Reprinted without permission from _The Jewish Holiday Cookbook_ by Gloria Kaufer Greene [editorial comments will be in square brackets. IMHO this is a truly great cookbook] Hazelnut-Choclolate Viennese Torte Notes: The grated chocolate and ground nuts in this torte replace flour and, thus, must be very fine and powdery. You can use a rotary grater or a food processor to accomplish this, however, if the latter is used, be sure not to over-grind the nuts or they may get oily and pasty. For the best results, have nuts at room temperature and process them in pulses. Finely ground unblanched almonds, pecans, or walnuts may be substituted for the hazelnuts (which are sometimes called filberts). [Often at this time of year stores that carry Kosher foods sell very finely ground hazelnuts and almonds, which makes life simpler.] If preffered, the glaze can be omitted, and the torte topped instead with a thick layer of chocolate mousse. [recipe follows] Ingredients: Potato Starch or Sugar for pan Batter [may be doubled for 2 layers] 6 large eggs, 5 of them separated pinch of salt 2 tsps lemon juice, preferabley fresh 3/4 cup sugar, divided 2 tsps grated lemon rind 3 oz. very finely grated semisweet (or "dark") Chocolate 2 1/2 cups very finely ground unblanced hazelnuts (approx 8 oz) For Torte: 1/4 cup sweet Pesach wine, sherry or flavored brandy [I've always used Keyem's raspberry syrup. Yum!] about 1/2 cup apricot (or other) jam Chocolate Glaze: 1/3 cup water 3 TBSP vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Garnish [if you must] about 1 cup ground nuts for sides of torte 12 whole hazelnuts 1oz chocolate for curls Instructions: Grease a 9 inch springform pan well and coat it with potato starch or sugar, tapping out excess. For the batter, in a large mixing bowl, beat the 5 egg whites with the salt and lemon juice until foamy. Very gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating the whites until they form stiff, but not dry, peaks. Use the same beaters and another bowl to beat the 5 egg yolks and additional egg with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon rind until very light and fluffy. Gently but thouroughly fold the beaten whites into yolks. Fold in chocolate and nuts, and pour batter into pan. Bake torte in a preheated 325 degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until top springs back when gently pressed. [this will not rise as much as you think it ought. Don't worry about it] Leave the torte in the oven, turn off the heat, and open the door slightly. After 10 minutes remove torte from oven. Run a knife around the edge of the torte to release it from the pan rim. Cool it for another 30 minutes in the pan. Remove the pan rim and cool the torte completely on the bottom. [This next part is for icing the Torte. What I've done in the past is make 2 layers, following the above directions, doubled the amount of raspberry syrup and dribbled half over each torte as per the directions and skipped the jam. I've then used the chocolate glaze as an icing for between the layers, and the "Instant" Chocolate Mousse recipe for the outside icing of the whole thing.] Cover a 9 or 10 inch cardboard circle with heavy duty aluminum foil or freezer paper or use a cake plate. Invert torte onto base and remove pan bottom. Sprinkle wine [or whatever] evenly over torte. Heat jam until thinned; then bruch or spread it all over the torte. (this adds flavor and smooths the surface). For the glaze, combine the water, oil, sugar, and cocoa in a small suacepan and mix very well. Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for 10-14 minutes, or until the glaze thickens slightly and is very smooth and shiney. For the best flavor and texture it should not boil. Remove glaze from heat and stir 3-4 minutes longer until it cools slightly and gets a bit thicker. Pour all the glaze in the center of the torte and immediately use a metal or rubber spatula to evenly spread it all over top and sides. Wipe up any drips from base. Let torte rest a few minutes until the glaze begins to set, but is still soft. Press handfulls of ground nuts all over the sides, but not the top. Arrange whole nuts, evenly spaced in circle on top about 1 inch from edge. Heap chocolate curls or bits in center. Refrigerate the uncovered, completed torte for several hours or, prefferably, overnight so the glaze will set and the flavors and textures will "mellow". (Once the glaze has set, the torte can be frozen for up to 3 weeks. Freeze it uncovered, then wrap it in plastic wrap or tin foil. Unwrap it before thawing and thaw for several hours in the refridgerator. "INSTANT" CHOCOLATE MOUSSE 6 oz semisweet (or "dark" chocolate 1/2 tsp instant coffee \ [I've used 1/3 cup extra strong boiling coffee] 1/3 cup boiling water / 4 large eggs, separated 3 TBSP sweet Pesach wine, Pesach Liqueur, or orange juice [or raspberry syrup] 3 TBSP sugar Put the chocolate and instant coffee in food processor fitted with steel blade, or a blender, and process for a few seconds until chocolate is finely chopped. With the machine running, pour the boiling water in through the top, and continue processing for several more seconds, until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the egg yolks and wine and process until well mixed. In a medium sized bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff. Fold chocolate into whites until no streaks of white remain. Turn into serving dishes, and chill for several hours until firm. Serves 6 --------------------------------------- CHOC-CAKE-3(D) USENET Cookbook CHOC-CAKE-3(D) FRENCH CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE CHOC-CAKE-3 - A decadently rich chocolate cake My mother got this recipe from a radio show about ten years ago. She was intrigued because the cake contains no flour. It is definitely for chocoholics. Although it is a two- layer cake, it is only about 3-4 inches thick when it's done, and has the consistency and density of a chocolate candy bar. It can be frozen if you find it too much to eat at one time. INGREDIENTS (one cake) CAKE 2 tsp instant espresso coffee 1/4 cup hot water 7 oz semisweet chocolate 2 oz bitter chocolate 4 eggs, separated 4 oz butter 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 3/4 cup sifted corn starch FROSTING 2 tsp instant espresso coffee 7 oz semisweet chocolate 2 oz bitter chocolate 2 Tbsp butter PROCEDURE (1) Combine espresso, hot water, semisweet chocolate, and bitter chocolate in double boiler filled with hot water and cover. Without applying additional heat, melt the chocolate. (2) Butter two layer-cake pans, lay a sheet of waxed paper in each, and dust the pans with flour. (The pans should be able to hold 4 cups each.) (3) Beat the egg yolks and then gradually add 2/3 cup of sugar until the yolks are thick and lemon colored. (4) Beat butter into the chocolate mixture. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and stir. (5) Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, and then gradually add up to 2 Tbsp sugar. (6) Add the sifted corn starch gradually to the cho- colate mixture, alternating with the egg whites. The corn starch and egg whites should be folded in to the chocolate mixture. (7) Pour half the batter into each cake pan. (8) Bake on the lower middle level of a preheated 350 deg. F oven until set on the sides. (9) Cool the cake in the pan, and then turn out onto a serving dish. (10) Combine the icing ingredients and make the icing as per Step 1. Ice the cake as you would a normal layer cake. RATING Difficulty: difficult. Time: 2 hours. Precision: precise measurement important. I think that this can be adapted for Passover (potato instead of corn starch and no cream of tartar, real coffee insetad of instant) CHOC-NUT-TORTE(D) USENET Cookbook CHOC-NUT-TORTE(D) PASSOVER CHOCOLATE NUT TORTE CHOC-NUT-TORTE - Rich chocolate dessert for Passover This is the only Passover dessert I've ever tasted that is good enough to be making during the rest of the year as well (when you can use corn starch instead of the potato starch). INGREDIENTS (Serves 12-16) TORTE 6 oz butter or margarine 3/4 cup sugar 7 eggs, separated 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled 1 cup unblanched almonds, finely ground 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup unblanched almonds, chopped ICING 4 eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 tsp potato starch 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted 4 oz margarine, softened 1/2 cup almonds, finely ground PROCEDURE (TORTE) (1) Cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and creamy. (2) Beat in the yolks, one at a time. (3) Blend in the chocolate, and gently fold in the ground almonds mixed with the baking powder. (4) Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then fold into the mixture. (5) Pour into a well-greased 10-inch springform pan. Bake about 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 deg. F degrees. (6) Allow to cool, then frost thickly with the icing and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. PROCEDURE (ICING) (1) Mix together the eggs, sugar and potato starch in the top of a double boiler. Heat over boiling water, stirring, until mixture thickens. Do not boil the mixture, and beware of "scrambled eggs"! (2) Cool, then stir in the chocolate. (3) Gradually beat in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. (4) Fold in the nuts until the mixture is thick enough to spread. NOTES If you don't have a springform pan for Passover, use an aluminum disposable cake pan and just strip off the sides when the cake has cooled. RATING Difficulty: moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 30 minutes baking, 5 minutes frosting. Precision: measure the ingredients.