Low Carb Chocolate Almond Torte

This torte is chocolate indulgence to the max!! As always, without the guilt of course and is gluten-free. I love anything chocolate and this dessert does not disappoint! This recipe involves a few extra steps, but they are totally worth it. No baking mix or flour needed, just almond meal or almond flour. I used Swerve in this recipe as my sweetener of choice with a quarter cup of coconut palm sugar. Feel free to use your favorite sweetener though. This is the first time I have used Swerve, it is a blend of Erythritol and olgosaccharides. As with any Erythritol blend, it has a slight cooling effect, that's why I chose to add in a little coconut palm sugar. I was very pleased with the texture of this torte, very moist and delicious!

This recipe makes 8-10 servings depending on how you slice it, with 4.4-3.5 carbs per slice (torte only made with zero carb sweetener). Using 1/4 cup of coconut palm sugar along with the Swerve took mine to 10.4-8.3 carbs per slice. Make sure you add in the carbs from any additional toppings you choose.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond meal or almond flour (6oz)
• granulated sugar substitute of choice (equal to 1 cup of sugar)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup (1stick) melted butter cooled slightly 

Preheat your oven to 350F.
Spray a 9" springform pan or a 9"cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
If using a cake pan, line the bottom with waxed paper to ensure it doesn't stick. Combine the almond meal/flour, salt, cocoa powder and 2/3 of the granulated sweetener in a medium sized mixing bowl.
In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside.

Now in a large bowl beat the egg yolks, almond extract and the remaining 1/3 of the sweetener until it is pale yellow and very smooth.

Stir in the chocolate/almond mixture then the melted butter. Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites and stir just to thin the batter a little. Then carefully fold in the remaining 2/3 of the egg whites, just until combined, a few white streaks are fine. The idea is to keep as much of the egg white volume as possible. Pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly pressed.
Place the torte on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the torte and remove the sides of the pan. If using a cake pan turn it out onto a serving plate.

Allow the torte to cool completely and then garnish with whipped cream, sugar-free chocolate sauce and slivered almonds if desired. I hope your family enjoys this amazing dessert!