Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Butter a 28cm/11 inch loose-bottomed flan
tin or cheesecake mould, line it with greaseproof paper and place it in the
fridge. Put the hazelnuts on to a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 5
minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool, then whizz up in a food processor
until you have a fine powder — be careful not to over-whizz. You can bash the
nuts up in a tea towel using a rolling pin if you don’t have a food
processor.
Beat the butter and sugar together either in the food
processor, or in a bowl with a whisk, until pale. Add the egg yolks one by one,
and the orange zest. Sieve in the flour, crumble in the ricotta and stir in the
powdered hazelnuts and the poppy seeds. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites
with a pinch of salt until they are really stiff, then fold them slowly into the
hazelnut mixture. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the preheated
oven for around 25-30 minutes until there is a little colour on the top of the
torte. You can check to see that it’s ready by sticking a cocktail stick into
the centre of the torte. It should come out clean and not sticky.
Remove
from the oven and allow to cool. While it’s cooling, place the jam in a little
pan with 4 tablespoons of water and bring this slowly up to the boil. Brush this
over the top of the torte and, when cool, sprinkle with the grated chocolate.
Serve with some crème fraîche or fromage frais.