Chocolate Tort - Oblande

These thin layers of wafers make eating rich, homemade chocolate fudge seem a little less decadent.  

I try to keep oblande (wafer sheets) in my pantry at all times. Easy to do as when they're on sale at Chicago's north-side Balkan grocers (City Fresh Market or Devon Market). They're sold with a plastic wrapping keeps them fresh for long-term storage. Most packages will include multiple recipes on the label and I've kept this one for years and regularly replace the ground hazelnut with finely chopped walnuts. 

Ingredients:

7 oz. melted chocolate

6 egg yolks

1-1/2 C heavy cream

8 oz butter

1-1/2 C sugar

7 oz finely chopped walnuts

Blend the sugar, egg yolks and cream and pour into in a pre-heated pot over low heat - stir until the custard-like mixture foams and rises. It will lighten in color as the eggs cook to a safe temperature. Make sure to stir constantly to prevent curdling or burning.

In a separate, heat-safe bowl combine the butter and chocolate and melt it in a pot of water (careful not to let the water in the mixture). A microwave will do the job quicker but I don't have one in my kitchen. Fold the butter/chocolate mix into the custard then fold in the ground nuts. 

At this point I lay down parchment or waxed paper on a cookie sheet and place the first wafer sheet. The wafers have two sides, one with a wide grid and the other with a finer grid pattern. For the inside layers place the wider grid facing up. Fill evenly with 1/4 the still-warm fudge mix (most tort wafer packages include 5 sheets). Repeat until the last sheet, which I flip to show the smaller grid pattern on top. Place another sheet of parchment on top, add a cookie sheet on that, then add some weight. I use two large cookbooks. Refrigerate overnight. Cut with a sharp thin knife diagonally into diamond shapes. Oblande store best in a closed container in the refrigerator.

This text was also on the label I saved that included the recipe. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia only existed from 1992-2006.