Chocolate Torta with Salted Hazelnuts

As a relatively new Edmontonian and food-obsessive, I've been wanting to go to Corso 32 pretty much since I moved here. It's been featured on some "Best Restaurants in Canada" lists (enRoute and Maclean's), and Avenue and VUE have both named Corso 32 on their Best Restaurants lists.

So imagine my dreamy, drooling delight when Corso 32 turned out to be the secret location of my Valentine's date. My boyfriend is a very smart man.

After four courses of impossibly delicious food and wine, this happened. Chocolate Torta with salty hazelnuts. Incredibly silky and intensely chocolatey, with a salty-sweet crunch on top... a wave of pleasure will flood your brain, your eyes will glaze over, and all you'll be able to do is make "omagahhhh" sounds in between mouthfuls.

Lucky for me, the Edmonton Journal posted an article on Valentine's Day devoted to this slice of euphoria. In it, head chef Daniel Costa shares a bit about the inspirations behind Corso 32's menu, talks about his wife with adorably frank mushiness, and - most importantly - shares the Torta recipe.

A note about the ingredients: I bought the hazelnuts, corn syrup, kosher salt, and chocolate in bulk from either Save On or Bulk Barn. This can be a relatively inexpensive dessert if you buy only exactly as much as you need.

Chocolate Torta with Salted Hazelnuts
Recipe courtesy of the Edmonton Journal: "Corso 32’s torta: a chocolate lover’s fantasy (with recipe)" by Tina Faiz

Torta
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 pound good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 egg yolk

Salted Hazelnuts
1 3/4 cups raw/natural hazelnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon Kosher salt

First, line a square cake pan or a springform pan with plastic wrap, and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

Melt the chocolate and half of the cream in a double boiler (glass or metal bowl above a pot of simmering water), stirring every so often. When the chocolate is completely melted and it's all smooth, remove from heat and allow to cool until slightly warmer than room temperature.

Whip the remaining cream until thick and stiff; gently fold whipped cream and the egg yolk into the cooled chocolate mixture, just until well combined [ you can see an accidental streak of cream in the photo ;) ]. Pour into your prepared pan, then cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge to set - it will take several hours, so making your torta the night before you want to eat it might be a good idea.

To prepare the candied hazelnuts, spread them out on a cookie sheet and toast them in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until any bare hazelnuts are golden, and the ones with skins have started to blister. After taking them out of the oven, wrap them in a clean tea towel and allow them to steam. After a minute or two, rub the hazelnuts in the towel - most of the skins should slough off from the friction.

In a medium saucepan, dissolve the sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium heat. Allow to boil gently for a few minutes, and when the mixture turns a light golden colour, take it off the heat. Gently stir in the kosher salt, then add the hazelnuts and stir to coat. Tip the hazelnuts clumps onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and allow them to cool completely.

When you're ready to serve, roughly chop/smash/break up the candied nuts before sprinkling them on top of the torta.