Bittersweet Chocolate Torte - Apricot Filling
Submitted by BeanoScets
Four-layer spiced chocolate torte filled with apricot jam and frosted with a cocoa-espresso ricotta cream. Warm cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg give this butterless cake a complex, grown-up flavor.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minThis torte is proof that a cake doesn’t need butter to be extraordinary.
Six eggs whipped with sugar and vanilla create the lift, and cocoa powder brings the deep chocolate flavor while warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg add a complexity that makes people stop mid-bite and ask what’s in this.
Each layer gets split horizontally and spread with apricot jam, which cuts through the richness with bright, fruity acidity.
The frosting is a revelation: ricotta cheese blended with cocoa and espresso powder until silky smooth. It tastes like a lighter, tangier take on chocolate mousse.
Garnish with whole strawberries and you’ve got a showstopper that looks like it took all day.
Chef Tips
- Beat the eggs for the full 7 minutes. The volume is everything here since there’s no butter or oil to provide moisture.
- Fold the dry ingredients in quickly but gently. Overmixing deflates the batter and the cake will come out dense.
- Chill the ricotta frosting until firm. It spreads much more cleanly when cold.
- Use a long serrated knife and a steady hand to split the layers. Spinning the cake on a turntable while cutting helps keep things level.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at high speed, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thick and tripled in volume, about 7 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Using a large rubber spatula, quickly and gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, until smooth.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared pans.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
Cool completely in the pans set on racks.
- Meanwhile, to make the frosting, in a food processor or blender, process the ricotta cheese, cocoa powder, espresso powder, sugar, vanilla, and salt, until smooth.
Cover and chill the frosting until ready to use.
- When the cake is cool, turn it out of the pans. With a long serrated knife, split each layer in half horizontally and spread the bottom half of each layer with half of the apricot all-fruit spread.
Carefully replace the top halves.
- Spread half of the frosting evenly over the top of one of the filled layers.
Stack the second filled layer on top of the first.
Swirl the remaining frosting evenly over the top of cake.
Garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.
To serve, cut the cake into 12 equal slices.
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