Love Chocolate? (Chocolate Torte)
If you love chocolate and you have someone to love, then you could do a lot worse than making this chocolate torte on Valentine’s Day. If you haven’t got someone to love, then love yourself for a while. 
Here is the recipe for the torte that I made for the last Fresh Network Dinner Party, so I can assure you that you’ll make an impression with it!
Cut yourself a slice, curl up on the sofa for a while …
A Giant Brown Slab of Chocolatey Goodness
Prep time: 30 minutes
How easy is this recipe? ** (2 stars)
Recipe Scale
*(1 star) Your gran could make this if she had a Vitamix!
**(2 stars) You need a brain and a little bit of common sense.
***(3 stars) Some knowledge needed, but don’t worry, I’ll show you how.
****(4 stars) You’ve done this before, haven’t you?
*****(5 stars) You use your Cuisinart more often than your toothbrush!
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups pecans
- 1 cup raisins, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
Filling
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups cacao powder (or 1 1/2 cups milled cacao nibs + 1/2 cup carob powder if no cacao powder available)
- 2 avocados
- 2 cups cashew butter
- 1 1/2 cups grated cacao butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or seeds from 2 vanilla pods
- 1 cup agave nectar, or desired sweetener
Ginger Cream
- 3/4 cup cashews, soaked
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar or desired sweetener
- 3/4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled
- Pinch ground clove
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- Water to blend
Raspberry Coulis
- 1 cup raspberries (or any berry)
- 2 tsp honey, or desired sweetener
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pinch salt
Method
- The first thing we need to do is liquidise the cacao butter and coconut oil, so put them in separate containers and place in a warm dehydrator. If you don’t have a dehydrator, then you can do this on a stove (if you haven’t sold it yet!) but you have to be really careful not to let it get too warm. You can also do it in a glass bowl over another bowl of hot water, you know, like your Mum used to do when she made a cake with chocolate!
- Next make sure your cashew butter is out of the fridge, as it will be easier to work with at room temp.
Crust
- Process all the dry ingredients in a processor, then add coconut oil and vanilla extract. Be sure not to overprocess nuts, as they will release their oil and become ‘sludge’!
- Press the mixture into a 9″ springform pan. If you have a different size springform pan, don’t worry; just use what you have and see how thick the base becomes. For example, an 8″ pan will produce a thicker base. It’s really no problem!
Filling
- Mix the water, cacao powder and avocados in a blender. In a large bowl, add this mixture to the cashew butter and stir well by hand. If you have a Vitamix, you don’t need to mix by hand. You can do this first step and the next step in the Vitamix, but do remember to add the cacao butter last, after everything has been blended.
- Add remaining ingredients (melted cacao butter, vanilla extract and agave) to the bowl and mix again.
- When thoroughly mixed, pour the heavenly chocolate mixture onto the base in the springform pan, and then use a spatula to even out the top.
- Lick the bowl.
- Place the torte in the fridge over night to set. It tends to get better every night it’s in the fridge, if it lasts that long without you eating it all! Seriously though, this will make a very big torte so there’ll be plenty to go round. You can put it in the freezer for a couple of hours to set if you’re short of time.
- Before removing the springform, run a knife around the edge of the torte to separate it from the pan.
Ginger Cream
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender, adding water slowly until completely smooth
Raspberry Coulis
- Blend until smooth. If desired, strain through a sieve
Serve, eat, love.
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