Name: Hungarian Chocolate-Walnut Torte
Yield: Makes about 10 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar (if using half semisweet and half sweet chocolate) or 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (if using all semisweet chocolate); 6 ounces fine-quality chocolate, preferably half dark sweet (sometimes labeled German’s Sweet Chocolate), and half semisweet, but all semisweet is also delicious; cut into small pieces; 6 large eggs, separated; 6 ounces shelled walnuts (1 3/4 to 2 cups); 3 tablespoons matzoh meal; Optional accompaniments: Passover Confectioners’ Sugar (recipe below) or Chocolate Icing (recipe below); heavy cream, freshly whipped to soft drifts and barely or very lightly sweetened; or vanilla ice cream; Optional garnish: walnut halves; 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter or margarine; 6 ounces fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

Why it works: Chocolate and walnut are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,548 recipes. Both carry 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

Hungarian Chocolate-Walnut Torte

Makes about 10 servings

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar (if using half semisweet and half sweet chocolate) or 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (if using all semisweet chocolate)
6 ounces fine-quality chocolate, preferably half dark sweet (sometimes labeled German’s Sweet Chocolate), and half semisweet, but all semisweet is also delicious; cut into small pieces
6 large eggs, separated
6 ounces shelled walnuts (1 3/4 to 2 cups)
3 tablespoons matzoh meal
Optional accompaniments: Passover Confectioners’ Sugar (recipe below) or Chocolate Icing (recipe below); heavy cream, freshly whipped to soft drifts and barely or very lightly sweetened; or vanilla ice cream
Optional garnish: walnut halves
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter or margarine
6 ounces fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

524Calories

9 gProtein

39 gFat

32 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Ice Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Icing	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Chocolate + walnuttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,548 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,404 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Walnut + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,832 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Chocolate + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,543 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the walnut

The recipe marks walnut as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, chocolate, egg, butter):

Pecansfits better
Almondfits better
Hazelnutfits about as well
Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, chocolate, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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