We had some friends over for dinner the other night and I guess I wanted to impress them because I ended up making this chocolate espresso torte.
I think it worked! This torte is everything you’d think it would be, and more. It’s decadent and chocolatey and rich. It is free of grains and refined-sugars. Definitely a guilt free dessert. I love the extra sweet drizzle of cashew cream on top.
This torte is made with cacao to give it that rich, chocolate taste. Cacao is rich in magnesium which calms the nerves, helps you sleep at night, keeps blood pressure levels stable and helps balance mood swings. It is also high with antioxidants, containing 40x the amount of blueberries. It is also rich in calcium and iron. Considered a superfood by many!
Try this chocolate dessert for dinner this week and let me know what you think!
Decadent Chocolate Espresso Torte
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cup hazelnuts
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
Filling
- 1 ½ cups cashews, soaked for at least ½ an hour, but 4 hours or overnight recommended
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, melted
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp espresso powder (optional)
- shaved dark chocolate for garnish (optional)
Cashew Cream (optional but highly recommended!)
- ½ cup cashews, soaked for at least half an hour, but 4 hours or overnight recommended
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 4 tbsp water
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the Crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with coconut oil.
- In a food processor, blend ½ cup of the rolled oats on high until you have a rough flour, place in a small bowl and set aside.
- Without cleaning the machine, process the hazelnuts into a fine crumb with the texture of sand.
- Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, salt, and oat flour and process again until the dough comes together.
- Finally, add the remaining 1 cup of rolled oats and pulse until the oats are chopped, but still have some texture to them. The dough should stick together slightly when pressed between your fingers. If it doesn’t, try adding a bit more maple syrup or processing a bit longer.
- With your fingers, crumble the dough evenly over the base of the pie dish. Starting from the middle, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the dish, moving outward and upward along the side of the pie dish. The harder you press the crumbs into the dish, the better the crust will hold together. Poke a few fork holes into the bottom to let steam escape.
- Bake the crust, uncovered, for 10 to 13 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Make the filling: Drain and rinse the cashews. In a high-speed blender, combine the soaked cashews, maple syrup, oil, cacao powder, melted chocolate, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder (if using) and blend on high until the filling is completely smooth. It can take a few minutes of blending to get it smooth, depending on your blender. If the blender needs more liquid to get it going, add a tablespoon of almond milk (or a bit more) to help it along.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust, smoothing out the top evenly. Garnish with shaved chocolate, if desired.
- Place the pie dish on an even surface in the freezer, uncovered. Freeze for couple of hours, or until the dish sets.
- Remove the pie from the freezer and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before slicing. This pie is served frozen. Serve with Cashew Cream (recipe below) and finely chopped chocolate, if desired.
My husband loves this!