chocolate-hazelnut macaroon torte
When it comes to large family gatherings, no matter how much I humble-brag about my , or the way I know my way around a , I am always instead nominated to bring desserts. So, like a certain on cup-and-ice duty that I will date myself by referencing, I take things very seriously, in part because I have a lot of rules for Passover desserts. The first is that that whatever dessert I make cannot include even a speck of matzo meal. I’m sorry, I realize this is a sensitive topic and I should tread more carefully, but I find the taste of matzo meal just awful in anything but matzo ball soup. My difficult palate aside, I also figure if I’m going to go through the effort to come up with something new (and hopefully better) in the flourless department, it would be of more use to more people were it also gluten-free, so that’s the second rule. The final rule is that I want the dessert to be good enough that I’d choose it any other day of year. It can’t just be good . It can’t just be good . It has to be good. Really, shouldn’t everything be?
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 8 of 11 ingredients — the other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 8 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Hazelnut | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Coffee | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- Oil or butter for greasing parchment rounds
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 1/2 cups hazelnuts (about 12 ounces or 340 grams), toasted, then skinned as much as possible*
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract**
- 6 ounces (170 grams or the equivalent of 1 cup chips) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso granules (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy or whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Frangelico or another hazelnut liqueur or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract**