This flourless chocolate cake is a coffee lover’s dream come true! Dense and fudgy, chocolate and espresso flavored, filled with whipped cream, topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. It doesn’t get any more delicious than a Mocha Torte.
Cake-making isn’t my forte! In fact they scare the living daylights out of me. But when the GBBO Signature Bake for the week is a flourless chocolate torte you get to work!
If you saw my Chocolate Fudge Cake you’ll know I ALREADY made a cake this GBBO season. But here we are.
Is a cake a torte?
Generally, it’s an upscale cake, an elevated cake if you will. They should have layers and a filling and oftentimes a glaze or topping of some sort. I don’t think there are hard an fast rules on them.
Either whipped cream, swiss meringue buttercream, fruit, or other fillings can be used. You can add a meringue layer, a mousse layer, or something like a crumbled praline. Basically, you want layers. Get freaky if you want.
As a reminder:
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Flourless Espresso Chocolate Cake
This Mocha torte is fairly simple. It’s a flourless espresso chocolate cake. Split in half and layered with whipped cream (use stabilized if you need it to hold up overnight or try cool whip) and then topped with it as well. I added shaved chocolate to the top to keep the mocha flavor simple, just coffee, chocolate and whipped cream.
The Bakes for Chocolate Week 2023
The bakes were NOT what I was expecting for Chocolate Week. I was thinking something more fancy or intricate or chocolatey. I don’t know. It just wasn’t it for me this season.
- Signature Bake: Chocolate Torte
- Technical Bake: Carmelized White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
- Showstopper Bake: Chocolate Box filled with a Chocolate Cake and Hand Made Chocolates
The Signature Bake
The Signature Bake was the least egregious of the bakes. Needless to say I was not inspired by any of them.
But once I baked this flourless torte, I CHANGED MY MIND. Flourless cakes are delicious!! They’re thick and dense and oh so chocolatey!
What you need to make this Mocha Torte
The most difficult-to-find ingredients for this recipe will be the bar chocolate for baking and the whipping cream.
- eggs
- baking chocolate, I used what I could find which was German Chocolate (in strength and semi-sweet for grating) honestly go with your favorite chocolate or like it what I could source)
- sugar
- salt
- Espresso powder (don’t buy through the link; it’s expensive but you can find this in most major grocery stores for much cheaper; this link is to show what you’re looking for!)
- vanilla extract or paste-see my post on vanilla basics
- heavy whipping cream
- powdered sugar
- 10 inch springform pan
- saucepan
- heat proof bowl
- cake leveler
Remember, you can swap out the whipped cream for Cool Whip. You can use frosting. Or make up your OWN interesting middle layer.
Or go simple with a flourless cake
PERIOD. Once you’ve baked the cake and let it rest, you can serve it just like that. Warm and with a scoop of ice cream. Your guests will thank you for it.
Is it gluten-free? If it meets these TWO requirements, then it is Gluten Free. It must MEET BOTH to be safe for gluten intolerant AND celiacs.
- If all the ingredients of the cake state that they’re made in a facility that is gluten-free then yes, it is a gluten-free cake. Check your LABELS
- AND it’s made in a kitchen that is not used to make anything with gluten. It must be a gluten-free kitchen.
Please be careful when cooking for our gluten-free friends!
To store Leftovers
You can store the unfrosted cake, well-wrapped, for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. Once frosted it must served within 1-2 hours.
Whipped cream only lasts for a couple of hours so don’t fill it until you’re ready to serve it. Or make stabilized whipped cream with gelatine.
Mocha Torte
Ingredients
- 8 ounces baking chocolate use your preferred chocolate or what you can find I used German Chocolate
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 eggs divided
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
Whipped Cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
Grated Chocolate
- 1 ounce baking chocolate use your preferred chocolate or whatever you can source, I used semi-sweet
Instructions
- preheat the oven
- generously butter a 10 inch springform pan, add a circle of parchment and butter it as well for the best results, set aside
- heat a saucepan over medium heat
- place a bowl over the warming water
- chop up the butter and drop it in the bowl
- while the butter melts rough chop the chocolate and add it to the bowl as well
- don't let the chocolate get too hot, you'll want to remove it as it starts to melt and then stir it until it melts compeltely
- meanwhile measure out the remaining ingredients if you haven't already
- separate the eggs and be sure not to get any yolk in the whites
- once the chocolate is melted set it aside and let it cool for about 5 – 10 minutes
- meanwhile whip the egg whites until the form peaks, don't over beat them or they will be dry
- whisk the sugar, espresso powder, salt, egg yolks and vanilla paste into the melted chocolate
- once the egg whites are stiff use a large metal spoon to fold half the whites into the chocolate mixture
- once incorporated fold in the remaining eggs whites
- scrape into the prepared pan
- bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, don't open the oven to check on the cake it will deflate
- remove the cake from the oven and let it rest on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes
- then remove the ring and just let the cake cool
- once chilled cut the cake in half with the leveler to make 2 thin cakes
- stir the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer
- then whip it on medium until stiff peaks form, don't over whip it or you'll get butter
- place one layer of the cake on a cake plate, top it with about half of the whipped cream
- gently top with the remaining layer and the rest of the whipped cream
- use a small cheese grater or zester to grate some of the chocolate over the whipped cream
- chill until ready to serve, don't let chill more than 20-30 minutes or it will deflate
