Mar 09 2008
oblivion
A chocoholic friend requested “something chocolate” for his birthday, and with that kind of challenge, well, I had to find the most decadent, luscious, ridiculous chocolate dessert I could find. Enter the Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte, from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible, via 101 Cookbooks.
I followed the recipe as told, using Lindt 70% Extra Dark, which I got for a great price at Economy Candy down on the Lower East Side. As recommended in the recipe, I added 3 tablespoons of sugar. I used my 8-inch cake pan because it’s better quality than my 8-inch springform; releasing it from the pan just required about 15 seconds over an open flame. The only thing it needed was some kind of decorative garnish.
A sprinkling of Chinese cassia cinnamon was just the ticket. I cut the 2 and the 9 out after drawing them freehand, and I punched the polka dots out with my fun, new ¾-punch that a friend got for me. (I’d mentioned wanting one, and she surprised me with it. And to think, she thought it was an unnecessary invention!) Taking the stencils off, with a pair of clean tweezers, gave me painful flashbacks to childhood and that horrible game Operation—worst invention ever.
The torte, however, was a resounding success—one taster just kept repeating, “this is unreal.” I think the cinnamon really elevated it from just a chocolate torte to something that had depth and mystery. Which is something we should all have when we hit 29, don’t you think?
That looks fantastic. I’m going to have to add that one to my “to make” list.
Wow that is beautiful! What a lucky friend :).
Oh yes I have made several of the RLB cakes, she’s a wizard. I agree that Operation was a horrid game, so stressful and not fun!
Oh my Lord, my teeth hurt just looking at that slice (in a good way). WOW. And YUM. You are a good friend.
oh. my. god. It’s all I can muster - this cake is amazing. I think I can taste it.
Cinnamon and chocolate are a great combination. Good idea. And the stencils are brilliant. Way better than frosting!
Yum….. my 29th is onyla few days from now. Guess I’m going to have to start leaving hints!
yummy! i think i have achieved actual oblivion just by looking at it.
Oh, that looks *good*. I shall have to try that, even if I just add the cinnamon to my usual chocolate torte…
I’m so into your no-frills decorating scheme. Glad the hole punch is useful for foodstuffs as well as crafts :) And, for the record, I don’t think it’s unnecessary in general, just probably unnecessary for me… at least until I saw this brilliant use. May have to get myself one ;)
What a nifty way to decorate it! It looks awesome.
mmm - that looks amazing! cinnamon was a great idea for a finishing touch!
Oh, I *love* that torte! Nice work with the stencils. :)
will you be my friend? on my birthday? i can be 29 again! LOL.
you captured the lusciousness of it so well in that first photo - i wanted to sink my teeth into the screen!
Must.Have.Chocolate.NOW!! I love Chinese cassia cinnamon!!! What a winning combo!
I think that cake would work well for those of us that have been repeatedly visiting ‘29′ for some few…ok, many…years now!!!
YUM! I’ve made that cake before and it’s scrumptious. The cinnamon sounds like a great idea…
Oh yes, chocolate and cinnamon! One of my favorite combos - I just picked up a used copy of the Cake Bible not too long ago. My mom has a copy and I must have spent endless time pouring over the pictures and recipes because when I got it home and started flipping through it, everything was astonishingly familiar. Funny the things we do, and apparently forget, when we’re little. Glad the cake was a success - it certainly looks like a winner!
Over Christmas, I played my first game of Operation in decades. It’s a lot harder than I recalled, but the buzzer (at least in the new versions) is relatively quiet. That was nice, because I was a pretty big failure in getting those bones and organs out!
oh, what a good friend you are! I have a birthday coming, I wonder if my Mister could pull of such decadence…