Oh hey there! Hope you’re having a fabulous week. And if you’re not, this Chocolate Olive Oil Torte with Cardamom, Pears, and Hazelnuts is sure to make it better. I developed this recipe with my friend Renee a few weeks ago while she was in town for a visit. Renee and I first met last year and quickly discovered our shared interest in yoga, health and wellness and self-care. It was great to spend more time with Renee just hanging out, cooking together, walking on the beach, binge watching Stranger Things, sipping matcha and talking about life goals, love, self-esteem and work. As an introvert I’ve never had an abundance of friends and have always prided myself on my independence, but who am I kidding. We all need friends and I’m finally learning that I need to spend more time with mine. Spending time with Renee left me feeling rejuvenated and inspired to make this space and my work a truer representation of who I am and all I value. Now, cake. This one is rich and moist with a subtle hint of cardamom and is topped with sliced pears and chopped hazelnuts. The pears lighten things up a bit and balance out all the chocolate while the hazelnuts add a deep nutty flavor. After tasting three different olive oil varieties from California Olive Ranch, we settled on their Arbosana olive oil for its round flavor profile and creaminess. The cake is also gluten free and refined sugar free because that’s how we roll with our desserts around here. This cake is the perfect thing to bring to your next holiday party or for Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Continue reading for the recipe…
*This post was sponsored by California Olive Ranch, my go to olive oil for everyday cooking. Thank you for supporting my work by supporting my sponsors. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Chocolate Olive Oil Torte with Cardamom, Pears and Hazelnuts
Makes 1 9-inch cake
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
⅔ cup California Olive Ranch Arbosana Olive Oil
¾ cup coconut sugar
1 ¼ cup almond meal
3 eggs, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 Anjou pears, thinly sliced
½ cup hazelnuts, chopped
PROCEDURE
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment. Grease the pan lightly with olive oil.
In a double boiler set over simmering water, melt the chocolate. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, coconut sugar, almond meal, egg yolks, vanilla, salt and cardamom. Stir well to combine. Once the chocolate is melted add it to the bowl and mix to combine.
In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold the egg whites into the batter until completely incorporated and smooth.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the sliced pears on top and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean.
Allow to cool before serving.
I baked it for 50 mins and it could have used another 10 or so! Centre was wet. But I didn’t see it under the pears until too late. Other than that it was delicious. I may try it again with less sugar. Also , I used two pinches more cardamom. Very tasty!
Making this over the weekend! Looks incredible!!!
What kind of chocolate do you use?
I forgot to ask.. does it matter what variety of pear is used in this recipe? Would Concord pears work?
I’m finally thinking of making this for Christmas and was wondering if this is best made the day of the dinner or can it be made the day before? If it’s okay to make it the day before, what would be the best way to store it until the following evening? Also, how tall is the torte.. it’s hard to tell in the photos? Thanks!
Yay! It’s the perfect Christmas desert. It’s best the day of but if you need to make it ahead of time I’d let it cool completely then wrap it in plastic (I hardly ever recommend plastic wrap because of the waste but I think for this it’s the only way to keep the cake moist). I used Bosc pears but any variety will do. The cake is only an inch or two high. It’s very moist and fudgy. Enjoy!
Hi!!
I’m planing on trying this beautiful recipe tomorrow but I don’t have a good olive oil, do you think I could replace it with melted butter? If so, should I use the same quantity and melt it with the chocolate and continue with the rest as usual?
Thank you so much, I can’t wait to try it.
Hey. Might be too late but I think you’re better off with a neutral oil like sunflower or avocado. Coconut oil or butter will solidify once the cake cools and change the consistency. Did you try it with butter? How’d it go?
I’m really looking forward to trying out this recipe.. Love that you used coconut sugar and cardamom with chocolate! Can you please tell me what brand of bittersweet chocolate chips you used? Also what brand of almond meal? Is almond meal the same as almond flour? Thanks!
I usually buy Ghiradelli for cookies but for this I’d recommend Guittard or Scharfenberger. And I use Bobs Red Mill almond flour/meal. Just make sure it’s the blanched kind…
Mmmhhh, it looks so yummy! Can’t wait to bake it. I was also wondering where you purchased your beautiful plates? Happy I discovered your website today!
Yay! Hope you enjoy it. The plates are from Sue Paraskeva. I got them from Herriott Grace.
What do you think about using hazelnut instead of almond flour? Have you tried that?
I haven’t tried that. It might work but I think hazelnut flour is a bit drier so that could throw things off. Worth a try.
Hello! Tell me please how much will be in grams of chocolate, almond flour and other ingredients if translated into Russian measurements? I can not find the exact information about it on the Internet, everywhere the different information. Thank you!)))
Wow! This is gorgeous!
This is a must bake! It was crazy good (and only lasted two days… there were two of us eating it). I’ve never used almond meal before, so I bought a bag specifically to make this cake (which I can hear calling me from the kitchen to make this again). I used granulated sugar instead of coconut sugar as that is what I had and I had to extend the bake time as well. Not sure why that would even make a difference. Anyway, thanks for sharing this with the world.
So glad you liked it! It’s a keeper for sure
I reduced the sugar to 2/3 c and had to use white sugar since I didn’t have any coconut sugar. I also substituted 1/4 tsp of cinnamon for the cardamom. It tasted so delicious but I had to cook it at least 1 hour or more…lost track of the time I added. Your recipe said to cook for 40-45 minutes. Could the change of sugar type and amount caused it not to cook as quickly?
Linda, That’s so strange. Other people have told me that the baking time was shorter. I’ve made it probably a half dozen times at this point and the last time I cooked it for 45 minutes and it was perfect. Fudge on the inside and done around the edges. Did you use a 9inch pan? The size of the pan is the only thing I can think of that would make a difference.
Yes I did use a 9″ pan. I will definitely try it again because it was SO DELICIOUS!! This is my go to dessert now for sure. Do you have any nutrition information like calories per serving?
So strange. And I tested it like 5 times! Everyone’s oven is different I guess. Glad it was still yummy! I don’t have calorie info for my recipes as I’ve never really been a calorie counter. Sorry.
Hi there! I’m having the same experience as well. I did cover the surface with pears so maybe it prevented the cake from baking properly. Regardless, I’m going to put it back in for longer… Hopefully it’ll come out well.
Current time so far is 1 hr with 3/4 cup of white sugar.
Quick update! The cake took about 1.5 hours to bake for me.
I ended up calling the King Arthur’s baking hotline and they said that it’s likely do the all the moisture the pear slices added to the cake and the fact that I covered the whole surface with pear slices. Next time I’ll gather them in a bunch like you did and it’ll probably reduce the bake time to what you’ve stated.
Overall though the taste was amazing! I accidentally added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon in addition to the cardamom, but it worked out well.
Thanks for the recipe!
Questions about pears…it looks like you didn’t peel them, but guessing you core them? Are they slightly under ripe to make it easier to slice them? You must be a master with a knife to get them so thin. It certainly looks like more than two pears. Cant wait to try this on Christmas Day.
Can’t wait for you to try it! What a perfect treat for Christmas! You are correct. I didn’t peel them and don’t think you need to unless you’re averse to the texture of the skin. I cut each pear into four segments around the core before slicing each section thinly with a paring knife. They were quite firm to allow for easy slicing and to prevent them from getting mushy after baking. Looks like more than two pears because of the thin slices and because I fanned them out but it was just two. Enjoy!
Hurray, Sasha! I actually made this one…. Pears are such a nice subtle flavor for dessert and you are right that it balances out the density of the chocolate. I substituted maple syrup as I had no coconut sugar so I used 1/4 cup less and a bit less olive oil to equate liquids and I used duck eggs since we have them, oh, and pecans instead of hazelnuts. Came out great! Nice texture, a light touch with sweetness, and though mine was not as pretty as yours (!) it was lovely to look at. I LOVE it! Very happy with the results even though my 3 year old baking assistant was often distracted or distracting or both. It was challenging to go back and forth between blog pages to check ingredients and directions…. next time I’ll print it out for recipe ease. Thanks for sharing~ and happy holidays!
Lovely…
This torte looks incredible and the photos are amazing. You’re such an inspiration, thank you!
Awww thank you so much. Blushing…
So in love with this beautiful cake! You and Renee are quite the wonderfully formidable blogger duo. I love seeing your styles coming together in perfect harmony with this cake and these photos! <3
Thank you so much! We had a blast working together.
Beautiful!
This torte looks scrumptious. Definitely on my to-bake list!
Yay! Enjoy!
this is amazing!! so beautiful xx
Sash! This is just so beautiful! I could devour it in no time <3 So happy to see more "you" posts in the new year xox
Thanks so much Sophie!
So incredibly gorgeous! I have to make this if only to revel in how amazing it looks when finished. Although I doubt mine will look anything near the artistry of yours.
Yay! Hope you enjoy it. The trick is to slice the pears thinly and then fan out the slices. You got this!
This looks incredible. Tortes and other dense cakes are such an underrated dessert! This is definitely getting pinned for the next time I have some good olive oil!
Totally agree! Enjoy