Flourless 'Café au Lait' Truffle Torte Recipe using 'Chef's Blend' Chocolate

This torte is both gluten-free and delicious, and it has very minimal cane sugar in it. I wanted to highlight the richness of Soma's Chef's Blend chocolate couverture, by not baking it into anything, so a buttery truffle filling seemed like just the right choice. And the best part? It tastes like a good, dark roast, chocolaty café au lait on a plate.

Flourless 'Café au Lait' Chocolate Torte

For the crust, you need:

• 2.5 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes (or sweetened if you want it a bit sweeter for a mixed group of people).
• 1/3 cup organic coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup butter

For the truffle, you need:

• 8 ounces of Soma's Chef's Blend 70% Dark Chocolate (or, if that is out of your price range, another 70% Dark Chocolate, such as President's Choice 300 gram baking bar, which works well in this recipe too).
• 1/2 cup of espresso beans
• 1 cup of unsalted butter
• 1 and 1/3 cup of whipping cream (or heavy cream)
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt

For the Whipped Coffee Cream, you need:

• 2 cups of whipping cream
• 1 to 2 tsp of instant coffee (a dark roast, like Starbucks works well) or pulverized espresso beans.
• 1/4 cup of Dulce de Leche or other caramel sauce (optional)
• 1 ounce of melted Chef's Blend Chocolate or other dark chocolate.

Instructions

To make the crust...

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line an 8" baking pan with a round of parchment paper.  Grease under and on top of the parchment paper, as well as up the sides of the pan.
3. Melt your butter in a medium bowl over a double boiler (or in the microwave if your bowl is microwave-safe), then toss in the coconut flakes and stir. Add the coconut sugar and stir until mixed.
4. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan until firm and flat.  You can press it up the sides if you want it to be more like a 'pie'.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 12 minutes, until the coconut is starting to toast and turn brown.
6. Take it out of the oven and let cool. Then refrigerate until chilled (about an hour).

To make the truffle filling:

1. Crush your espresso beans by placing them in a Ziplock bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin or, use a small single-blade coffee grinder to lightly grind the beans (just a few pulses! The espresso must be coarse so that you do not get too many small grounds in your truffles).
2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and add the butter, the crushed espresso beans and the salt.
3. Heat on medium until the mixture melts and is hot (do not let boil).  Take it off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes until the coffee is steeped.
4. Chop the chocolate into 1" or slightly smaller pieces and place in a medium mixing bowl (stainless steel or glass bowl is great).
5. Reheat the cream over medium-high until it is nearly boiling (but not boiling) and immediately pour over the chocolate.  Stir with a wooden (or large plastic) spoon until all the chocolate melts, it is lump-free and completely mixed.
6. Immediately pour onto the crust inside the 8" baking pan.
7. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more.
8. Once chilled, remove it from the fridge and run a knife around the sides. Carefully remove it from the pan and place on a serving plate. Put it back in fridge while you prepare the whipped topping.

To make the Whipped Coffee Cream:

1. Chill your mixing bowl and a beater for 15 minutes in the refrigerator (or stick it in the freezer for a few minutes only).
2. Beat the cream on high until it is thick and has very soft peaks.
3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 2 minutes on medium power and stir until just melted (or over a double boiler - take off heat while still lumpy and stir until just melted).
4. Pour the chocolate and the instant coffee powder into the cream while whipping on medium high until peaks are stiff, but still smooth.  If it is starting to look lumpy - stop mixing!
5. Either simply use a spatula to place onto the truffle & coconut torte, swooshing to create pretty peaks OR use a pastry bag to put whatever design you like.  You might find too much cream overwhelming, so you can just use a thin layer (about 1" thick) and freeze the remainder of the cream (it is a great tasting frozen treat!).
6. Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to slice and serve it.