Monday 26 December 2011

Truffle Torte

One of our Christmas traditions is a chocolate dessert, as one of the choices at Christmas lunch. I don't often have a proper Christmas Pudding, as most of the family prefer other things, but this year we gave in to the mass hysteria and bought one of Waitrose's Heston Blumenthal Hidden Orange Puddings. Sometimes you just have to know what the fuss is about! This was deliciously orangey, as it oozed orange syrup, and the candied orange was a lovely texture to eat, but the pudding part itself wasn't anything special.

For anyone who didn't want to try the Christmas Pudding, and for the few days following Christmas, I made a version of Delia Smith's Truffle Torte, something I've been making occasionally over many years. This year I made 2/3 of the truffle mixture, and set it in a 8" diameter springform tin, on a crumb base made using half digestive biscuits and half crisp Amaretti, crushed to fine crumbs and mixed with half their weight of melted butter. I decorated the top with chocolate flutes, getting them to stick to the top of the truffle mix by melting the flat bottoms with  the back of a spoon heated in a gas flame. I then dusted with cocoa and icing sugar.

Delia doesn't warn you about this, but it is very crumbly and difficult to cut while really cold, and needs about 30 minutes out of the fridge to soften up before serving. This makes it a nicer texture for eating, too.  I forgot to do this, of course, and really struggled to get the first slice out. This is a really rich dessert, and can only be eaten in small slices, but it really allows the true flavour of the chocolate you've chosen to shine through, so needs to be made with a good quality chocolate that you enjoy eating.

16 comments:

MissCakeBaker said...

This torte looks beautiful. A great alternative to Christmas pudding.

Alicia Foodycat said...

I love that truffle torte! Jude thinks the James Martin version is better, but I haven't tried that one.

Suelle said...

I haven't noticed James Martin's recipe either, Foodycat. I'll have to make an effort to look for it.

Jude said...

Am making James Martin's this week. Annoyingly it is no longer findable on the net but I will try and blog it.odession

Suelle said...

I've just found James Martin's recipe in the only one of his books I've got - Desserts. For the same amount of chocolate he uses less glucose and rum and more cream, but there's not a great deal of difference. It's probably just enough to make a subtle difference in the texture though!

celia said...

A magnificent looking cake, Suelle! Hope you and your family all had a wonderful Christmas! xx

Elpiniki said...

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Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...

This looks gorgeous - I can imagine it having a similar texture to the centre of Lindt's Lindor chocolates once warmed to room temperature?! Mmmm!
I also had the Heston pud (I lugged from England all the way to Argentina!) and loved the candied orange with it's bitterness and acidity to balance some of the rich and sweet pudding part. But, same as you, I thought the rest of the pudding was pretty normal!
Merry Christmas!

Suelle said...

It doesn't get quite as soft as a Lindor Truffle, Hazel, but it is rich and smooth.

Carrying a heavy Christmas Pudding back to Argentina is real dedication!

Chele said...

I've always wanted to make this but every Christmas something else pops up that catches my eye and I end up making that for dessert instead. Looks very impressive and thanks for the tip about leaving it at room temp for 30 mins too, I will need to make this for next Christmas!

Suelle said...

Chele - seeing this on my menu is a sure sign that I ran out of time, as it only takes a few minutes to make. I started off with much more elaborate ideas!

Snowy said...

It looks great Sue, and a recipe I've been meaning to try. On my list for next year!

azélia said...

Interesting to read your thoughts on the Heston pud since for the second year I haven't been able to get my hands on one.

It occurred to me while reading if the cake part isn't all that great then why couldn't one make it ourselves? Which brings me to think about producing that orange oozing inside. Difficult to know what to be aiming for since I haven't tasted one! Now there's the conundrum.

Hhmmm I'm thinking half candied orange.

I've made this torte, rich and appropriate for indulging. Happy New Year Sue!

Suelle said...

Hi Azelia. I'm sure it would be possible to make your own pudding with an orange inside. I've seen recipes in the newspapers this year and last for DIY versions. I think it was Rose Prince in the Telegraph this year.

As you say though, perfecting the orange would be the key. The orange was definitely cooked in a strong sugar syrup, as it had the flavour and texture of candied peel, but it was still soft when hot (not so soft when it cooled down). I think you need a whole orange too, as it oozed a lot of sweet orange syrup when cut for the first time - a spoonful of this really flavoured the first few portions.

Happy New Year!

azélia said...

Notes taken Sue...will go away and see what comes up next xmas! thanks.

Choclette said...

Oh Suelle, another fantastic chocolate dessert I've never made and you've decorated it most beautifully too. It looks scrumptious.