Italian Chocolate And Almond Cake Recipe

And so with this traditional Neapolitan Chocolate Almond Cake I was not expecting anything above any other seriously good chocolate cake. And as you probably know, in Italy we make A LOT of them.

One of the legend says that Torta Caprese was born as a mistake in 1920. A pastry chef from island of Capri mistakenly had forgotten to add flour to the cake he was making for his guests. The result however exceeded all expectations. The cake turned out to be moist and soft in the middle with a thin crispy crust on the outside. It was so heavenly delicious that the guests were begging Carmine di Fiore – the pastry chef to share the recipe.

Since that time, inheriting the name of the island where it was first made this Chocolate and Almond Flour Cake is called Torta Caprese.

Colavita Olive Oil Almond Cake With Chocolate Olive Oil Ganache By Jessie Sheehan

Being very thorough (if not obsessed!) when choosing what piece of Italian cuisine to introduce to you next, I’ve seen quite a few variations of this cake. But the best one, without a doubt, comes from the original Tavolartegusto.

And even if you are like me, not a chocoholic, and don’t have a sweet tooth either – this cake will become one of your favorite from the first bite.

Step 1: Melt chocolate using a double-boiler or bain-marie method. Place a heat resistant glass bowl or a metal bowl with chocolate broken into small pieces over a pan (pot) with a boiling water in a way that the bottom of the top bowl with chocolate doesn’t touch the water in the bottom pan.

Instant Pot® Torta Caprese (italian Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake) Recipe

Water should continue to boil on a low heat. Occasionally stir the melting chocolate. When chocolate is completely melted – set aside.

Step 2: If you are using whole almonds, blanch almonds for 60 seconds first boiling than in cold water. Peel off the skin, quickly dry in the oven. Process in a food processor into fine grind flour.

Ready-to-use almond flour definitely saves you some time and you can find it without a hustle at a grocery store or simply order online.

Giada's Torta Caprese (italian Chocolate + Almond Cake)

NOTE: If you are using a store-bought almond flour make sure you read the ingredients list. Very important. Occasionally you can come across and almond flour mix that usually has 50% almond flour 50% powdered sugar. And you can still use it for this recipe if you not need any additional powdered sugar in this case, except for 2 tbsp to beat the egg whites.

Step 3: Separate egg yolks from the egg whites. Make sure there are no egg yolk bits in the egg whites! This is the reason why I recommend separating one egg at a time over a spare bowl, so that even if one egg yolk gets broken it doesn’t damage the rest of the egg whites in the bowl.

Step 4: Beat egg yolks with half of the powdered sugar until fluffy. At this stage add rum or Grand Marnier if you have it.

Spanish Chocolate Almond Cake Recipe

Step 5: In the meantime your melted chocolate has already cooled down a bit and it’s a perfect time to add softened butter, grated orange zest and dark (bitter) cocoa powder. Mix everything well.

Step 7: Beat the eggs whites with remaining powdered sugar until soft peaks form (about 5 minutes starting low and slowly increasing the speed).

If you are using a standing mixer it’s a perfect time to grease your cake mold and preheat the oven to 350F.

Italian Chocolate Almond Cake

To prevent our cake from sticking deadly to the mold we are first greasing it with butter, then covering with some flour. Just regular all purpose flour. BUT if you are making this for someone with gluten intolerance make sure you use corn flour or other gluten-free flour instead.

Step 8: Now that your egg whites have a perfect soft peak consistency start gently folding them into the chocolate almond dough. One or two scoops at a time. This is very important. If you throw in all eggs white at the same time or mix to intensely they will loose their fluffy and soft consistency and make your cake. Oh no, we don’t want that.

Step 9: Carefully pour in our chocolate almond cake into prearranged pan. With a spatula level all the bumps on the surface of the cake until smooth top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.

Sugar Free Torta Caprese

Stick in a toothpick in the middle of the cake if it comes out dry or with a few breadcrumbs – the cake is ready. And it’s important to not overcook this cake so that it retains its wonderful moist texture on the inside and crusty top on the outside.

Let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes still in the baking pan before removing it. If removed too fast there is a risk to break it.

As you can see from the photos it’s incredibly beautiful just with a simple sugar or cocoa dust. No artificial coloring, heavy cream or frosting.

Torta Caprese (italian Chocolate Cake)

But as I’m finishing writing this recipe I can hear someone in my kitchen sneaking on the last bite of it, so I’d better wrap up here.Torta Caprese is a flourless chocolate cake from the island of Capri. It has a thin hard shell and a rich interior flavored with almonds and Strega or rum. It’s usually dusted with powdered sugar or served with a generous portion of fresh whipped cream.

The texture for this cake comes from whipped egg whites that are gently folded through the chocolate batter to lighten it. While you ideally need a stand mixer or hand mixer for the egg whites, this recipe is relatively forgiving. You’ll still end up with a rich chocolate cake if you’re a bit heavy handed with the folding.

There are several stories about torta Caprese’s origin. One tale features an Austrian princess that was married to the King of Naples. She wanted the Sacher Cake famous back home, but the local chefs didn’t know the recipe and had to improvise, creating the torta Caprese. Another story claims that a local baker filling a tourist’s order for an almond cake forgot to add flour to the cake batter. The tourists loved the cake, declaring it “uno dei pasticci più fortunati della storia.” One of the most fortunate mistakes in history.

Flourless Chocolate & Almond Cake Recipe

What we do know, is that the cake was first created on Capri primarily for tourists around the 1920s. It was likely served in tea rooms, and soon spread to restaurant and café menus across Naples.

Line a 8-inch (20cm) springform cake pan with parchment paper, grease the pan and parchment with butter and dust with flour. Tap out the excess flour and set aside.

Break the chocolate into pieces in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over the bain-marie to melt the chocolate. Remove the bowl and set aside to cool.

Almond Ricotta Cake

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 – 5 minutes. Pause and scrape the bowl a couple times to ensure even mixing.

For this step, either use another clean bowl that fits the stand mixer, or transfer the batter to another bowl and clean the stand-mixer bowl really well. Any grease left on the bowl will compromise the ability to foam the egg whites. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

I’m fascinated by where food comes from, how it’s evolved, the stories served on the side, and the science behind why recipes work. Here I’ll share the history, culture, and rituals behind the recipes I’ve encountered while wandering through Europe.

Italian Orange And Chocolate Almond Cake

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsAccept

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Chocolate Olive Oil & Almond Cake

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.This Torta Caprese, made famous by the Italians, combines ground almonds with rich, dark chocolate resulting in an elegant and indulgent chocolate almond cake. Incredibly simple to make, this gluten-free chocolate torte recipe will become a firm favourite.

My favourite thing about this Torta Caprese recipe is its simplicity. A single layer of joyful baking done