Chocolate Chip Torte with Butterscotch Meringue – So Easy!

Quick and easy, this dessert cannot help but impress anyone who sees it, not to forget anyone who is lucky enough to have a taste! I love serving an impressive dessert when having friends or family at my table. Often my dinner itself takes most of my time and dessert is usually vanilla ice cream in a martini glass with amaretto liquor poured on top. Not a great deal of brain activity going on to come up with that one! I so recall having a few couples in for a valentine dinner and fussing with a flourless chocolate cake. It must have had a pound of butter, a pint of whole cream, and at least six egg yolks in it and was fussy to make, fussy to bake, and even more fussy to get out on the pan. Anyway it made it to my table and was good, but not worth the time it took to make.  And yes, I really thought I should have an ambulance at the ready in the driveway, or at least an AED on hand it oozed so much saturated fat. Terrible to serve something to guests that makes you feel guilty for doing so! So necessity truly is the mother of invention.I needed a recipe for an impressive and yes delectable dessert that didn’t take a great deal of time and could bake in a 350 oven while other things were baking and roasting. I also thought while creating this torte of common ingredients I almost always have on hand or ones my husband can pick up without a great deal of time wondering the isles in the market. Thus Chocolate Chip Torte with Butterscotch Meringue was born. Simple to make, common ingredients, and not nearly as lethal for the taster as my flourless chocolate cake!

 Ingredient List

1 stick (1/2 cup) light margarine

1/4 cup white sugar

2 egg yolks

3 egg whites

½ teaspoons baking soda, baking powder, and salt

½ teaspoon good quality vanilla

1/4 cup brown sugar, and an additional 2/3 cup brown sugar for meringue.

1 ½ cup regular white flour

12 ounces chocolate chips, I like a mix of sweet & bitter chips

2/3 cup mixed nuts, chopped

*optional 1 – 2 teaspoon water at room temperature

 1 10-inch spring form pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 10-inch spring form pan. I use light margarine for this recipe, but saying ‘butter’ the pan sounds so much better than ‘margarine’ the pan. As always, I use the wrapper from the stick of margarine for this step.

 In bowl mix the following ingredients with a fork or pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture:

1 stick of lite margarine

1/3 cup white sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon good quality vanilla

1/3 cup brown sugar

 Add 2 egg yolks (save the whites in a large glass bowl for later) and mix.  Work in 1 ½ cup flour. Batter should be thick and a bit moist. If dry add 1 – 2 teaspoons water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

With floured hands press into bottom of prepared spring form pan and press up sides about 2 inches

Pour one 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips over crust in pan.

Top with 2/3 cups coarsely, chopped, mixed nuts. Lightly salted, mixed-nuts add a nice richness rather than walnuts, or almonds.

In separate glass bowl with mixer on high whip 3 egg whites (yes 3, not 2!). Whip until stiff peaks form. Slowly and gently with rubber spatula fold in 2/3 cups brown sugar to create the look and taste of butterscotch.

Spread egg white mixture over chips and nuts, sealing edges with egg white mixture.

Bake on center rack in 350 oven for 20 minutes. Turn off oven, and crack open. Allow torte to rest in warm, vented oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and remove ring from bottom of pan. Allow to cool completely before cutting.