I’m not gluten-intolerant, but some of my favorite people are. That’s why I served this awesome, simple chocolate torte at a birthday gathering. It was delicious and decadent — no compromises or weird ingredient substitutions necessary to make everybody happy.
1 lb good-quality bittersweet chocolate morsels (I used Ghirardelli 60%)
1/3 lb butter, plus some to grease the pan
5 room temperature eggs, separated
A few drops fresh lemon juice
2 T granulated sugar, plus a few teaspoons for the pan
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan*. Cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit the bottom of the pan and grease that, too. Sprinkle a couple teaspoons of sugar on the bottom and sides of the pan.
Separate the eggs, then beat the egg yolks with a whisk until frothy. In a large dry bowl, beat the egg whites and lemon juice until they’re starting to froth. Slowly add the 2 T sugar and continue beating until they just reach the soft-peak stage.
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate morsels and the butter together. Remove from heat, stir until smooth, and whisk in the egg yolks.
Fold about a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold that into the rest of the egg whites, gently, without overmixing. It should not be perfectly homogeneous; there should still be some white streaks of egg whites showing.
Pour the batter into the springform pan and set this into a baking dish or jelly roll pan full of water. Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack.
Garnish with whipped cream or canned crema (Nestle’s is good) and some fresh fruit, like raspberries or strawberries. If those are not in season, mandarin orange slices would also look and taste good.
*I used a smaller tart pan, but I had to put some of the batter in another small baking dish, like a ramekin. Both solutions worked fine.