chocolate pistachio torte.

Along with the not-pretty-but-still-yummy apple cake, I wanted something a little bit special for C.'s party. So I hunted around on various websites and through my cookbooks and eventually settled on this: chocolate pistachio torte. It's from Martha Stewart but doesn't fall prey to the fussiness that her recipes sometimes do. I did halve the sugar, which turned out to be a good decision. For the most part, though, this is fairly straightforward and quite delicious. It's one of those desserts whose presentation is more impressive than the prep work that went into it; it also got a good reception from a choosy crowd, so I'd make it again.

Dessert paparazzi.

I made the cake in the morning before we went apple-picking and then made the ganache and assembled the whole thing at M.'s. (I didn't want to get foil imprints in the pretty shiny ganache surface! I've become adept at dessert transportation on the SEPTA bus, but still.) You could probably make the cake the day before, too, and wrap it tightly.


Chocolate Pistachio Torte
adapted slightly from Everyday Food (December 2008)

Cake:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk (*skim milk + a glug of vinegar, as usual, worked fine)
3/4 c. shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Ganache + Decoration:
1/2 c. heavy cream
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped


Make cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour an 8" cake pan; line bottom with parchment.

2. Combine flour, salt, and b.p. in small bowl; set aside.

3. In a double boiler (*or, carefully, in the microwave), melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth, stirring frequently. Pour into bowl of electric mixer (if you're using one) and let cool slightly.

4. Whisk sugar and vanilla into chocolate mixture, then eggs and buttermilk. Stir in pistachios, then fold in flour mixture until just combined.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 60-70 mins., until tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool in pan 5 mins., then run knife around edges and invert onto wire rack. Remove parchment and let cake cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap tightly in plastic after cool.)

Make ganache:
6. In small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer, then remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Let stand 5 mins., then whisk until smooth and shiny. Let mixture cool until it thickens slightly. (*Martha suggests this will take 2-6 mins., but I found it closer to 20.)

Assemble torte:
7. Set cake on flat plate or platter and slip strips of parchment under the edges to prevent ganache from pooling on the plate. Pour ganache onto center of cake, then use a table knife to smooth it so that it droops over the sides. (*This part is so fun! And so pretty!) Let sit about 30 mins. (*I only left it for about 10), then sprinkle pistachios on top and serve.

So shiny! Reflecting the fruits (pun entirely intended) of that morning's labor.