5 from 1 vote

Flourless Chocolate-Almond Torte for Passover

Flourless Chocolate Torte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Flourless chocolate torte is a long-standing tradition on Passover. I have made several variations, but this one is far and away the most popular. It is made of several layers of a flourless chocolate-almond cake and bittersweet ganache. I make the whole thing without dairy, for those who keep to kosher laws, and you’ll never know the difference. It is one of the few times I use margarine and cream substitute and I promise it is absolutely divine.

The flourless chocolate torte can be prepared in advance, wrapped well and refrigerator for a few days or frozen for a couple of weeks. This leaves you with less work to be done on Passover. Just decorate with some fresh berries and enjoy a slice of rich, chocolatey goodness after your dinner.

Flourless Chocolate Torte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Flourless Chocolate Torte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Flourless Chocolate Torte Slice | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Flourless Chocolate Torte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Enjoy and Happy Passover!

Flourless Chocolate Torte Slice | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Flourless Chocolate-Almond Torte

Flourless Chocolate-Almond Torte for Passover

Flourless chocolate torte is a long-standing tradition on Passover. I have made several variations, but this one is far and away the most popular. It is made of several layers of a flourless chocolate-almond cake and bittersweet ganache. I make the whole thing without dairy, for those who keep to kosher laws, and you’ll never know the difference. It is one of the few times I use margarine and cream substitute and I promise it is absolutely divine.
5 from 1 vote

Ingredients

Flourless Chocolate Torte

  • 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) margarine
  • 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) sugar
  • 9 eggs separated
  • 10 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate it will be shaved on a box grater
  • 2 3/4 cups (10 oz) blanched almond meal also called almond flour
  • Blackberries for garnish

Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 1/2 lbs semisweet or bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
  • 3 cups Coffee Rich or other heavy cream substitute
  • 4 tbsp margarine

Instructions

Flourless Chocolate Torte

  • Preheat oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the middle. Grease a 13×18-inch baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
  • Shave the chocolate using a box grater or the grater attachment on your food processor. It needs to be fine flecks of chocolate in order to blend well into the cake.
  • Cream the butter, sugar and yolks together, using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, on medium speed, until they are light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the shaved chocolate and almond meal to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until it is evenly distributed. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 1 more minute.
  • In a clean mixing bowl, whip the egg whites on medium high until they are at soft peaks, about 3 minutes, but be sure to watch them carefully. If the egg whites are over whipped and curdled looking, they will be difficult to fold into the chocolate mixture.
  • Mix a third of the whites into the chocolate mixture. This will lighten up the chocolate mixture so you can fold the rest of the whites in more easily. 
  • Add half of the remaining whites and gently fold them into the chocolate. Repeat with the remaining whites.
  • Pour the batter onto the prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth the mixture out, making sure it is very even. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and set the pan on a cake rack. Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely.
  • Once the cake is cool, run a knife around the edge to loosen it. Invert the cake onto the back of another baking sheet covered with parchment or a cutting board covered in parchment.  Peel the parchment off of what is now the top of the cake.

Ganache

  • In a large saucepan, bring the cream substitute to a gentle simmer. Turn off the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate and margarine. Swirl the chocolate in the pan to make sure the liquid covers it all and allow it to sit for 3 minutes.
  • Gently stir the ganache with a rubber spatula until it is completely smooth. You do not want to whisk the mixture or you will get air bubbles in the ganache. Let the ganache sit for 15 minutes to cool slightly.

Assembly

  • Pour 1/3 of the ganache over the cooled cake. Spread the ganache evenly over the surface. Refrigerate the cake and allow the ganache to cool completely.
  • Cut the cake into 3 equal pieces, cutting along the long side of the cake. Stack the 3 layers together. Trim the sides so they are perfectly smooth and then cut the cake in half.
  • Stack the 2 pieces to create a cube. Place the cake on a cooling rack set over a baking pan, which will catch the dripping ganache. Pour the remaining ganache slowly over the top of the cake. It needs to be cool enough that the ganache clings to the cake and doesn’t just drip off. You may have to go over it a few times to make sure the whole thing is covered smoothly. Decorate with berries and edible flowers.

Notes

The cake can be prepared in advance, wrapped well and refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a couple of weeks. This leaves you with less work to be done on Passover. Just decorate with some fresh berries and enjoy a slice of rich, chocolatey goodness after your dinner.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other Passover dessert ideas? I’ve got you covered.

Share this post

37 thoughts to “Flourless Chocolate-Almond Torte for Passover”

  1. Gorgeous and delicious, I’m sure. I have a recipe for one using rice flour that’s been on my list. Not too sure if I could achieve this perfection!

  2. I am definitely making this! I have seen the wonderful recipe and instructions. Thank you for sharing. Indeed. A very beautiful torte and so delicious. I am already in heaven just looking at it.

  3. I wish you could see me gasping when the page opened and I saw the gorgeous photo!

    The recipe looks really easy. Can I make almond meal by blanching almonds and then grinding them?

    I was able to get 2 sticks of Passover margarine, they were hard to get. I got them on a trip to a larger city. But the almond meal and non-dairy creamer–3 cups of it–isn’t going to be possible. I live over a hundred miles away from any stores that sell it. I think I’ll have to make everything dairy later in the week. I’ll have to try this next year.

    You’re making me wish I had cable tv! Thanks for posting this recipe for us.

    Judy

  4. Hi Zoe,
    I’m not sure how it would taste, I have heard of the sub, but never tried it. This is what I found:

    “Mock” Confectioner’s Sugar for Passover
    1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch
    2/3 cup superfine white sugar
    1. Pulse together in a food processor (about 2 minutes) to combine.
    2. Sprinkle on top of your favorite Passover dessert for decoration
    Yield: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (18 tablespoons)

    Here’s what I do have:
    –16oz Kineret non dairy whipped topping (makes 100TBSP whipped)
    –16 oz Kineret non dairy coffee whitener (I think almond flavor, it’s defrosting in outside fridge) 28TBSP (1.75 cups). Some has to be saved for coffee for Monday eve. So I could make 1/2 the ganache recipe.
    –big bag of slivered almonds
    –Passover chocolate chips, several bags. –Not nearly 1/4 of the talent you have in cutting the cake so neatly!!! 🙂

    So, if I am able to make it, I will probably grind the almonds till just before they clump. I could melt some of the chocolate chips and mix it with whipped topping, maybe.

    I was thinking of using the ganache for the layers and then the confectioners sugar sub on top. After all, potato starch is a thickener, like corn starch….

    What do you think?

    Judy

  5. Zoe,

    I’ve decided to make this later in the week, when I have more time and all the utensils I need. I can use butter and I’ll buy heavy cream , and I will have what I need to make it.

    THANKS! I let everyone on the HBin5 list know of your wonderful recipes

    1. Hi Judy,

      Enjoy your Passover and the desserts you make. Let me know when you decide to make this cake, it is really wonderful, but better saved for an easier time! 🙂

      Thanks, Zoë

  6. Hi Zoe,

    I tried making ganache this morning with the Kineret coffee whitener and chocolate chips. I did 6 oz chips and 1/2cup whitener. It all melted well, but seemed a bit thin. I added about 1-2 tsp potato starch, and it thickened up nicely! So that’s something to add to my “bakers Passover tool kit.”

    It poured nicely over some brownies I made (foil pan), and it’s getting cold in the fridge. I don’t think I can pipe the ganache around a cake like yours, it isn’t thick enough.

    I think I have enough chips left, and I’ll put the rest of the ingredients on the shopping list for later today.

    Have a wonderful Passover. Are you going to make pistachio macaroons with rosewater for your family?

    Judy

  7. This is an amazing dessert and impressed the hell out of the 20 people at the seder to which it was brought on Monday night. I had to pull it together in 2 hours, which meant that the ganache did not set properly for transit, but no one except me cared. It is so very rich that a very small piece sufficed.

    I also did the caramel matzoh crunch you suggested. I’ve got the cookbook from which it came, which suggested 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and I added some more to that. It set up very quickly in the freezer, so I recommend it when time is short.

    Thanks so much for both recipes.

  8. Hej
    Very Nice blog and cake:)

    When you put the cake together, do you take those cutted layers and put all 3 Of Them on each other?
    Also, when I Cut the cake in 3 equal pieces Them i take thise and put Them ón each other? That is how it is?
    Then for how many people is it for? It Will be significantly smaller.

    Best regards gülse

  9. Hi Zoe, the link to the recipe is broken. Can you add the recipe so i can try this gorgeous cake.

  10. And for those of us who don’t keep kosher, can we sub butter and cream for the margarine & creamer?

      1. Can you add in orange zest or anything else to give it a little extra flavoring? If so, how much and at what point would you add it? Also, if using butter and cream — salted or unsalted butter? And heavy cream? Do you need to adjust the amounts at all?

        1. Hi JB,

          I would use about 1 to 2 teaspoons of zest, so you get a hint, but it’s not over powering.

          You want to use salted butter, since the margarine is salted, and use heavy cream.

          Thanks, Zoë

          1. Hi JB,

            Sorry, forgot that detail. You should add it with the sugar. It will be a lovely addition.

            Enjoy, Zoë

  11. Finally, 7 years later, I made this cake! It’s been on my wish list that long.

    It’s a wonderful cake. We love every bite.

    I kept it at 3 layers—I was nervous about the moving around of the layers to make it a cube. I put a simple syrup on the rectangle before putting it in fridge at that stopping point. The ganache thickened in fridge overnight, so I applied it like icing.

    My old posts of not being able to get ingredients in our former small town are a blast from the past!

    Excellent treat. YUM YUM!! Thank you, Zoe!!! You are awesome for making sure the ingredients would be right for Passover.

  12. 5 stars
    Oh may god! This recipe is amazing. It’s the best chocolate cake I ever had. I made it once about 10 years ago. I lost the recipe soon after that. So, I was thinking about a desert for Christmas Eve and this cake came to my mind. I googled all kind of chocolate cake recipe command til I saw the picture and I new for sure it was what I was looking for. Im very excited to make it again. It’s worth the almond meal price here in Brazil.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating