Holiday Chocolate Torte Recipes

DECADENT HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F Line bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan with foil; grease foil.
• In small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. In large bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, melted butter and vanilla until well blended. Add flour, cocoa and water; stir in pecans. Gradually fold reserved egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; spread into prepared pan.
• Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until firm to touch; cool completely in pan on wire rack. Invert onto serving plate; remove foil. Cover; refrigerate. Prepare SEMI-SWEET GLAZE. Spread top and sides of torte with prepared glaze. Cover; refrigerate. Garnish top of torte as desired.
• SEMI-SWEET GLAZE: In a small bowl, place 1 cup Hershey's semi-sweet chips and 1/3 cup whipping cream. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Use immediately.

HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13x2-inch pan.
• In small bowl, mix crust ingredients, and press into pan.
• Bake until lightly browned (15 minutes).
• Cool completely.
• Beat ingredients for 1st layer until creamy, and spread over cooled crust.
• Combine ingredients for 2nd layer and mix thoroughly.
• Spread over cream cheese layer.
• Cover with remaining cool whip.
• Sprinkle with almonds and chocolate to garnish, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• To serve, cut torte into bars.

PASSOVER CHOCOLATE TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with foil. Grease foil.
• Melt margarine and chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth and let cool.
• In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat whites until stiff; about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together yolks and sugar until thick and pale; about 1 minute. Blend in chocolate mixture and stir in almonds. Fold in beaten whites, 1/3 at a time, into chocolate until no streaks of white remain. Scrape into prepared pan.
• 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).
• Bake torte on center rack at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until sides begin to pull away from pan and top is set in center. Cover the torte loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of baking. Note: Don't worry if the cake cracks because the top will be on the bottom later.
• Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then carefully remove sides of pan. Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, combine butter, water and white chocolate; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat; stir in the buttermilk, eggs and extracts. , In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour and pecans. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, baking soda and remaining flour. Gradually beat in butter mixture. Stir in pecan mixture. , Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, in a microwave, melt white chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. , In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Gradually beat in melted chocolate and extracts. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth., To assemble, spread 2 tablespoons of jam over one cake layer; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Repeat layers twice. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of torte. Warm remaining jam; drizzle over dessert plates. Top with a slice of torte.

PASSOVER CHOCOLATE TORTE WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Stir chocolate and margarine in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool until lukewarm.
• Using electric mixer, beat yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl until pale and very thick, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture in 2 additions and beat until well blended. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until whites are stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
• Bake torte until crust forms on top and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter and some moist crumbs still attached, about 55 minutes (top may crack). Run small sharp knife around torte to loosen. Cool in pan on rack (torte will fall and crack). Remove pan sides. Invert torte onto platter. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.)
• Grind 1/3 cup sugar in blender until fine powder forms. Place doily atop torte. Sift ground sugar over doily; gently remove doily. Garnish torte with raspberries, if desired. Serve with Raspberry Sauce.