The history of a decadent chocolate dessert

When we were discussing minimal ingredient recipes on the blog last month, we listed a few that were sublime despite having only a handful of ingredients. Recently The Kitchn took a deep dive into another fantastic recipe with only three ingredients: Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Tort. The article goes into great detail, with Beranbaum explaining the history and science behind this simple yet decadent dessert.  

Beranbaum described the inspiration behind her torte. Two different tortes that she had eaten were the impetus for creating this dessert. One of the tortes had a single tablespoon of flour in it, which made Beranbaum think about why that tiny bit of flour was in the recipe. “I made it and I thought it was really wonderful, but what was that one tablespoon necessary for? I think what he [chef Narsai David ] was doing was what so many people used to do in those days-they would put one unnecessary ingredient in something, so that if somebody imitated it, that person would know that it was being ripped off without credit.” she surmises.

The article continues with explanations for how the torte got its name, which types of chocolate work best in it, why the temperature of the butter is important, and many other interesting tidbits. Beranbaum explains that her preferred accompaniments for the torte, the recipe for which first appeared in The Cake Bible (the image above is from Food52), are raspberry sauce and whipped cream. She says it’s her favorite way to eat chocolate.