Knocking my own socks off--chocolate torte

Just in time for Passover--a flourless chocolate torte that I love. A. was not so crazy about this recipe, but I'm going to have to go ahead and recommend it anyway because I'm so pleased with it myself. Having just quit my job under horrid circumstances, I needed a chocolate fix quick, and so I turned to Stephanie Jaworski on the the Joy of Baking website. I love her biscotti recipes, so I turned to her help with my emotional and culinary crisis this week. This torte did not let me down in my time of need. I made a few small changes to suit what I had on hand. Stephanie J.'s recipe calls for an optional ganache, but I didn't have enough chocolate on hand to do that.

1 C. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
9 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped into small pieces
6 eggs, separated
1 C. white sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (substitute: 3/4 tsp. vinegar)

First, separate your eggs--yolks in one bowl, whites in another--and set them on the counter to warm to room temperature.

Chop up your butter and chocolate. Using a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter together. Or, if you don't have a double boiler (like me) put a few inches of water in a big pot and your butter and chocolate in a smaller sauce pan, and put that sauce pan into your big pot. It's a little ad hoc, but my chocolate did not burn.

While your chocolate is melting, beat the egg yolks with 1/2 C of sugar for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and light yellow. Add the vanilla and keep beating. Stephanie says to use the paddle attachment on your beater, but I don't have one. Regular beaters did me just fine. Beat in the melted chocolate.

Now, clean your beaters, or get out new ones. In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is very acidic, which is what your egg whites need to get really fluffy. I can't find it at my grocery store, so I just use three times as much vinegar to get the same effect. Sprinkle the remaining sugar in a little at a time. Stephanie says here to use a whisk attachment, but I don't have one of those, either. Again, regular beaters seemed OK enough.

Gently fold the egg whites mixture into the chocolate mixture. Don't overmix--use a spatula or wooden spoon.

Pour the torte batter into a greased, parchment-papered cheesecake pan. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It will rise up during baking, but when you take it out it will collapse in the middle. A. didn't like the way it looks, but I figured I'm eating it, not hanging it on my wall. As far as tortes go, mine was pretty attractive.