Somehow I always forget about blackberries until I see them in the market. Once I spot them, I am itching to create something with them. blackberries. The forgotten inspiring berry. I resisted buying them because I didn’t have a solid idea on how to use them.
Awhile back a strawberry version of this torte in one of my German cooking magazines caught my eye. They had me at “stracciatella”, my favorite gelato flavor. Creamy goodness laced with shaved chocolate. What’s not to love? A genius invention in my book. So I marked the recipe intending to reinvent it with a new flavor. Then I forgot about it.
A recent trip to the market had those blackberries waving at me “hello! Remember us?” and finally the penny dropped. They were waiting to be stracciatella-ized.
This stracciatella torte has a few steps but comes together relatively easily. First you make the chocolate cake part and when cooled, it is sliced into three layers and drizzled with chocolate liqueur.
The whipped cream is sugared and laced with shaved chocolate and fresh blackberries. To create the shaved chocolate I simply took a paring knife to a bar of baking chocolate. One of the things I love about shopping for baking supplies in Germany is that in any supermarket boxes of shaved chocolate are readily available. A great time saver.
You will also need to use a whipped cream stabilizer such as Dr. Oetker’s “Whip It”. A product also readily available in German supermarkets but a bit harder to find here. Check Amazon or Walmart.com
Be aware, the torte needs to sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours before it’s final step to completion, covering it with more whipped cream, pressing shaved chocolate into the sides and adorning it with more fresh blackberries.
Once you’ve done all that, your reward is this table stunner of a torte filled with luscious blackberry chocolate studded cream sandwiched between three delicious chocolate cake layers.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cake part:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons chocolate liqueur
For the filling:
- 1 lb. fresh blackberries (3+1/3 cups) rinsed
- 3+1/4 cups heavy cream
- 3 packages of whipped cream stabilizer (like Dr. Oetker’s “Whip It”) .35oz each
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 oz plus 2 oz shaved bittersweet chocolate
Directions:
Make the cake:
- Line an 8 inch springform baking pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cacao powder and set aside.
- Beat together the eggs and sugar at medium high speed until creamy. About 3 minutes.
- Beat in the pure vanilla extract. Add the chocolate liqueur.
- Slow the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan.
- Remove the frame from the pan and slice the cake horizontally into three even layers.
- Place the layers on parchment paper and drizzle 1 tablespoon of chocolate liqueur over each layer.
- Place the bottom layer on a serving plate or cake stand and fit a torte ring around it
Make the filling:
- Beat together 2 cups of the heavy cream with 2 packages of the whipped cream stabilizer. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
- Fold in 2 cups of the blackberries and the shaved chocolate.
- Spread one third of the mixture on the bottom layer of cake in the torte ring.
- Lay the middle piece of cake on top and spread with another 1/3 of the creamy mixture..
- Repeat with the last layer.
- Cover the top with plastic wrap and place the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Finish the Torte:
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator and remove the torte ring.
- Beat the remaining 1+1/4 cup heavy cream together with the third package of whipped cream stabilizer. Use an offset spatula to cover the sides of the cake with the whipped cream.
- Press the remaining chocolate into shavings into the sides of the torte.
- Arrange the rest of the blackberries on top. Place in the refrigerator until ready to slice and serve.
