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    Home » Gluten Free » Chocolate Espresso Torte

    Published: Jan 14, 2015 · Modified: Jul 26, 2022 by Carolyn

    Chocolate Espresso Torte

    This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    8.9K shares
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    This rich low carb torte is deceptively light and airy and worthy of any celebration. Chocolate and espresso are simply made for each other and the sugar-free chocolate curls are the icing on the cake!

    Low Carb Chocolate Espresso TorteEverybody loves quick, easy recipes. Just look around the internet and you will see it, thousands of recipes being billed as “easy”, “quick”, “Under 30 Minutes!”, “only 5 ingredients”. And I get it, I really do. When you have a busy life and a family to feed, when you’re shuttling kids from school to activities to home, when you’re commuting to and from work, you need quick easy recipes in your arsenal. You need things for which you always have the ingredients on hand, that taste great, and that don’t take much effort to prepare. And sometimes when a craving hits, you need recipes you can whip up quickly to soothe the beast without straying from your healthy, low carb diet. I have plenty of these recipes, because I need them too. Who doesn’t?

    But sometimes you also need complicated recipes, the sort that have multiple stages and steps and a long ingredient list. Because if you love cooking and baking like I do, you just enjoy the process, that feeling of being in the kitchen for hours to create a masterpieces. Better yet, you enjoy the outcome, knowing that it was a labor of love. And if you are looking to impress your friends and family, you need something that takes a little more effort than the usual work-a-day recipe. You want them to KNOW you worked hard at this.

    Sugar-Free Chocolate Ganache for Grain-Free Chocolate Espresso Torte Recipe

    That’s what this low carb torte is and that’s exactly how I felt about it. It was a labor of love for my husband’s birthday and I wanted him to know I put a little elbow grease into it. My husband often gets the short end of the stick, being a late December baby. Everyone is just done with all the cooking, baking and eating for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations are still looming. He’s old enough now not to feel the sting of having his birthday take a backseat to the rest of the holidays, but I still like to try and come up with something nice for him. And food is one of the ways I show my affections. Taking the extra time to make chocolate curls to top a birthday cake means “I love you” in foodese, don’t you know?

    Low Carb Grain-Free Chocolate Espresso Cake

    I had a lot of fun coming up with this one. I had multiple ideas for his cake and they all kind of came together to form the final product. I wanted light, wafer-like chocolate layers rather than heavy, cakey layers. And I wanted it to be filled with whipped cream instead of frosting. And then I just had to coat the whole cake in rich chocolate ganache. Oh and those pretty chocolate curls to say “I love you”. It honestly came together better than I expected. It’s a somewhat deceptive cake because the texture is so light and airy but it’s also intensely rich. You don’t need more than a sliver for a serving.

    Low Carb, Gluten-Free Chocolate Espresso Torte Recipe

    Chocolate Espresso Torte

    This rich low carb torte is deceptively light and airy and worthy of any celebration. Chocolate and espresso are simply made for each other and the sugar-free chocolate curls are the icing on the cake!
    4.86 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Dessert
    Prep Time: 35 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Chill Time: 2 hours
    Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
    Servings: 16 servings
    Calories: 239kcal

    Ingredients

    Cake Layers:

    • ¾ cup almond flour
    • ⅓ cup confectioner's Swerve Sweetener
    • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
    • 6 large egg whites room temperature
    • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • 5 tablespoon granulated Swerve Sweetener

    Espresso Cream:

    • 1 ½ cups whipping cream
    • ¼ cup confectioner's Swerve Sweetener
    • 1 ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder or 1 ½ Starbucks Via packets
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Chocolate Ganache:

    • 1 cup whipping cream
    • ⅓ cup confectioner's Swerve Sweetener
    • 3 oz unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Chocolate Curls (optional):

    • ½ tablespoon coconut oil
    • ½ cup sugar-free chocolate chips such as Lily's

    Instructions

    Cake Layers:

    • Preheat oven to 300F and line an 11x17 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, confectioner's sweetener, and cocoa powder, breaking up clumps as much as possible.
    • Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until frothy. Slowly add granulated Swerve and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Mixture should be glossy and not dry.
    • Gently fold almond flour mixture into egg whites until just combined. Spread evenly onto prepared pan into a 10x15 inch rectangle.
    • Bake 20 minutes, until just firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool on pan. Cake will shrink, this is okay. When cool, cut into 3 rectangles, 5 inches wide each.

    Espresso Cream:

    • In a large bowl, beat whipping cream with confectioner's Swerve, espresso powder, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
    • Lay one cake layer on a platter and spread with half of the espresso cream. Top with another cake layer and spread with remaining espresso cream. Top with final cake layer.
    • Place cake in freezer until firm, about 1 hour.

    Chocolate Ganache:

    • Whisk together whipping cream and powdered sweetener in a medium pot over medium heat. Bring to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let sit 5 min and whisk to combine, then whisk in vanilla extract. Let sit 10 minutes to thicken.
    • Remove cake from freezer and pour ganache over the top of the cake, spreading to the edges. Spread carefully over sides of cake (this will become easier as ganache continues to thicken up). Alternatively, you can simply pour over the top and allow the ganache to drip down the sides of the cake.

    Chocolate Curls:

    • Combine coconut oil and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Whisk until melted and smooth.
    • Pour the chocolate over the underside of a clean cookie sheet and use a knife or offset spatula to spread it into a very thin layer.
    • Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for a few minutes until chocolate firms up. It should not be tacky when you touch it but you should be able to leave a fingerprint.
    • Use a sharp knife to scrape the chocolate from the pan - if it's the right temperature, it will curl up. If it's too cold, it will break so let it sit out a few minutes. If it's too warm, it will come away from the pan without curling, so return it to the fridge for a few minutes.
    • Place finished curls on a plate and place them in the freezer until firm.
    • Place chocolate curls on finished cake and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. To serve, run a sharp knife under hot water to make nice clean slices.
    Nutrition Facts
    Chocolate Espresso Torte
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving = 1/16th of recipe)
    Calories 239 Calories from Fat 189
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 21g32%
    Carbohydrates 7.5g3%
    Fiber 4.1g16%
    Protein 4.9g10%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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    Nutritional Disclaimer

    Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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    1. coraline says

      January 02, 2023 at 6:39 pm

      PLEASE, can I have the wallnut dacquoise reicpe back?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        January 02, 2023 at 10:21 pm

        It was a very old recipe and really needed updating… I will at some point.

        Reply
        • coraline says

          January 04, 2023 at 10:12 am

          Thank you for your answer, but I need it by friday 🙁
          at least the meringue “cake” discs part. Can you recomend me a recipe? It is VERY important. I promised a freshly diagnosed person her favourite birthday cake in low carb version as motivation for changing her lifestyle and be healthy again.

          Reply
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