Easy and Super Moist “Surprise” Chocolate Torte - A Translation and Adaptation
French food personality Hervé Palmieri’s easy chocolate torte is super moist, tender, and full of chocolate flavor. A wedge of it begs to be picked up and eaten by hand (and I oblige) to accommodate bigger bites while being washed down with a cup of coffee. The surprise is that the cake has no butter (score 1 point for lower calorie count!) and incorporates two cooked, puréed carrots (another point for nutrition!)—and no one will ever notice! The batter easily comes together using a blender to ensure the carrots are fully processed. The carrots contribute sweetness and offer additional moistness to compensate for the missing butter. It’s a delicious and decadent chocolate cake with a little less guilt. Be sure to read my additional notes below from my testing and adaptation of the recipe. Enjoy!
Makes one 7-inch cake
For the cake
7 oz (200 g) carrots (2 medium)
7 oz (200 g) premium semisweet dark chocolate, such as Valrhona Équatoriale Dark 55%
3 large (150 g) eggs
2 Tbsp (30 ml) neutral-flavored oil, such as canola, sunflower, grapeseed, or coconut
1 tsp (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup scooped,
leveled, but not
packed (80 g) dark brown sugar
¼ cup + 3 Tbsp (50 g) cake flour, plus 2 tablespoons more for the pan
1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup + 3 Tbsp (50 g) almond flour
For the glossy chocolate topping
2½ oz (68 g) premium semisweet dark chocolate, such as Valrhona Équatoriale Dark 55%
1 tsp (5 ml) neutral-flavored oil
Special equipment
One 7 by 4-inch cake pan
A blender
Prepare the carrots and pan. Peel the carrots and trim off their rough ends. Steam or boil the carrots just until tender, 15-25 minutes (See notes below. Test for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife through the thickest part to ensure they are tender all the way through.) While the carrots are cooking, grease the bottom of a 7 by 4-inch cake pan using butter or shortening and line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper (Use the bottom of the cake pan to trace a circle of parchment paper the same circumference as the pan. Cut out the circle and place it upside down at the bottom of the pan so that any pencil marks are against it.) Grease the top of the parchment and the sides of the pan with butter or shortening. Add the 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and tilt and rotate the pan to coat the bottom and sides; tap out any excess flour.
Melt the chocolate and preheat the oven. Set the cooked carrots aside to cool. Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a medium mixing bowl and gently melt it set in a water bath or over a saucepan containing 1 inch of gently simmering water. Once melted, set aside to stay just slightly warm (the chocolate should not be overheated; if it feels hot, let it cool until it feels only slightly warm before adding it to the mixture). Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and position the rack in the center.
Make the batter. Cut the cooled carrots into large pieces and place them in the jar of a blender. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Blend on the purée setting until completely smooth. Add the brown sugar and blend again until the sugar is fully incorporated and the mixture is completely smooth again.
Thoroughly scrape the melted chocolate into the blender and blend again until the chocolate is fully incorporated and the mixture is completely smooth (you may have to stir a little at the end to achieve this). Pour the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl (use the bowl used to melt the chocolate).
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to a strainer or sifter and sift half the mixture into the batter. Stir gently until nearly incorporated. Sift in the remaining flour mixture and stir gently until fully incorporated. Using your fingertips, break up any large lumps in the almond flour and then add it to the mixture in thirds, partially incorporating it with each addition and then fully incorporating it once the last third is added; the batter will be thick.
Bake. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and gently shake it to even out the top. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool and unmold. Set the pan on a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a small offset spatula around the edge of the cake to help release it from the sides of the pan. Place a serving dish upside down on top of the pan. Quickly but carefully invert the pan and serving dish so that the cake releases upside down and centered on the serving dish; the cake should remain upside down.
Make the glossy chocolate topping. Gently melt the chocolate in a small bowl just until warm and fully melted; do not overheat it. Add the oil and stir to thoroughly combine. Pour the warm chocolate coating onto the center of the cake and spread it out evenly, gently nudging it over the edges in a few spots for a drip effect.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Store covered, at room temperature, to maintain the soft, moist texture. The cake will keep this way for several days. The topping will firm up after several hours but will still be easy to slice.
Zach’s Notes:
After a few hours, the glossy chocolate topping will set but will remain soft enough to slice. Combining oil with chocolate is common to maintain a softness to the chocolate for different applications, such as glazes. However, doing so can sometimes cause blotching due to the slight separation of the oil and chocolate after the chocolate sets; this only impacts the appearance. To minimize this, be sure to melt the chocolate at a very low temperature (it should never get very hot). If some blotching occurs once the chocolate has set, just dust the top with a thin layer of confectioners’ sugar to mask it. You can also wait to apply the topping just before the cake is served for a wet, shiny look.
Hervé uses a 7-inch (18 cm) pan to give the cake more height (1¾”/4 cm tall), but you can also use an 8-inch (20 cm) pan. The baking time will be about 33 minutes, and the cake will be just 1 inch (3 cm) tall.
Using semisweet chocolate within 50–55% cacao lends more sweetness and a softer texture to the cake. The Valrhona chocolate is also a high-fat premium chocolate with a more melting consistency and interesting flavor than standard chocolate chips, so that’s the one I recommend.
While translating, testing, and adapting this recipe, I decided to try the cake with puréed canned pumpkin instead after remembering leftover canned pumpkin from the holidays is common. Canned pumpkin didn’t offer the sweetness that carrots do, so I found I preferred the carrots instead—but canned pumpkin will work as an alternative.
I chose cake flour rather than all-purpose flour to give the cake a more velvety crumb.
As with any baking recipe, I recommend using the gram weights for consistency and accuracy. During my testing, I used the gram weights indicated and then converted those to the volume measures provided for those who do not have a kitchen scale.
Brands: I used Swan’s cake flour, Rumford baking powder, Neilsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract, Organics dark brown sugar, and Bob’s Red Mill super-fine almond flour.
You can quickly cook the two carrots by adding 1/2 cup water to a 10-inch skillet set over medium heat. Place the whole peeled and trimmed carrots inside. Place the lid on top (or a piece of aluminum foil) and cook until tender, 15-25 minutes.