Chocolate Almond Torte

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Spray a 9″ spring form pan or a 9″ cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside. If using a cake pan, line the bottom with parchment 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.

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 meal mixture then stir in 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 30-35 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven. 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 spring form 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, chocolate sauce and slivered almonds if desired.