianing the peak of the egg white mixture.
- Carefully fold into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour into a greased, 20cm springform pan.
- Pop into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The cake should form a beautiful flaky crust on top while remaining moist and light in the middle.
- While the cake is baking melt the Bar-One for the sauce in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of lightly simmering water, stir until completely melted and smooth, slowly stir in the cream and remove from the heat.
- When the cake is done, allow it to stand for a few minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Place onto a serving plate or cake stand, top with the Amarula and Tennis Biscuit crumble, the toasted slivered almonds and drizzle generously all over with the sticky Bar-One sauce – delicious!
Food Love,
Tanya