How to make a delicious Torta Caprese
A cake for a gangster or a cake for a queen 👑 ? Born either way as a sweet mistake, Torta Caprese is chocolatey 🍫 and crispy on the outside and has a soft heart inside. Just what it takes to fall definitely in love 💖 with Capri.
Torta Caprese was brought to life from a great mistake made during the preparation of an important dessert and it was named after the island where it originated from, Capri. Its unique backstory seems to involve either a queen or a cook: The first legend says that Maria Carolina of Austria, queen of Naples, missed Austria so much that she wanted her Napolitan cook to make an Austrian cake, the Sacher Torte, but she could not remember the recipe properly so the royal cook forgot to add flour and made what would later be known as Torta Caprese instead. The second story involves Carmine di Fiore, a very famous pastry chef that had to serve a cake to the Mafia gangsters that worked under Al Capone on their visit to Naples in 1920, apparently he became so nervous and scared that he forgot to add flour to the cake. Luckily, they loved it nonetheless.
This is the reason why this dessert is actually made without any gluten and is therefore suitable for celiacs. The result is a cake with a soft, dense and fudgy inside and a slight crusty top characterized by a decisive flavor of chocolate and almonds. If you enjoy a slice with a dollop of whipped cream or a cup of strong coffee it is heaven altogether. Because the cake has no flour and no chemical yeast, it is important to follow the steps related to separating the yolks from the egg whites and whipping the whites and the yolks apart, the whites to very firm peaks so the cake maintains its softness and moisture. Butter and eggs have to be room temperature and the cake has to be left to cool before starting to transfer to another plate or dusting it with sugar. As for all traditional and iconic recipes, finding the real “Torta Caprese” recipe was a bit painstaking, so after having called anyone that has relatives living in Capri, we agreed on this recipe that we believe is the closest to a friendly resolution and easy-to-make at home, enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
These are the ingredients for a springform pan or cake pan of 18-20 cm/8”. Should you like a larger cake, just double the ingredients.
For how many people? That’s a tricky question, are you sure you’ll be willing to share?
- granulated white sugar: 180 g/5.3 oz/ 3/4 cup
- 4 eggs (cracked and whites and yolks separated, room temperature)
- unsalted butter (softened) 200 g/7 oz/ 3/4 cup
- Good quality dark chocolate 60% or 70% : 150 g/ 5 oz / 3/4 cup
- Non peeled almonds or almond meal: 200 g/ 7 oz/ 3/4 cup
- 1 pinch of salt
- powdered sugar for dusting
- meglio se servita il giorno dopo, se riesci a resistere. Gustatela con una cucchiaiata di panna bianca e una tazza di caffè.
OPTIONAL:
Should you like, you can add a splash of rum or Grand Marnier, lemon or orange zest or a drop of coffee. As far as almonds go, some people like to use blanched almonds, some prefer to toast the almonds first, some just use almond flour. We love the crunchiness of almonds, so we bought them unpeeled and then ground them to a fine flour.
PREPARATION:
Grease your round cake pan with butter and flour and preheat your oven to 180ºC or 356°F. Your eggs have to be separated into two different bowls, yolks in one and whites in the other. Add three tablespoons taken from the total amount of sugar to your whites and whip them to soft peaks. Blitz your almonds in your food processor until they reach a sandy texture. Melt your chocolate, either in the microwave or at bain-marie and then let it cool down. If you are using the microwave, be very careful not to burn the chocolate like we almost did.
Now let’s start making the batter! In a third bowl or your mixer’s bowl or just using your beaters, work the soft butter in with the rest of the sugar till it becomes a nice cream. Add the egg yolks one by one and keep mixing. Add the powdered almonds and the cooled chocolate and keep mixing. Add a pinch of salt which goes really well with the chocolate, it enhances its bitterness.
Then stop all beaters and gently add the egg whites to the mixture, using your spatula to lift the whole from bottom to top in order to not lose that nice cloudy texture. Gently pour the mixture in your pre-greased cake tin and level the surface.
Bake in your preheated convection oven for 45 minutes. This cake needs to be moist inside and crunchy outside, so in doubt do not overcook it. Even with a toothpick test, it should not get out completely clean. Once cooked, leave it to cool. When ready, transfer to a serving plate and dust it with powdered sugar. If you want to be creative, you could place a crochet doily on top of the cake and dust it with powdered sugar, then remove it. In any Italian grandma’s house there is always a doily somewhere. This cake is even better if served the following day, if you can resist.
Enjoy it with a dollop of white cream and a cup of coffee.