Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Torte

Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Torte with Chantilly Citrus Cream 

I would not classify myself as a chocolate fanatic. My baker friend Tim is a chocolate fanatic. We used to start our workdays together at 3am, and Tim would snack on chocolate chips all morning long. He regularly at brownies for breakfast. That just won’t work for me, unless we are talking about this torte. It is mind blowing. When it’s in my house I can think of nothing but its rich fudgy moist chocolate power. I have been known to eat it for breakfast. 

¾ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter - melted 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1  cups pureed zucchini – about 2 small

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts

Chantilly Citrus Cream

½ cup heavy cream

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, cornstarch, soda and salt. Combine the melted butter and the chocolate chips. Chips will melt a bit, but it’s fine if there are still some chunks. Add eggs, sugar, zucchini and vanilla and whisk well to combine.

Combine with the dry ingredients. Butter a 10-inch springform pan or tart pan and pour batter into the pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top. Bake for about 35 minutes, until torte is set in the middle. Cool completely and then refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Warm torte is also good but will be hard to serve because it won’t hold together.

Make Chantilly cream by combining heavy cream and powdered sugar; whisk until starting to thicken, add orange zest and whisk until just beginning to form peaks. Serve alongside torte.

Note: This can also be made as brownies in an 8-inch square pan—they will be thicker, so increase cooking time to 40 minutes. Cool and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.