Flourless Chocolate Torte

This torte is so light and fluffy it just melts in your mouth. It's rich and chocolatey without being overly sweet or heavy, and it would be delicious served with fresh berries or fruit preserves, or warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. hot water

4 large eggs, whites and yolks separated

1/2 cup pure maple syrup, divided use

1/2 cup cocoa powder

5 Tbsp. melted butter

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Topping: Fresh berries, fruit preserves, ice cream, or whipped cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a tart pan or pie pan with nonstick baking spray.

With an electric or stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until thick and pale yellow in colour, about 5 minutes. When you lift your beaters from the yolk there should be a trail in the yolks for a couple seconds before they drizzle back into the bowl. Gradually add in 1/4 of the maple syrup to the yolks and continue to beat for several more minutes. Add in 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder and stir with a spatula to combine. Once the cocoa is incorporated, stir in the remaining cocoa powder and continue to stir, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. When the cocoa has been mostly incorporated, add in the melted butter and vanilla extract. Beat with the electric mixer until smooth.

In a separate bowl, or in the cleaned bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites until almost at the stage where they are soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of maple syrup and continue to beat until soft peaks form in the egg whites. Add 1/4 cup of the egg white mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir together well with a spatula.

Fold half of the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then add the remaining egg whiles and continue gently folding until the batter has a consistent colour. Do not over mix or stir vigorously otherwise your torte will not be light and fluffy.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and level off the top of the torte with a spatula until it is flat. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the centre is set and slightly springy to the touch. Allow the torte to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before gently transferring to a serving plate or cutting pieces from the pan.

Serve with the topping of your choice, warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Store covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

*Recipe from Cheeky Kitchen