Dining In The Hamptons

Empire Tortes: The Dream Delivery

According to the calendar, summer is over and fall is falling upon us. But the Hamptons is no longer a seasonal summer paradise and has come to be adored also for off season treasures – still warm seas, glowing sunsets reaching down from blue skies, fresh catches and an abundant harvest. Thus, weekend entertaining is still in full swing. As grilling for the masses gives way to dinner parties among friends, the menu also shifts, and nowhere is changeover more striking than with dessert. Berry pies and grilled peaches are memories, and everyone’s all-time favorite ingredient is sweetly welcomed back to the table. Chocolate.

But unlike pie, chocolate desserts are not usually better when homemade. Chocolate is a tricky ingredient and even the most accomplished home chef will struggle with mastering the techniques needed to do it justice. A joyful way to solve this dilemma and make your best friends love you forever is to serve a torte from the Empire Torte company.

Based in Massachusetts, the Empire Torte company is the brainchild of owner and confectioner Tuesday Evans. Determined to rise about the expected, Evans has perfected a method of creating the ultimate in luxury chocolate desserts. She ships them all over the country as well as internationally to be the perfect end to a meal in any language, and has gained rave reviews from epicures worldwide.

The unique taste of the Empire torte derives from garnering the chocolate of Venezuelan cacao beans and combining it with a perfect measure of slow roasted, slowly ground coffee beans from Sumatra, along with local fresh eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla. The simplicity of the ingredients belies the sophistication of the elegant and seductive torte, which is one hundred percent made from this superior chocolate, rather than being a mixture of different qualities as is often the case. I, an affirmed non-lover of chocolate, am entirely enamored of these tortes.

What is a torte? It is complicated to define and apparently, according to Empire Torte’s chic and logically designed website, there is some debate, with different definitions found in different countries. Empire sticks with the classic definition, as they call it, which is a “dense, flourless cake made with separated eggs.” Again, the simplicity is disarming.

The luxurious texture, a smooth glaze over an intensely chocolate inside, is indefinable. The aroma is glorious and the flavor is multi-layered. I sensed first chocolate, then coffee, then chocolate again, and at once thought chew, no, savor it slowly and let it melt in your mouth, no, indulge... I never recorded a cloying sugar taste, often the culprit in ruining chocolate desserts for me.

At the end of the month, the 2006 Carenero Reserve torte will be available. Made in limited quantities (2005 saw only 314!), the annual Reserve torte sells out quickly. Like the original Empire torte, the Reserve is made with Tuesday’s expert touch, but different chocolate is used. While the beans are from Venezuela, they are chosen from singular plantations and offer a slight difference in taste. Making the decision won’t be easy, but ordering both is always an option. Tortes should be eaten within 3 weeks of their arrival.

The experience of dealing with the Empire Torte company from beginning to end is equally streamlined and tasteful. You can buy tortes via mail order, online or over the phone, and they are shipped within 48 hours. They come in 6” size for 8-10 people priced at $44.99, and a 10” size that is intended to generously serve 18-20 people and is $69.99. Call 1-800-908-6783 or order at empiretorte.com. And don’t be too down about fall’s arrival. The advent of cooler weather means it’s the right time to indulge in this chocolate dream – Empire Tortes does not ship in July and August because the hot weather conditions are not kind to the delicate dessert. Lucky for you it’s September.

–Robin Feman