Good morning all!
It's a European style recipe, so break out your trusty scale and be prepared for something a little less-sweet than your traditional American-style chocolate stacked cakes.
Traditional Zachar Torte:
Ingredients -
140 grams unsalted butter
140 grams bittersweet chocolate (equals 4.5 squares Bakers chocolate)
140 grams granulated sugar
6 eggs
120 grams all-purpose flour
1-jar of Apricot or Raspberry Jam (or your favorite homemade preserves)
Note: I prefer a slightly tarter jam - and stick to the kinds that have no corn-syrup added and where the fruit is the #1 ingredient. Private Selections has a great Apricot jam if you don't want to spend teh extra $$ on organic stuff.
100 grams of bittersweet chocolate
1.5 tblspoons of shortening
1) Separate your Eggs - whites into a medium sized bowl, yellows, set aside, you'll need them in the second step. Preheat your oven to 325 fareinheit.
2) In a double pot, with simmering water on the bottom, slowly melt your chocolate until smooth.
3) remove from heat and slowly (by hand) blend in butter, sugar, and egg yolks - then using your beaters whip up until fluffy. Set aside.
4) Wash/dry your beaters and whip up your egg whites until you have stiff peaks (depending on the freshness of your eggs - 6.5 to 12 minutes).
5) In large bowl, slowly blend together your flour and chocolate mixture. Fold in the egg whites gently until mixed thoroughly.
6) Prepare a 9" round cake pan - butter the bottom and lightly dust with flour. Pour your cake mixture into the pan and level it.
7) Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes (approx) until pulled slightly away from sides and doesn't stick to your testing toothpick.
8) Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool for several hours.
9) Using a long bread knife, carefully cut your cake into two circular halfs.
10) Place your bottom piece on your serving platter and carefully cover thickly with jam and place the top half on. Lightly cover the top with jam as well.
11) To make the icing, put your remaining 100grams of chocolate into your double boiler along with the tablespoon of shortening. Stir constantly until melted to a smooth, runny texture.
12) After it's blended, remove from heat and keep stirring until it's cool, but still liquid. Pour it evenly on top of your cake until the Jam is covered completely. Leave some for the sides of the cake (spread with a round knife), and let the icing harden.
Cake is traditionally served with whipped cream, but it also works well with vanilla ice cream on the side.
For your wheat alternative, I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour. It made the texture of the cake noticeably drier - so I recommend adding in 1.5 additional tablespoons of butter, OR you can add in a tablespoon of applesauce (it won't change the taste much) to keep the cake moist.
Serve with Soy Vanilla Ice-Cream or a whipped cream that is based in soy (cool whip may work for those mildly lactose intolerant, but they do say it has dairy ingredients in it - so eat with caution).
Enjoy!
Jen
It's a European style recipe, so break out your trusty scale and be prepared for something a little less-sweet than your traditional American-style chocolate stacked cakes.
Traditional Zachar Torte:
Ingredients -
140 grams unsalted butter
140 grams bittersweet chocolate (equals 4.5 squares Bakers chocolate)
140 grams granulated sugar
6 eggs
120 grams all-purpose flour
1-jar of Apricot or Raspberry Jam (or your favorite homemade preserves)
Note: I prefer a slightly tarter jam - and stick to the kinds that have no corn-syrup added and where the fruit is the #1 ingredient. Private Selections has a great Apricot jam if you don't want to spend teh extra $$ on organic stuff.
100 grams of bittersweet chocolate
1.5 tblspoons of shortening
1) Separate your Eggs - whites into a medium sized bowl, yellows, set aside, you'll need them in the second step. Preheat your oven to 325 fareinheit.
2) In a double pot, with simmering water on the bottom, slowly melt your chocolate until smooth.
3) remove from heat and slowly (by hand) blend in butter, sugar, and egg yolks - then using your beaters whip up until fluffy. Set aside.
4) Wash/dry your beaters and whip up your egg whites until you have stiff peaks (depending on the freshness of your eggs - 6.5 to 12 minutes).
5) In large bowl, slowly blend together your flour and chocolate mixture. Fold in the egg whites gently until mixed thoroughly.
6) Prepare a 9" round cake pan - butter the bottom and lightly dust with flour. Pour your cake mixture into the pan and level it.
7) Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes (approx) until pulled slightly away from sides and doesn't stick to your testing toothpick.
8) Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool for several hours.
9) Using a long bread knife, carefully cut your cake into two circular halfs.
10) Place your bottom piece on your serving platter and carefully cover thickly with jam and place the top half on. Lightly cover the top with jam as well.
11) To make the icing, put your remaining 100grams of chocolate into your double boiler along with the tablespoon of shortening. Stir constantly until melted to a smooth, runny texture.
12) After it's blended, remove from heat and keep stirring until it's cool, but still liquid. Pour it evenly on top of your cake until the Jam is covered completely. Leave some for the sides of the cake (spread with a round knife), and let the icing harden.
Cake is traditionally served with whipped cream, but it also works well with vanilla ice cream on the side.
For your wheat alternative, I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour. It made the texture of the cake noticeably drier - so I recommend adding in 1.5 additional tablespoons of butter, OR you can add in a tablespoon of applesauce (it won't change the taste much) to keep the cake moist.
Serve with Soy Vanilla Ice-Cream or a whipped cream that is based in soy (cool whip may work for those mildly lactose intolerant, but they do say it has dairy ingredients in it - so eat with caution).
Enjoy!
Jen