Dark chocolate torte to melt away worries

I found this torte recipe a few years ago, and it’s never gotten too dusty in the recipe box. (And selfishly, the reason I’m posting this is exactly that: I have to unearth the recipe every few months, so publishing it online will make finding it a jiffy.)

This is a perfect cake for potlucks, as it’s foolproof to make. The crackly crust and sinfully rich center make for a party-pleaser. You’ll likely have all the ingredients in your pantry, assuming, of course, that chocolate lasts longer in your cupboard than it does mine.

5 eggs = not for the faint of heart.

I’m sorry for the lack of reading material of late. I’m paging through books I’ve read several times over and don’t feel the need to finish them. They’re trusty friends on my bedside table, which I open for comfort and a nice turn of phrase: Invisible Man sitting atop Pride and Prejudice, which is resting on A Room of One’s Own and my secret stash of Vanity Fair.

The story that’s been on my mind lately is a recent Washington Post essay on adults delaying parenthood for cultural and economic reasons — and its impacts on those children. Here’s a quick snippet:

The irony is that when you have a child at 45, you’re ensuring that your children will grow up faster than you ever had to. It guarantees that your kids will have a little less of the freedom you enjoyed because they’ll be taking care of you a little earlier.

I wouldn’t be surprised if my circle of friends have children later in life — in their 30s or later, sometime after the itch to travel is tempered and a career established. But, reading this, I wonder if this is something we would later regret. It’s food for thought that’s dense enough to match this cake, but worries don’t stand a chance against a pound of butter and chocolate.

Dark chocolate torte

If you don’t have salted butter, use unsalted butter and about 1/4 teaspoon salt (or less) for each stick of butter. The original recipe is from Bon Appetit, and includes a ganache and spiked blackberry coulis that sounds divine, though I don’t think this torte needs accoutrements to shine.

• 1⅔ cups / 10 oz / 285 g semisweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup / 1½ sticks salted butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder, optional
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

2. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.

3. Stir in the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Whisk in cocoa powder and espresso, if using. Let cool 10 minutes.

4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 6 minutes. Fold in the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the springform pan.

5. Bake the torte until its top looks dry and cracked and a tester inserted into its center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 40 minutes.

6. Cool the torte in the springform on a rack for about an hour. The center will collapse in. Carefully remove the side of the springform, using a knife to loosen the edges as needed. You can serve as is, or invert on a plate to remove the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely.

7. Dust with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream, if desired, and serve!