Best Chocolate Cake Ever: Torta Caprese

Chocolate cake

Torta Caprese

This week I’m sharing this recipe for the best chocolate cake ever. I’m aware of how confident a statement this is, but I’ve baked quite a few chocolate cakes in my time and this, my friends, is definitely the best. Since I stumbled upon this recipe not so long ago, I’ve made it quite a bit; the Wannabe family and friends just can’t get enough of it.

Gluten-Free

Torta Caprese is a cake that originates from the beautiful Italian island of Capri and is made with ground almonds instead of flour, which makes it gluten-free. I adapted my recipe from this one and initially deliberated over whether to post it, not because it isn’t delicious (it is) but because I couldn’t see how anything so divine (and packed with sugar) could justify its inclusion on a “health and wellbeing” blog. Hm.

But, after careful consideration and bearing in mind the sentiments in my reader’s lovely email, I decided that this cake is good for the soul – justification enough for its inclusion. It’s fudgey and rich and, as I have reduced the amount of sugar from that in the original recipe, not overly sweet either. Pretty easy to make, it’s fairly forgiving too, and as I’ve compared with other recipes that call for different ratios of almonds-to-eggs-to-sugar quantities I don’t think you need to be all OCD with the electronic scales.

Finally, it can be made “healthier” with a simple substitution that makes it – gasp – virtually sugar-free while keeping it almost as delicious. So there’s a bonus if ever there was one.

Torta Caprese

Ingredients

  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 240g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 250g ground almonds
  • 200g salted butter, melted

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Butter and line your cake tin. I use a 22cm one if I want a low, pudding-like cake; use a tin with a smaller diameter if you want a taller cake.
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain marie or the microwave. Set aside to cool a little.
  3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla essence until pale and creamy.
  4. Fold the chocolate and butter mixture and the ground almonds into the egg yolk and sugar mix.
  5. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
  6. Fold the egg whites carefully into the rest of the mix with a metal spoon.
  7. Pour into the cake tin.
  8. Bake for 45-50 mins until a skewer comes out just clean. You do not want to overbake this cake.
  9. Leave to cool for 20 mins before turning out.
  10. Dust with icing sugar.

Note

Should you wish to opt for the “healthy” version of this cake, simply substitute the sugar for the same weight of Medjool dates. Chop them and then cook them in a little water to make a paste and leave to cool a little before beating with the egg yolks. Then continue as normal.

And there you have it. No other chocolate cake recipe needed. Ever.

You’re most welcome. Or should that be: Prego?!

If you make this cake, I’d love to know how you get on. Or is there another contender for the title of “Best Chocolate Cake Ever”? Surely not!?

Signed by: Monika.

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Writer, blogger, mother, wife, wannabe yogi.
Good intentions, zero willpower.

Signed by: Monika Maurer

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