not quite for post-Christmas diets, but a keeper for next year.

Here's the recipe for the torte I made on New Year's day. It was a definite hit with everyone who tasted it, so I'm sharing it with you. It's rich, not too sweet, and super easy to make. The kind of thing you should make if you need a 'wow' factor dessert for a dinner party. Seriously, your guests will think you spent big bucks at the local French patisserie. ;) I'm including my own metric conversions ( I checked them online, so it should be ok I hope!) for my overseas pals who read this blog, and who probably won't be able to decipher the ancient Imperial measurements.

Two Chocolate Almond Torte

Top:

1/4 cup (62.5 ml) whipping cream

4 oz. (114 g) good bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (125 g) sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Torte:

6 oz.( 120.1 g) white chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup(170.5 g) butter

4 eggs

1 pkg. ( 200 g) marzipan

1 1/2 cups (341 g) finely ground almonds

2 tsp. grated orange rind

1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice

Preheat oven to 350F. (175C)

Grease sides of a 9 inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

Melt the white chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pot of hot water. Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree eggs with marzipan until smooth. Add almonds, orange rind, and juice, and white chocolate mixture. ( I let it cool slightly). Pulse until all is blended. Pour into pan. Bake for about 35 minutes. ( Cake will test clean with a toothpick, but will be slightly jiggly, this is perfect!). Cool in pan on a rack and then invert ( use a knife to loosen sides first) onto a serving plate.

In a saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour over bittersweet chocolate in a bowl and whisk until melted and smooth. Spread over top of cake. Garnish with toasted almond slices. Refrigerate until serving.

Et voila ...

(not the greatest photo. Food photography+ evening light= ugh!)

What else?

Not much went on today.. we're still on holiday mode, and it's great. :) Here's a few photos of my kiddo & dh skating tonight at the outdoor rink down the street... it was cold, dark and then the camera froze up, so these kinda crappy pics are all I got..

So typically Canadian, eh? :)

He loves to play hockey. He loves to be outdoors, period!

And I had this nice surprise this morning:

I've never had the honour of having a featured layout on 2 Peas, so it was kind of fun to see. :)

Let me know if you have questions about the cake, ok? And if you make it, please let me know how it turned out!