This torte is just divine. It has everything a dessert should have – dark chocolate, salted butter, dark rum – and it is flourless. The bourbon sauce adds the final elevating touch. I first served this dessert at Under The Over, the restaurant I ran at Kemps Corner, Mumbai, in the 1990s.
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Serves
8
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Cook Time
02 h 00 m
Prepare tart day before for it to set overnight
Ingredients
For Mocha Fudge Tort
- ½ kg semisweet dark chocolate, chopped up (or use chocolate nibs)
- 400 gm butter (I prefer salted as it enhances flavour)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 40 ml dark rum
- 2 tbsp instant coffee powder
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 7 large eggs
Bourbon Sauce (400 ml)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 50 gm brown sugar
- 225 ml milk
- 100 ml bourbon or whisky
- 50 ml water
- 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
Preparation
For Mocha Fudge Torte
- Heat oven to 350℉ or 180℃. Melt the chocolate, coffee, butter, rum and vanilla on low heat, stirring constantly till well combined and melted. Remove from heat.
- Separately, beat the eggs with a hand mixer or manually till thick and foamy, and then add into the molten chocolate and butter mixture.
- Continue beating or whisking till well combined.
- Pour into a 9-inch buttered springform pan and bake in centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a crust forms around cake’s top edges but its centre is still soft and wobbly. It will look underdone. You want that. Don’t overcook.
- Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. It will sink as it cools. Cover and refrigerate overnight until firm.
For Bourbon Sauce
- Lightly whisk egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl.
- Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to egg yolks. Continue whisking.
- Whisk in sugar and milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, and cook over moderate heat till the sauce just comes to a boil and thickens. Make sure you keep whisking.
- Remove from heat and whisk in bourbon and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap directly in contact with sauce to keep a skin from forming on surface.
- Let it cool to room temperature. Either serve chilled immediately or refrigerate, covered. It will keep for a month or more, refrigerated and covered.
To Serve
- Make a frosting, add berries and a coulis on top, or add ice cream – whatever you want. Or eat it plain and as is, or smothered in bourbon sauce.
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