Passover Chocolate Torte

Mirj's Note:

Passover recipes are always full of beaten egg whites. The first few Passovers I was married I didn't have an electric mixer kosher for Passover, and I would beat those egg whites by hand. It gave me a really good workout each year, considering how many egg whites you can beat over the 7/8 day holiday. After a few years I got smart and finally bought an electric mixer. I stopped getting my workout, and started baking more cakes. I always gain weight over the holiday, sigh...

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• ½ cup margarine
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped
• 5 eggs , separated
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 cup ground almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with foil.
3. Grease the foil.
4. Melt the margarine and chocolate over low heat or in the microwave.
5. Stir until smooth and let cool.
6. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, about about 2 minutes.
7. In a separate bowl, beat together the yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 1 minute.
8. Blend in the chocolate mixture and stir in the almonds.
9. Fold in the beaten whites, 1/3 at a time, into the chocolate until no streaks of white remain.
10. Scrape into prepared pan.
11. Place an 8 inch baking pan with 1 inch of water in it on the bottom rack of the oven (to make the torte more moist).
12. Bake the torte on center rack at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes, or until sides begin to pull away from pan and top is set in center.
13. Cover the torte loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.
14. Note: Don't worry if the cake cracks because the top will be on the bottom later.
15. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then carefully remove sides of pan.
16. Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.
17. You can top with whipping cream or dust with confectioner's sugar if you want.

Reviews

[Midwife Meg]

I was brave and took this torte to our Seder. It got rave reviews! I did add 1 cup chopped apricot as another reviewer suggeseted. Tonight, I think I will be adding dried cherries or cranberries instead. The process is simple and results marvelous. Thanks!

[Sydney Mike]

Well, it's possible I totally destroyed this as a 'Passover' torte, but I added a cup of finely chopped dried apricots, AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!! I did think the ground almonds would be overpowering, but they weren't, & it all came together very nicely! Thanks, much, for tempting me with this recipe!