Serious Efforts: Choc. flourless torte @ 5280 ft. — what went wrong?
I tried making Chocolate Epiphany's Chocolate Flourless Torte. When I took it out of the oven I had HIGH hopes — it had risen slightly — a miracle here in Denver. The center was not jiggly upon taking out of the oven — per the book's instructions.
When I let it cool per directions, it had sunk in the center. The top was glossy-crispy — not unlike a brownie. The center beneath it was still fudgy-pudding like similar to thick batter. It turned out not so much "cakelike" no spongy-ness, but not quite as dense as I had expected. Is it supposed to be this way? Any clue as to what went wrong? HELP!!!!
I thought I was picking a relatively easy cake for this altitude as it has no leavening, was not expecting it to rise, but hoping for success. (me... throwing in towel on mountaintown baking YET AGAIN.)
I will post the recipe below. I promise I followed directions.
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13 Comments:
I found a copy of High Altitude Baking at the library and I've only made one thing so far, but so far so good. It doesn't give straight up "how to alter any recipe for high altitude" directions, but it talks a bit about why things bake up differently at high altitude that you might find useful.
Check your local library or order yourself a copy. The recipes in it have variations for various elevations, and the CSU Cooperative Extension helped with those variations.
joyyy at 12:51AM on 04/23/09
Recipe "My Favorite Flourless Chocolate Cake" from the book "Chocolate Epiphany"
veg cooking spray
11 Oz 64% chocolate ( I used Ghiradelli Choclate baking chips)
9 Tbs unsalted Butter
1 1/3 cups granulated Sugar
5 large eggs
confectioner's sugar (optional)
(recipe calls for 9 inch spring form pan- I used 9 inch glass pie pan.
bring butter to boil in a pan- whisk in chocolate until melted and smooth.
in separate bowl whisk togetehr ganulated sugar & eggs, slowly add warm chocolate mixture stirring gradually with silicone spatula.
Pour mixture into prepared pan. Place in roasting/casserole filled with hot water that comes halfway up the prepared dish.
BAke 50-60 min. until the cake is just set on top and doesn't jiggle.
Remove cake from oven let cool to room temp in the pan. once cool, place in freezer until completely chilled (approx 30 min)before unmolding it. Invert cake onto platter so that it's top faces up. leave at room temp 15 min min before serving- dust with confectioners sugar .
bisbee at 12:53AM on 04/23/09
Thanks Joyy! I have checked into that book....and my brain shorts out and I feel like I'm in math class again have do equations ...just to make cake! LOL!!!! : ) Upon writing out the recipe I realized I din't put the cake into the freezer...maybe I will try that. I haven't unmolded it yet- just cut a wee slice...so why not try?
bisbee at 12:56AM on 04/23/09
Also : can anyone tell me what the texture of this cake is supposed to be like so I can work towards that? Thanks!
-Bisbee
bisbee at 12:58AM on 04/23/09
My lord -- in this age of books, libraries and the internet (imagine those tubes and those old-fashioned buildings!), can this even happen?
mince at 3:55AM on 04/23/09
Hi bisbee. Don't be disappointed. A flourless chocolate cake doesn't have any cake-like qualities - like sponginess. That is the whole point of it being flourless. There's no leavening, nothing but butter, sugar, chocolate and egg, by design it is supposed to be dense, fudgy, gooey in the center. It is especially true for this recipe; the eggs aren't even whipped. It sounds like it came out exactly as it should.
Gina DePalma at 7:28AM on 04/23/09
As Gina said ^ flourless chocolate cake isn't really cake at all, but a block of incredible chocolate you eat with a fork. I frequently made RLB's Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte - both for a bakery and for celebrations. When I took the cake out of the oven, it was still soft in the center but it firms in the fridge.
Your question: "What went wrong?" Not a damned thing. :D - Enjoy!
Visit this website for info on High Altitude Baking and grab the book. I lived at 7K feet in southwest Colorado and some things were a challenge. It took a month of Sundays for fudge to reach temperature. Another challenge - Bread dough rose to double its bulk by the time it took me to put away the flour. (J/K) To combat flavorless bread, anything I baked with yeast rose in the fridge with excellent results.
You'll learn to work around the altitude - Make angel food cake, it's foolproof at altitude. Don't forget to cool the cake upside down on the tube pan's feet. If your tube pan doesn't have feet, cool the cake upside down on a narrow-necked bottle so it keeps all its height.
Happy baking!
therealchiffonade at 9:34AM on 04/23/09
Thanks everybody! I was concerned as I hadn't tried the flourless type before- and thought uh-oh...baking fail again! I am so glad it worked- the taste is great it did firm up in the fridge/freezer. Also Thanks for the tip Chiff on angel food cake - I would have NEVER attempted that here- now I might!
@ Mince- wow. Umm I'm not sure what your comment was referring to .FYI I did check the internet/ library- in fact it's where I got the book...thought SE might be a good place to get "on hand" answers usually this site is where people come to ask these types of questions and be FRIENDLY & HELPFUL answering food questions. Guess things have changed around here since I've been out a while. .
bisbee at 8:14PM on 04/23/09
@ mince- oh. my bad for giving you the benefit of the doubt.
I guess mince all you do is snark on people.
thus the name.
bisbee at 2:00AM on 04/24/09
You might want to take a peek at the book "Pie in the Sky." Unfortunate name, because it's not all about pastry, although that's included, too. It has all sorts of adjustments for baking things at different altitudes. I don't have the book, so I can tell you for sure how the recipes are, but it looks like there was a whole lot of research involved.
dbcurrie at 2:16AM on 04/24/09
Thank you dbcurrie I did like that book.... I will go back and do a refresher course with it. : )
bisbee at 10:31AM on 04/24/09
@bisbee, let me know how Pie in the Sky works for you. I keep looking at it, and some of the recommendations seem so counterintuitive that I wonder if the author is a genius or just mad. Then again, I'm only at 5000 feet rather 10,000, so for the most part I'm squeeking by on minor adjustments rather than breaking out the whole science lab.
dbcurrie at 1:11PM on 04/24/09
I agree- I remember looking at that one and saying..hmmm do I need to equations just to make this stuff? LOL. Yeah I imagine 10,000 is way harder to adjust to.
bisbee at 11:43PM on 04/24/09