this recipe is really rich, so I suggest serving really small pieces, and never telling people how much butter went into making it!

But once you get past the calories, it is probably the most decadent dessert I have made.

I have tried this chocolate torte several times and love it. It's true that it is loaded with butter and chocolate, and eggs but that's exactly what gives it it's pure flavour. I tell people exactly what's in it and then tell them to eat up before I eat it all!

I just made this torte and read the foot note too late about using a springform pan. What is the reason not to use one, for me it's too late but hopefully the torte will turn out just fine.

These pans can leak, which is why we suggest not using them for this torte. You could wrap the bottom of the springform with foil, I suppose, like you would do if you were making a cheesecake.

But we have always had much better success, with this particular recipe, when we used a regular, thick cake pan (preferably one that is non-stick).

Thanks for your response, yes it did leak a tad so I understand why you recommend not using one. The torte however, was very good and it's so easy, I did have to bake it longer than specified, perhaps it's because we live in a reasonably high altitude or maybe it's my gas oven.

I attempted to make this torte for a small dinner party. Everything seemed to be going well, but when I baked this, it remained "soupy", even after 40 minutes of baking! I was very disappointed, but it was at least salvageable with ice cream. Any suggestions on what might have happened? My own 2 worrisome parts: 1. one or more of my eggs looked a little dry when I put them in, even though they were well within the expiration limit; 2. when the recipe said after cooking a few minutes the sugar should melt, it still was slightly grainy, so I ended up cooking it for more than 10 minutes. Thanks, Kaisa S.

P.S. I made 2 other recipes from Rouxbe and they were both excellent!

I am making this right now, to investigate what might have went wrong for you. I have made it many times and never had a problem. Glad to hear that you still ate it...thank goodness for ice cream (ha! ha!). Together we will figure this out for you.
Stay tuned!

I baked the torte against the video and the text, using the exact same equipment...right down to the wooden spoon, and it was perfectly baked after 24 minutes. I made notes as I went along to try and figure out why it didn't work for you.

Here are some thoughts I had:

Oven Temperature - is it correct? Surprisingly, ovens can be off by quite a bit.
Was your oven preheated?

As for the ingredients, precise measuring is key. It's one of the places where things can easily go wrong.

Also the the quality of the chocolate is important, you'll need a dark chocolate (one that is at least 54% cocoa mass)?

As for the sugar not fully melting, mine didn't either and it's perfectly fine. I did let the chocolate/butter/sugar sit for about 5 minutes or so before I started adding the eggs, of which, I added one at a time, using a wooden spoon.

I say, don't give up. Try it again, because having eating this last night for dinner, reinforces how delicious this torte really is. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

Dawn, there are various grades of dark chocolate to choose from. Semi-sweet, 60% Cocao Bittersweet, 70% Cocao Extra Bittersweet, 100% Cocao Unsweetened, which do you recommend for the Chocolate Torte with Creme Anglaise? I'm making it for a dinner party tomorrow and don't want any unpleasant suprises!

I recommend a semi-sweet or dark chocolate (at least 54% cocoa mass). I tend to use a dark chocolate myself. I have never tried the Extra Bittersweet and I think the 100 percent might be a bit too strong...(but that's just an educated guess).

Good Luck with the Torte...and just remember to be accurate with your measurements, this seems to be the place people tend to run into trouble with this torte.

It is delicious though, I have made it many many times!

Dawn, I made this Torte as a birthday cake and coupled with the Creme Anglaise was sinfully decadent, but worth every calorie! I used the 60% Cocao Bittersweet Chocolate. I did however, have to bake it for approximately 35 minutes, as after 20 minutes it was still a tad soupy in the center despite a half hour of preheating. This is a high end restaurant quality dessert, perfect for a special occasion.

I made this Torte and found it needed more time in the oven and it must be due to my imperial-to-metric conversion, I guess the numbers do tend to vary depending on the conversion method and chosen ingredient density which does cause problems...
Would it be possible to put up a link with same basic data - how much milliliter is your cup of liquid, how much grams is a cup of flower, butter and sugar etc and I'll be more than happy to do the calculations myself, and in this way there would be no need to revise all of the recepies.
I was very surprised to find so many types of cups and with the ingredient density varying so much depending on how it was processed, you could end up measuring almost double the amount than needed...
Nevertheless, the cake is fabulous, I just hope you add more dessert recipes and fast because I'm dying to try them out!
Great job!

I would also love to see weight measurements instead of, or in addition to, cups. It is much easier to weigh butter, for instance, than to try cramming it into a measuring cup, saves on dishes I'm sure! I'd also love it if the oven temperatures were given in metric as well, it would save me time looking it up on other sites!

The posted comments and replies help as much as the detailed Video in attempting this challenging but rewarding recipe. Following the instructions to the letter I still found I needed to cook the torte for over 45 mins. At the time I removed it from the oven, the top was still soft. After cooling for 10 mins, while tipping out using cooling rack during transfer to plate, ridged indentations were left from the rack. The dessert when served 4 hours later was best described as "granular & crunchy" on the surface and edges but perfect inside. The appearance on the surface, beside the ridges, was pockmarked rather than smooth. Not sure if the final diagnosis is : slightly overcooked? Oven temp was monitored by an accurate in situ thermometer on middle rack. Two other comments: There is no way the Creme Anglaise can be made with care in under 30 mins. Whenever eggs are used for exacting recipes, the size should be stated. Depending on where you shop, the sizes vary enormously. I used Large from a US source but could have bought Xtra L or Jumbo at almost twice the size each.
With the right feedback, I intend to make this again and get it perfect - the dessert is potentially a 10.
John (husband of life member)

I made this a few days ago for the first time and it came out perfectly. Very rich, moist and oozing tons of chocolaty flavour. It went down a real treat with my family! I used 76% French chocolate and the only issue was with my temperamental oven which meant that I had to bake it for longer and keep a watchful eye over the baking process. 10/10

I have used chocolate chips instead of chocolate bar for this recipe and can't tell the difference. Chips are about half the price of bars. Is there any difference in chips vs bars? This recipe is a big hit among my friends. Thanks.

I have never used chocolate chips, but if they worked for you then super.
Maybe try using a high quality chocolate just once, to see if it makes a difference to you.

Glad to hear you like the torte!!

I am using high quality chocolate.....Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chips...seems to be same specs as Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet bar at about half the price. I can't tell the difference between chips and bar chocolate. Am I missing something?

The difference between choc. chips and chocolate bars is that many chocolate chips, especially the more mainstream commercial brands, are made with less cocoa butter so that they retain their shape. So when melting them, the result is not always as smooth.

Sounds like you are using good chocolate though, so you will be okay (do you have any for me :-)
Below is a link from a blog that talks a lot about chocolate. Good, short facts and questions by David Lebovitz.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/11/chocolate_faqs.html

I have made this a number of times. It is incredible. But why stir in the flour? What does this small amount flour do?

The flour acts as a binder. It is just a bit, but it helps to bind the ingredients together.

I had the same disaster as Kaisa. It is all granular and was not cooked in 45 minutes. I used quality ingredients and measured it all perfectly. Any suggestions?

Hi Barbara. This recipe is truly a mysterious one to us at Rouxbe. To date it looks like 74 people have rated this recipe and it has a 95% average success rating. So for most, it appears to work just fine. And for the few times that this hasn't worked out for one of our members, we have tested this recipe again and have always had the same great results.

As you claim to have used good ingredients (chocolate) and followed the recipe precisely, my only thought is that perhaps your oven temperature is lower than most and that it simply did not cook long enough for the sugar to dissolve and for the cake to set.

As I've said before, try to ignore all cooking times on all recipes. In cooking school, you are never allowed to ask the question - "How long until this is done". It's done when it is done. I could make this cake 50 times and it will likely take 50 different cooking times to cook this to perfection. Why? First, I could open the door 3 times for the first cake and then 5 times for the 2nd cake - meaning I lose heat and it will take longer. Or, i could turn the dial on the over to a different temperature (maybe even off by only 2 degrees). Lastly, every oven is off by a few degrees or more. So one key trick to cooking success is to learn how to tell when things are done. For this cake, we show you at the end of the video.

I'm not sure if this response will provide any comfort for you, particularly given that you invested money and time into making this torte. I can only hope that it helps.

Hi

I made this torte recently - using the absolute best baking chocolate I could lay my hands on - and while melting the chocolate I turned on my gas oven to preheat -- and was rewarded with a very small explosion because, apparently, the igniter chose that precise moment to malfunction. So there I was with a pot of melted chocolate and no oven.

So I turned on my gas BBQ -- both sides --- allowed it to heat up and then turned on side down low and the other off. I placed the torte onto the unlit side, put down the lid and crossed my fingers!

After 20 minutes I went down and rotated the pan -- closed the lid, left it another 15 minute and..... the resulting torte was amazing -- beautifully cooked, moist and delicious and a total hit.

I am making this again -- but next time I do plan to use my oven.

Huge thumbs up for this one!!

Yeah, way to use your instincts, good thing to know in case the power ever goes out. I am so glad it turned out for you :-)