The Bomb!

One of my favorite places to eat gluten-free, is PF Changs. For the last year we lived in a state, yes I said a state, that did not have one location. So, I perfected a copy cat version of my favorites, Mongolian Beef and Chicken Lettuce wraps. That got me to thinking of my favorite dessert, the Chocolate Raspberry Bomb torte. You know the little round, chocolate dessert, with the fancy vanilla and raspberry sauce. I'm happy to say, that last nights version tasted exactly like the one at PF Changs. The recipe is a little time consuming, as you are making two sauces that accompany the chocolate torte. This dessert is pretty heavy on the dairy side, so if you have that intolerance, you might want to try some substitutes. Here's the recipe:

P. F. Chang's Chocolate Raspberry Bomb Torte
serves 5


1/2 cup Butter
3 cups Semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Vanilla Sauce

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 Vanilla extract
4 Egg yolks

Raspberry Sauce

1 12 oz bag frozen raspberries, thawed
3 tablespoons Granulated sugar
4 tablespoons Water

Fresh Raspberries for garnish


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir occasionally until chocolate is completely melted. Do not over melt! Remove chocolate from heat to cool.
Beat 4 eggs until fluffy in a large bowl, add sugar and vanilla and mix well until sugar is dissolved.
Temper the egg mixture by mixing in just a few tablespoons of the warm chocolate. Add the remaining chocolate mixture, and stir until well combined.
Pour the batter into 5 buttered and parchment paper lined ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes or until middle of the cake begins to firm up. Remove and cool to room temp, then cover, and chill in fridge.

To prepare the vanilla sauce,combine cream with 1/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat mixture, stirring often, just until boiling, then remove from heat.(watch carefully to avoid boil over)
In a medium bowl whisk together remaining 1/4 cup of sugar,vanilla, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by adding a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and heat it up again, stirring often until it begins to boil. Turn off heat and cool for 5 minutes. Then a cover using a piece of plastic wrap laid directly on top of the sauce and chill in the fridge until you are ready for it.

Make the raspberry sauce by pureeing the thawed raspberries in a blender. Add 4 tablespoons of water to thin the berries . Pour pureed berries into a saucepan over cook over medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons sugar. Heat until mixture boils,remove from heat. Cover and chill.

To assemble torte, I like to transfer the sauces to a squeeze bottles.( I like the Wilton brand) I squeeze a thin line of raspberry sauce on the plate, followed by larger dots of vanilla sauce on either side. I carefully invert the baked torte from its ramekin,peel off the paper, and place it in the center of the plate. Top with fresh raspberries, and a little extra of the the two sauces on top.

Warning: this is very dense and rich, and I often have to share a serving with my husband! Enjoy!