Chocolate-Orange Ricotta Torte

on
Wednesday, January 20, 2010






Chocolate-Orange Ricotta Torte

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup very finely chopped almonds, toasted
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk in almonds until combined. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together ricotta cheese, sugar, and orange zest until well combined - about 1-2 minutes. Beat in eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla until well combined, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Beat in melted chocolate until combined.

Scrape batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before slicing.

Makes 8 servings

48 comments on "Chocolate-Orange Ricotta Torte"
  1. Your torte recipe looks delicious! it might even be yummier with full-fat ricotta...New Year's resolutions will have to wait :)

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  2. I've never heard of that TV show but now you've got me paranoid. I admit sometimes I'll eat stuff that's past the expiration date. Yogurt, guacamole, etc...but I'm still kicking thank goodness.

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  3. U'll go for any dessert that has light, chocolae and ricotta attached to it's name Emily.

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  4. This will come in handy when I receive my mother-in-law's annual gift of oranges. Hmmmm...I haven't received it yet and I think it's around the time I should. I want my oranges! This does look like it packs some good nutrition. Then again, I am a devotee of bill Cosby's chocolate cake routine.

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  5. My dad hoards everything, and so I am the complete opposite. People have to stop me from throwing everything away. I can't stand clutter.

    One sheet is so the way to go. :)

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  6. you can't go wrong with orange and chocolate

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  7. sounds healthy and delicious to me :)

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  8. Oh you're evil! I don't even care much for chocolate and I want that. Yum

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  9. i'd still be chowing on those biscotti, i haven't ever thought about food poisoning by cookie before! my roommate got some homemade biscotti for her birthday and enjoyed them for like a month afterward...she's still alive ;)

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  10. That's positively diet food! Love it! But I'm using brandy instead of the orange juice and vanilla instead of orange zest. It looks really good!

    And I bet it would freeze beautifully, which I know isn't in keeping with your anti-hoarding plans.

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  11. love your blog, I've been browsing it for some time now, as this is my first post.

    This dessert looks great, I'm going to give it a try.

    - Josh

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  12. That looks great, and totally healthy! Especially if eaten while standing, so you burn more calories, right?

    I saw that episode of hoarders... *shudder*

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  13. Emily, this looks so moist and delicious! I wouldn't even mind having one of your 2-week old biscotti, seriously! If you wanna throw your yummy stuff away after 2 days now, send them to me instead, haha! ;o) you know what I always do if I've made too much of something? Freeze it within 1-2 days and that way it lasts forever. I love freezing things.

    Funnily enough I watched something about animal hoarders last night...horrifying! just imagine a filthy, run-down flat (true hoarder style), covered in feces and crammed full of hundreds of reproducing birds! the bad thing is the people don't even realize what they're doing to the animals... what a sad disorder!

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  14. Love the ingredients in that torte and it looks terrific!!! My cousin was telling my about the episode of Hoarders you had seen. We were cracking up about the pumpkin liquifying...that is too crazy!

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  15. why aren't there more chocolate-orange confections out there? it's a marvelous combination, to be sure. luscious creation, emily, as expected.

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  16. A light chocolate dessert?
    Yes please! :)

    I had to check out that woman, and that was nasty! And do you really throw your baked goods away? Like that woman I don't like waste, but I can't eat everything by myself!

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  17. Crumbled-up biscotti in pudding cups sounds so good! Apolinaras and I argue over expiration dates all the time. I recently cleaned out the fridge and threw away BBQ that was 2 years old! He insisted it was still good - sigh.

    Your torte looks so rich and decadent - I love orange and chocolate together!

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  18. My husbands not a ricotta fan but I love it in recipes. Just means more for me if I make this!

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  19. Awesome I love oranges, I have a huge tree I will save you some!

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  20. this looks like it wouldnt last long enough to have to decide on...

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  21. oh that looks amazing! I know what you mean by hoarders, every time I watch it I get the obsessive need to clean out everything form my apartment not absolutely necessary. It tends to pass quickly though.

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  22. I'm becoming an addict to desserts with ricotta in them. This sounds wonderful!

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  23. Can I ditch the chocolate in this and just make it an almond and orange ricotta torte? :)

    ~ingrid

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  24. It looks yummy!
    You're cracking me up with the Hoarders...I saw that episode, actually it was the only episode I have watched of that show, because after I felt, like you, just dirty.

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  25. Throw it away after 2 DAYS???? NNNOOOOOOO!!! Send it to me!! Hell I'll even pay the postage!! :)

    Curt in KC

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  26. The torte looks amazing, Emily! Any dessert is good for you in moderation. If it makes you happy, then it is good for you! I am glad you are not a hoarder. Just make sure you never let your food go "puffy".

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  27. My sister-in-law has gotten me watching Hoarders... It's weirdly addictive, isn't it? (Plus it makes me feel fantasic about my housekeeping skills!)

    I think you're probably okay with the biscotti- I think that they're supposed to last that long. At least rest assured that if they'd gone bad, they probably wouldn't still taste good! :)

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  28. Looks delicious Emily! Perfect combo of ingredients.

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  29. I found your blog by blog-hopping and thought you looked so familiar. Then I noticed the piece about your Food Network Competition and remembered watching you there! I just love you and love your blog. Thanks for sharing with all of us. I have a stack of your recipes printed off and ready to try.
    P.S. I heart your hair. LOVE it!! Do tell, is it naturally curly or do you do all that work yourself? What I would give to have locks like yours!!

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  30. That totally looks like the epitomy of health!

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  31. Silly girl. Dessert isn't supposed to be light. As cookie monster says, "it's a sometimes food"! (I too have been watching too much TV waiting for February and student teaching to come around.

    The Torte looks really delicious!

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  32. i hate washing my sheets too... and i don't think you have to worry about those biscotti--keep eating! this tart sounds delightful :)

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  33. I love chocolate and orange together!

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  34. I come to your website all the time and I am simply amazed! Thank you for providing such great recipes!!! I truly enjoy coming here!

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  35. I really, really didn't want to picture "puffy" pumpkins, but it flashed into my mind anyway! Gross.

    I think chocolate and orange are divine together...the ricotta must make it really moist. Great recipe!

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  36. Instead of throwing the things you bake away you could just freeze them and save them for a rainy day. It deems so wrong to throw away such delicious food! And I think it takes quite a long time for something like biscotti to go bad. The torte looks really tasty too.

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  37. Yep that's totally healthy I would say. But then again with my lack of self control I would eat it all, so that's maybe not so healthy eh?

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  38. Thanks everyone!

    Hi Josh! Welcome! Stop by often.

    Pastry Princess, freezing is an excellent idea. If only our freezer was bigger..

    Iheartcakes, uhhh. Yes. I don't have enough mouths to feed. :(

    Curt, deal.

    Anon, hi! Welcome. Please drop by often. Thank you for the nice compliment. My hair is naturally curly. But I use a spiral curling iron to enhance it. And hair gel. Cheap hair gel. Come over sometime and I'll give you a demo.

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  39. Looks like delicious & yummy.......
    What an beautiful blog & picture.

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  40. OOOOh waw, Emily!!

    I so love ricotta, fresh ricotta from the Market & to add chocolate & orange with it is just about perfect!!

    The addition of the almonds will makes it even better!


    MMMMMMMMM,...all the way!! I so love this easy yet so tasty recipe!

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  41. Hey Emily,

    So I was curious as to how healthy this dessert is -- I'm a double major student in nutritional science and food science (as well as a rather passionate baker!) and these things tend to interest me. So (for your own information) based on 8 servings, per piece there is (these are estimations, but I would guess that they are acute to within about 5%): 225 calories, 13.4 g of fat (which is 21% if the recommended daily intake), and 10.9g protein (which is a little more than there is in a glass of milk).

    The nice thing about the fat in this dessert is that it's mostly the good kind (from the almonds)! And 225 calories for a dessert is pretty impressive. And... I shouldn't fail to mention that this looks absolutely and incredibly delicious :) I will definitely be making it in the near future!

    On a completely different note, I wanted to let you know that your icing recipe on the "Gourmet Dirt Cake" is my all-time favorite chocolate icing on the planet. I make it even though I'm not supposed to eat butter... and then eat it out of the bowl.

    This was a little longer than anticipated... probably because I've been reading your blog for about 1.5 yrs and this is my first post. Or because I talk to much and this is an extension of that habit. Anyways, have a lovely day and keep up the fantastic baking :)

    Rebecca

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  42. Chocolate and orange is a super combination, and this cake looks absolutely luscious.

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  43. Well, if you say it's healthy, it must be! I can't wait to try making this, I love the chocolate-orange combination, like those candies you get at Christmas.

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  44. I love ricotta in any baked goods but it's full fat all the way for me!!!

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  45. Rebecca! Hello! It's nice to hear from you. Please say hi more often!

    I like how you calculated the nutrition on this. Could you do that on every post for me?? ;) That seems fattening, but yes, it's the almonds. This cake has a ton of almonds in it.

    You've been reading that long?! I'm honored. I'm trying to remember that frosting. It must have been kind of pudding-like, right? I think I remember.

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  46. This recipe looks delicious! Definitely sounds healthy to me. fruits, cheese, chocolate? sounds like the main food groups. ha.
    oh gosh, about that show. i have seen the episode u are talking about. there is another that is even more disgusting. There was a woman who sadly had to use adult diapers, and she kept a huge pile of used diapers in her bathroom. i'm talking like a mount everest sized pile. no good. anyways.
    keep up the great recipes girl!

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