Chocolate Velvet Torte

Rich semi-sweet chocolate fills a flaky puff pastry crust, and is garnished with fresh berries for an easy, but elegant dessert.
  • thaw: 40 minutes
  • prep: 15 minutes
  • bake: 20 minutes
  • chill: 120 minutes
  • cool: 10 minutes
  • total: 15 minutes
  • Serves: 8

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets(1 sheet), thawed
  • 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries or strawberries

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F.

  2. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle. Press the pastry into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Prick the pastry with a fork.

  3. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let the pastry cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

  4. Heat and stir the chocolate and cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over low heat until the mixture is melted and smooth.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Stir some chocolate mixture into the egg yolk.  Return the egg mixture to the remaining chocolate mixture.  Cook and stir for 1 minute.   Pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry crust.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.  Top the torte with the raspberries.

  5. Tip:  Stirring a bit of the warm chocolate mixture into the egg before adding it to the rest of the chocolate is an important step called "tempering".  Tempering keeps the egg from scrambling and the filling smooth.

Bottom Crust Recipe

Watch a how-to demonstration of this recipe technique.

Watch the demo to see how to make this type of recipe, then consult your recipe for specific instructions.

Avoid pressing too hard when rolling out the ends and edges - you want to avoid pressing the edge layers together, as that will prevent the pastry from rising.

If you’re making a tart Puff Pastry, place it on the baking sheet before adding toppings or fillings. That way, you won’t have to transfer the dough with the extra weight and risk tearing it

To create a tart with an extra puffy crust: take a knife and score two lines around the edge, then prick the area inside this border with a fork.

Comments & Ideas

Have a unique twist on this recipe or comment you’d like share? We may feature your twist on our homepage. We’ll include your first name, last initial and profile picture from Facebook.

Comments

More Recipes