Chocolate torte, it’s been one of my go to dessert courses since I was at university.  It’s dead simple to make and who doesn’t like chocolate!? This one has been jazzed up a bit to make it slightly more adult and indulgent. Apologies for the mix in weights and measures, I only know how to make pastry in Imperial…

For the chocolate

• 400g Dark Chocolate
• 200ml Double Cream
• 1 tsp Icing Sugar

For the Pastry

• 6oz Flour
• 3oz Butter
• Zest of ½ an Orange

Filling

• High quality Marmalade about 2 tbsp

Right then, easy part first. Stick the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water and let it melt. While it’s melting whip the cream with the icing sugar until it makes stiff(ish) peaks. Once that’s done you’re going to need to fold the cream into the melted chocolate and then leave it to one side.

For the pastry rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs then, add the orange zest and form into a dough. You may need a splash of water here to help bring everything together. Roll the pastry out, put it into a flan case and blind bake for about 10-15 minutes at 180c. Take the pastry from the oven, remove the baking beads and bake for a further 5 minutes. Leave to cool.

Once cool, smother the bottom of the pastry with the marmalade and then cover with the chocolate and cream mixture. Finally chill in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Serve with some orange sorbet or more cream, whatever takes your fancy.

The chocolate part of the recipe can be made with white and milk chocolate too, follow the same process for each, they make very nice layered desserts in glasses, if you can’t be faffed with maing pastry.

PG