Anyone else an avid therapy baker? My family and I had a hard, unexpected  loss this past week. Extra hugs, phone calls from near and far, visits from loved ones, all have helped immensely; we have felt so much love from our community and are so grateful. 

This short blog post isn’t about that – it’s about one afternoon of baking (and indulging!) that brought us joy last week. To be truthful, this past week, we’ve somehow baked even more than we can eat, and it’s served as a bit of healing for us. Oatmeal cookies, at-home chocolate tastings – and, as we prepare for Passover, a flourless spiced chocolate torte. Alex, my 4 ½ year old was thrilled to help with this, especially when it was confirmed it would be chocolate from Laughing Gull Chocolates. “Mommy, you make the BEST chocolate!” (Her favorite are the chocolate dipped bananas, made with Moka Origins chocolate – but that’s a story for another day).  

We used Laughing Gull Chocolates’ “spiced hot chocolate”, combined with a variety of bean-to-bar craft chocolate that we happened to have in the house. The result was a rich, dense, complex chocolate torte – that would serve as the perfect dessert you could feel good about enjoying on Passover. 

In case you’re looking for a last minute seder dessert, the recipe is below, with the chocolate that we used linked as well. 

We enjoyed ours with raspberries and/or ice cream, but a homemade whipped cream or other fruit would be out of this world as well. The subtle spice of the cinnamon and cayenne in our hot chocolate blend is complemented beautifully by tart fruit and cream. We had a blast making it together, and of course eating it together! 

 

Finished product, ready to eat!

**Pro-tip – top with a drizzle of salted caramel chocolate sauce. Yuuuummmmm!

Here’s the recipe: 

• 1 ⅔ cups chopped up chocolate (**We used 1 cup of Laughing Gull Chocolates Spiced Drinking Chocolate, and ⅔ cup of craft chocolate – Sol Cacao Peru and Goodnow Farms Ecuador made a lovely, complex combination! )
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, in pieces
• ¼ cup chopped 100% cacao (**We used a 100% Fruition bar that I happened to have, but cocoa powder would do the trick as well. If you’re looking for transparently sourced, good quality cocoa powder, Laughing Gull Chocolates uses Meridian cocoa powder for our truffle making classes!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (in our house, extra vanilla “accidentally” spills into the bowl!)
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

• Optional and recommended: 
• Fresh red raspberries, for garnish
• Powdered sugar, for garnish
• Whipped cream
• Ice cream
• Salted caramel chocolate sauce

• Instructions: 
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9” springform pan by greasing it, and locking it together. 
• Combine the chocolate with the butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat until smooth, mixing consistently. Melt in the 100% cocoa bar (or whisk in cocoa powder) and vanilla extract. Once combined and smooth, remove from stove and cool for about 10 minutes. 

Melting chocolate and butter

• With a mixer, combine eggs, sugar and salt and mix on high speed until thick, approximately 6 minutes. 

• Gently fold melted chocolate into the eggs and sugar.
  

  Folding chocolate and butter into eggs and sugar

   

• Pour combined batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-42 minutes. Let torte cool in pan for 1 hour, and invert onto plate or cake stand. 
• Cut, garnish, and enjoy And – note to self – chocolate, and baking can make any situation better!

Testing the chocolate torte

PS – if you’re looking for other Passover dessert ideas, we have chocolate dipped macaroons and chocolate drizzled matzah! Stop in or order online!