Chocolate Torte by Great British Chef Shaun Hill

We are delighted to share this recipe by Great British Chef Shaun Hill for this delicious Chocolate Torte. With layers of light cake and rich ganache topping a chocolaty biscuit base, this has to be one of the finest examples of chocolate cake in existence. Serve with some fresh raspberries to add tartness and extra thick double cream…delicious!

Serves: 12

Preparation Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Cooking Time: 55 minutes

Equipment

• Blender
• 22cm Spring-Form Cake Tin

Ingredients

Chocolate Torte

• 225g of 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 160g of ground almonds
• 140g of dried white breadcrumbs
• 225g of unsalted butter
• 340g of caster sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 drop of vanilla essence

Biscuit Base

• 175g of digestive biscuits
• 1tbsp of cocoa powder
• 85g of butter, melted

Chocolate Ganache

• 110g of 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 225ml of double cream
• 125g of icing sugar

To Serve

• 1 punnet of raspberries
• Extra thick double cream

Cooking Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3 and line the cake tin with grease-proof paper. To make the biscuit base, blitz the biscuits and cocoa powder to a fine crumb in a blender. Pour in the butter and pulse until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and spread out to create an even layer.
2. To make the torte, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie then add the ground almonds and breadcrumbs, mixing well to combine. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a separate bowl then beat in the eggs 1 at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add the chocolate mixture to the butter and eggs and mix until smooth and incorporated. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 55 minutes, until set and cooked through. Allow to cool.
3. For the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate in a large bowl. Bring the cream and icing sugar to the boil in a saucepan then pour over the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
4. Spread the ganache over the cooled chocolate torte, using a hot palette knife to ensure it is distributed evenly. Once the ganache has set, slice the torte and serve with raspberries and cream.