This dark chocolate torte tastes lusciously rich and moist yet it has all of 2 Tbsp of canola oil! The secret lies in the addition of the ground almonds with their healthy unsaturated oils as well as the applesauce and fat free plain yogurt. This is one dessert you will be able to “indulge” in without any guilt! It is a little more time consuming than my other desserts but it is well worth it! I love to dress it up with lots of fresh fruit and sprigs of fresh mint. It makes for a spectacular presentation, wouldn’t you say?
Orange Almond Torte
Servings 10 -12 slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¾ cup ground almonds or almond meal
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
- ½ cup fat free yogurt
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 Tbsp organic expeller pressed canola oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of one orange
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 egg whites + 2 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Lightly oil a 9-inch spring-form cake pan and place wax paper to fit at the bottom.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, ground almonds, white sugar, cocoa and baking powder.
- Add buttermilk, yogurt, brown sugar, egg yolk, oil, apple sauce, vanilla extract and orange zest.
- Beat with an electric mixer until smooth, but do not overbeat.
- Place orange juice in a microwavable cup and place in microwave until hot.
- Pour hot orange juice in batter and beat with electric mixer, scraping the bottom once with a spatula, until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, beat the 2 egg whites with 2 Tbsp water until soft peaks form and gently fold in chocolate orange mixture.
- Pour batter in prepared pan and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean in center. You don’t want to overbake it!
- Let cool. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen and remove the rim. With a large spatula, turn torte upside down onto a plate. Gently take off the pan lid and peel off the wax paper. Dust a little sifted confectioner sugar on top and decorate with fresh fruit and sprigs of fresh mint (optional).
Hi, I’m currently in lock down for COVID, and I have whole wheat flour but not the pastry version. I do have bread flour, and all purpose flour. Do you have a suggestion for modifying your recipe that would have a comparable result?
Hi Susan, For now, during lock down, absolutely OK to use all purpose flour if that’s what you have in your pantry. it will be just as good! My husband always says: don’t make perfection the enemy of good!
Thank you!
Hello Catherine, I was wondering if this cake freezes well. I belong to a Cultural Centre and am responsible for afternoon tea on Sundays – it would be great if I could make a few and keep them frozen until needed. Your site is amazing.
Hi Anita, sorry it took me so long to answer you as I was at a conference and just got back but YES it freezes beautifully! 🙂
Thank you Catherine. I will certainly let you know how everyone likes the torte. Anita
This is truly a GREAT recipe! The chocolate-orange flavor, of course, really comes through. The ground almonds give it the depth and having some flour makes it a bit more of a cake than a piece of fudge. And it was made for MY birthday, so how lucky am I?
One question that came up, that is not anywhere in the recipe, is why heat up the orange juice?
YAY Thank you Wendy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
To tell you the truth I created this recipe so many years ago–maybe 25 years?!–that I don’t actually remember why I decided to do that in the first place–maybe for it to be a little more concentrated or just maybe for it to blend in better–but it’s one of those things that I never questioned again because it comes out so perfect every single time!!! I bet you nothing would happen if you didn’t heat it but I’ll never know!!HAHAHAHA!!:)
Wow! 25 years ago…it IS a keeper, that’s for sure! Also, I meant to mention that I really appreciate that heavy cream or butter is not missed whatsoever in this recipe. All flavors hold together very well. Thank you Catherine.
Absolutely delicious, the ‘star’ of our dinner! Yum, definitely a repeat recipe! Merci!
Diane
That is wonderful Diane!!! Thank you so much! 🙂
Merci à vous!
bonjour , je vais réaliser cette recette lumineuse pour les fêtes de Noël !! quelle bonne et belle idée!! merci! et bonnes fêtes à vous !!!