50 g good-quality cooking chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely grated
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Butter a 28cm/11 inch
loose-bottomed flan tin or cheesecake mould, line it with greaseproof
paper and place it in the fridge. Put the hazelnuts on to a baking tray
and roast in the oven for about 5 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to
cool, then whiz up in a food processor until you have a fine powder —
be careful not to over-whiz. You can bash the nuts up in a tea towel
using a rolling pin if you don't have a food processor.
Beat the butter and sugar together either in the food processor, or in a
bowl with a whisk, until pale. Add the egg yolks one by one, and the
orange zest. Sieve in the flour, crumble in the ricotta and stir in the
powdered hazelnuts and the poppy seeds. In a separate bowl, beat the egg
whites with a pinch of salt until they are really stiff, then fold them
slowly into the hazelnut mixture. Pour the mixture into the cake tin
and bake in the preheated oven for around 25-30 minutes until there is a
little colour on the top of the torte. You can check to see that it's
ready by sticking a cocktail stick into the centre of the torte. It
should come out clean and not sticky.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. While it's cooling, place the
jam in a little pan with 4 tablespoons of water and bring this slowly up
to the boil. Brush this over the top of the torte and, when cool,
sprinkle with the grated chocolate. Serve with some crème fraîche or
fromage frais.
