Vegan chocolate hazelnut torte
Vegan chocolate hazelnut torte
Happy Friday, guys! I just got off the plane and I’m now heading home to hug my cat, although she will be offended, no doubt. Cats, eh? You gotta love them and their unshakeable confidence. I’ve had a lovely time back home in Poland, recharged my batteries and soaked up some late September sun too, which was an unexpected but welcome surprise.
Today’s recipe is a rich chocolate and hazelnut torte that I’m hoping you’ll enjoy. I love the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts and since I feel like colder weather is conducive to slightly more indulgent desserts, you can expect more, similar recipes on the blog this autumn. Stay tuned!
INGREDIENTS
- 200 g / 7 oz vegan dark chocolate (I used 70% cacao)
- 200 g / 7 oz silken tofu (I used Clearspring)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 120 ml / ½ cup aquafaba (I used aquafaba straight from a tin / can)
- 1 tsp lemon juice or red / white wine vinegar
- 135 g / 2/3 cup caster sugar*
- 100 g / 1 cup hazelnut meal / finely ground hazelnuts
- 45 g / 1/3 cup GF cake flour mix (I used this one)**
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 75 g / ½ cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
METHOD
- Chop or break up the chocolate into smaller pieces with your hands.
- Place the chocolate in a glass bowl over a water bath (bain-marie). Make sure the glass bowl doesn’t touch the water. Simmer on a very low heat until the chocolate has melted. Take the bowl off the pot and allow the chocolate to cool down.
- Blend the silken tofu and vanilla essence until smooth in a food processor.
- Preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F. Grease a round tin (I used a 20 cm / 8 ” round tin) with a little bit of olive oil or line the bottom of the tin with a circle of baking paper.
- In a clean metal or glass bowl, whip the aquafaba (it should be at room temperature or else the chocolate might seize) and lemon juice until you get stiff peaks. It is very important that the bowl has no grease residue as this will prevent the aquafaba from reaching stiff peaks.
- Once the aquafaba is at the stiff peaks stage (turn the bowl upside down, if the aquafaba does not slide down at all, it means that it has reached stiff peaks), start adding sugar very gradually, whipping well after each addition.
- Next, slowly and gently fold melted chocolate until you achieve an even looking batter.
- Fold the silken tofu into the cake mixture.
- Finally (gradually and gently so that you don’t knock too much air out of the whipped aquafaba) fold the hazelnut meal, GF flour, baking powder and salt into the cake mixture with a spatula.
- Spoon the batter into a brownie tin. Decorate with chopped hazelnuts.
- Bake for 30 mins. Remove from the oven and let the torte cool down COMPLETELY before cutting.
NOTES
*I haven’t tested this recipe with any other sugar and unless you are in the mood for experimentation, I would advise against using anything else, as different sugars tend to affect aquafaba in various ways. Caster (fine) sugar gives the most consistent results.
**If you don’t need these to be gluten-free, use 50% white all purpose flour and 50% cornflour / cornstarch.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
145
7%
sugars
12 g
14%
fats
8 g
11%
saturates
1 g
7%
proteins
3 g
5%
carbs
17 g
6%
*per serving
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I haven't tried any other sugar, I am afraid. You could try coconut or date sugar but I would not add it to whipped aquafaba as they are likely to make it to deflate - I would add it to the silken tofu mixture. Using a liquid sweetener of any kind will throw the ratios out. You may be able to bake the cake for a little longer (cover the top if it's burning) to compensate but I have not tried this so these are just things I would try if I were to do this. Hope it comes out well. x Ania
I hate it when people change a recipe and then review it, but sometimes changes are necessary. Thankfully, it is a very flexible recipe: I substituted almonds and almond flour (as hazelnuts can be hard to find where I live in the US). Used almond extract, instead of vanilla. Most importantly, I ended up having to use Okara that we have from making soy milk. (My local store no longer carries silken tofu). I really wasn't sure whether the Okara would work, but was fine. The cake had some wobble when I removed it from the oven, but I followed the instructions to let it cool before cutting. It then set up properly.
Lastly, whipping up the Aquafaba was a new and cool experience. Appreciate the advice to tip the bowl over as a way to check that it was beaten enough.
Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. Made it today and it's sublime.
Much love
Kerry.
Thanks!
Very gentle folding is needed here as otherwise you run the risk of knocking too much air out of aquafaba. I will update the recipe to make it clearer though. I hope you'll enjoy the outcome. x Ania
If you love chocolate cake you need to try this one. I've tried quite a few chocolate cake recipes but this one stands out. I don't usually comment on recipes but I can so recommend making this cake.
Thanks you Ania for sharing this recipe!
I was soooo pleased to read your comment this morning, what a lovely way to start the day. I'm very happy you enjoyed it so much and thank you for taking the time to rate the recipe - it means a lot! x Ania
I had bookmarked this recipe months ago and I was saving it for a special occasion. Today was my dad's birthday and since he loves chocolate and hazelnuts I made it for him!
I followed yout recipe exactly (the non gluten-free version) and it turned out incredible. But the most pleasant surprise, for me, was how much fun I had making it. The aquafaba meringue, the bain- marie, the folding...since becoming vegan this was one recipe that made me feel like a french cruelty-free pastry chef :)
Thank you for your generous recipes, you do not omit any tip or step, it shows that you really want us to succeed.
Have a nice Sunday,
Baci
Silvia
I'm sooo pleased that this cake was such a success for your dad's birthday and that you enjoyed the experience of making it too! So very cool. x Ania
The aquafaba increases significantly in volume when whipped, so make sure to use a large bowl.
I cooked mine a few minutes longer than stated as it was still wobbly in the middle after half an hour. I wasn't sure if the temperature was 180 degrees for fan or conventional, so assumed conventional and dropped the temperature to 170 for my fan oven. I used a 20cm square tin and it turned out fine.
Expensive to make, but worth it for a treat. A small serve is enough so it goes a long way.