Ingredients

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup (about 2oz amaretti cookies (if you can’t find substitute with 1 cup broken savoiardi (crisp ladyfinger cookies) and ½ tsp almond extract

2/3 cup sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp freshly grated orange zest

4 large eggs

Garnish: unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch spring form pan with nonstick spray.
  2. Microwave chocolate chips in a bowl, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
    1. Put almonds and cookies in a food processor; pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl. Put sugar, butter and orange zest in processor; process until smooth and creamy. With machine running, add eggs 1 at a time. Add almond mixture and melted chocolate; pulse until blended. Scrape into prepared pan.
  4. Bake 35 minutes, or until top is firm and slightly cracked around the edges and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 min. before removing pan sides and cooling completely. Dust cake with cocoa stirred through a strainer.