Just had to share this with all of you. I made this over the weekend for a Murder Mystery dinner I went to, and everyone loved it... even the non LC folks. It is a recipe created by Peter Pneuman. He used to hang out on the Suzanne Somers board, and lost 125 pounds or so doing SS/LC. I guess he went to culinary school, because he no longer posts there. Unfortunately, his recipes aren't posted there anymore either. However, one of the members has his permission to post his recipes on her website. They can be found here: Peter Pneuman's Recipes, in case you're interested in more of his stuff. Every recipe I've made from him has been fabulous! So, here's the recipe for the Torte (BTW... his directions tend to be long, but are not difficult):

GERMAN CHOCOLATE TORTE

Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Serving Size: One, two layer cake which serves at least 10

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
9 tablespoons Wondercocoa (I used unsweetened)
2 teaspoons orange extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 egg yolks
2-2 2/3 cups Splenda
9 egg whites, room temperature ***
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 well greased, round cake pans, 9 X 1 1/2 inches

Cream Filling Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
4 ounces or one half block of full fat cream cheese, softened *****
1/2 cream heavy, whipping cream
1 1/3 cups Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy, whipping cream

Directions: Place a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the butter and completely melt. Add the cocoa, and stir until cocoa is completely combined with the butter, forming a smooth mixture. Add orange and vanilla extracts and stir until mixed. Take off of stovetop and let cool for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, place egg yolks in a medium bowl and add sweetener. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Once chocolate/butter mixture has cooled for twenty minutes, in a thin stream, very slowly pour the sweetened, egg yolks into the chocolate/butter mixture, stirring constantly. Set aside. Place rack in bottom of oven and preheat oven to 375º. Place egg whites in a large bowl, which is completely dry and free from any grease, and add cream of tartar.


Beat egg whites on medium speed, using an electric mixer, which is completely dry and free of any grease whatsoever. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites, you do not want to beat them until they are dry. Overbeating the egg whites will result in the egg whites losing some of their volume and deflating. Add 1/4 of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. (This will help to incorporate the rest of the egg whites into the cake much better and keep it lighter). Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, working as quickly as possible so the egg whites do not lose their volume, and fold until NO visible egg white remains and a uniform, light colored, chocolate mixture remains. Divide batter between the two cake pans, and push a little batter from the middle of the pan to the edges of the pan (This will make the edges of the cakes a little higher then the center, and when you fill and frost the cakes, the cake layers will sit on each other perfectly and will not slide at all) and place in oven. Cook for EXACTLY 15 minutes. The cakes will not have risen very much, as this is a torte which is supposed to be somewhat dense. Remove from oven and IMMEDIATELY invert (which means to flip cake pan over to remove cake from pan) cakes onto large plates which are lined with wax or parchment paper. Allow to cool at room temperature for 45 minutes, until cool to the touch. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for two hours. Now it's time to prepare the three cheese, cream filling.
Place the three cheeses, first amount of heavy, whipping cream, vanilla extract and sweetener in a larger bowl. Place second amount of heavy, whipping cream in a medium bowl. Place bowl and beaters of electric mixer in freezer for 10 minutes. (What this does is get the whipping cream and beaters very cold, which helps to create the thickest, fluffiest, whipped cream.) Beat cream on medium speed with an electric mixer until cream has thickened. Increase speed to high and beat cream until soft peaks form and is of whipped cream consistency, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat the whipped cream, as doing so will result in the cream losing its volume and it will begin to form lumps and turn into butter. With an electric mixer, beat the three cheeses on medium speed until completely combined and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add whipped cream, and beat on low speed (to prevent the cream from turning into butter) with an electric mixer until whipped cream is completely combined with cheeses and the filling is smooth and light. Place in the refrigerator for one hour.
Take cakes and filling out of refrigerator. Place bottom layer of cake on a serving platter, with several small pieces of wax or parchment paper placed just underneath the cake and coming out to the edges of the serving platter (then once cake is frosted, you can pull the pieces of wax paper away and the edges of the serving platter remain clean). Place a generous amount of filling on the cake, about 1/3 of the filling, and spread the filling evenly over the surface of the cake. Place second cake layer directly on top of the filling, positioning so cake layers are even on all sides. Place in refrigerator for one hour (what this does is help to set the filling to create a firm hold between the cake layers). Remove from refrigerator and frost the outside of the cake, with ALL of the remaining filling. There will be a thick layer of frosting on the outside of the cake, which makes the cake even more delicious. Place, uncovered, in the refrigerator for one hour, this will help to set the frosting as it may have warmed up some when you were frosting the cake. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Will keep in the refrigerator for at least five days (that is how long it lasted us). Enjoy!

Mada

Summer Challenge Stats:
204/204/174 by 6/21

Overall Stats:
215/204/160-140 (size 8-10)
Re-re-started LC 1/5/04

"Self delusion is pulling in your stomach when you step on the scales." - Paul Sweeney

Sounds good! Any idea what the carb count is?

Ooh thanks! Sounds yummy.

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." - Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')
Start Atkins 9.1.03
225/198/130ish
My Birthday Goal: Size 14

Mada,
Thanks so much for posting. I too, am curious about the carb count per serving. I went to the site via the link you gave, but alas, it looks like none of his recipes give a nutritional analysis Guess we'll just have to get our calculators out and get busy...LOL!

Shelley

"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
*LC WOLF*

Yup, Shelley, you're right. I got out the ol' calculator and here's what I came up with:

Whole recipe: 143.6 g ECC
12 servings = 11.9 g ECC
16 servings = 8.9 g ECC

It is high... but it's not an everyday-type dessert. (And still not bad considering what "real" cake's carb count is). It's very decadent, and I'd only make it for special occasions (ie. birthdays), or to take somewhere so that most/all gets eaten.

HTH!

Mada

Summer Challenge Stats:
204/204/174 by 6/21

Overall Stats:
215/204/160-140 (size 8-10)
Re-re-started LC 1/5/04

"Self delusion is pulling in your stomach when you step on the scales." - Paul Sweeney



[This message was edited by Mada on 03-07-04 at 04:16 PM.]

Thanks, Mada
Yes, it is a little high in carbs, but if a person planned ahead of time and made allowances for that day, it would be okay. I'm like you; definitely take it somewhere it will get all eaten up, so there are no leftovers calling your name everytime you open the fridge...

Shelley

"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
*LC WOLF*