Caprese cake (Torta Caprese) is a very simple Italian dessert, a cake made with melted dark chocolate, almond flour, sugar, eggs and butter.
This cake was born in the Isle of Capri and its great peculiarity is that it’s made without flour.
It is no coincidence that the Caprese cake recipe, in addition to being one of the treasures of Neapolitan pastry, is also above all one of the first gluten-free cakes that have ever been produced.
Caprese Cake has a low thickness, it’s crispy on the surface but soft and slightly moist inside.
So if you want to taste an exquisite Italian chocolate cake or if you are celiac or even gluten intolerant, get ready to make the Caprese cake by following this recipe, which is the one of the Neapolitan tradition.
It won’t take long: the recipe is very simple and the doses of the ingredients are also easy to remember: butter, sugar and chocolate have the same dose, 60 g more than the dose of chocolate for almond flour and 3 medium eggs. That’s all.
Try this recipe and taste this special italian chocolate cake with strawberries, our gelato recipe or whipped cream, according to taste or the season.
Do you like ALMOND PASTRIES recipes? Then read:
Caprese Cake (Italian Torta Caprese) Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 Min
- Cook Time: 30 Min
- Yelds: 8
Ingredients
- 125 g (4,4 oz = ¾ cup) of dark chocolate (from 50% to 70% cocoa)
- 185 g (6,5 oz) peeled almonds or almond flour
- 125 g (4,4 oz = ½ cup) of unsalted butter
- 3 medium eggs at room temperature
- 125 g (4,4 oz = 8 tablespoons) of granulated sugar
- icing sugar for decoration
Directions
Doses for a 20 cm/8 hinc non-stick springform pan with removable bottom (8 people)
Step 1) – If you are using peeled almonds, you must first mince them finely and reduce them to flour. In this recipe we used excellent ready-made almond flour.
So first of all melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Choose a top quality dark chocolate with a percentage of cocoa ranging from 50% to 70% maximum. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the more intense the flavor.
Step 2) – Meantime, separate the yolks from the whites and let the yolks aside for the moment. Beat the egg whites up with an electric mixer or with a stand mixer until stiff. Set aside: they will be added to the caprese mixture at the end.
Step 3) – Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until you get a fluid and pale yellow cream. It takes about 5 minutes. Then add the almond flour little by little and mix well.
Step 4) – Now the chocolate and butter cream has cooled a little. Add it to the caprese mixture and mix.
Step 5) – Eventually add the beaten egg whites, stirring with a wooden spoon from the bottom up. The mixture of the caprese cake is ready.
Step 6) – Grease and flour a 20 cm/8 inch non-stick springform pan with removable bottom, then pour the caprese cake dough. Level well with a spoon.
Step 7) – Preheat the oven to 180°(350 F) and bake for about 30 minutes. Cooking times may vary from oven to oven, but remember that chocolate Caprese must be moist inside. So normally, for a 20cm / 8inch springform pan the time never exceeds 35 – 38 minutes.
Eventually remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for at least 30 – 40 minutes. This step is essential! If you turn the Caprese Cake upside down immediately, you risk breaking it. Wait until it has cooled down. Then turn it upside down on a plate covered with parchment paper.
Let it cool completely on a cooling rack so that it cools down quickly without moistening the underside of the cake.
Decorate the Caprese cake when it is very cold. If you add the icing sugar while it’s still hot, the sugar will be sop up by the surface. Then sprinkle the Caprese cake with the icing sugar.
If you want to decorate your cake with drawings and amaze your guests, you can use the stencils for cake decoration, very beautiful and easy to use.
Serve with strawberries, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream according to taste or season.
Storage
Caprese cake can be stored at room temperature, in a cool place, under a glass bell for 3-4 days. It’s possible to freeze the cake, preferably without icing sugar; you can already cut it into portions.
Origins and History of Torta Caprese
Caprese Cake (Torta Caprese) was born in the early twentieth century in Capri Island, south Italy.
In 1920, in a small pastry shop in the Island of Capri, a chef, whose name was Carmine di Fiore, unintentionally created this luscious Neapolitan masterpiece: torta caprese.
It is said that the chef was alone in his small culinary “kingdom”, surrounded by his tools and ingredients and that he was committed with extreme care in the preparation of an almond cake for three mobsters come to Capri from United States to buy a batch of Al Capone’s spats.
Everything was going for the best but, maybe for a distraction, maybe for the rush to finish or maybe for the agitation, he made a mistake that would cost him dearly his reputation as aclaimed chef: he forgot to add the required flour dose to complete the cake mixture.
So he baked the cake without realizing it and, when cooked, with astonishment, the cake turned out a real delicacy: soft in the center and crunchy outside. The three Americans were 100% satisfied, even to ask for the recipe. Chef Carmine di Fiore continued to prepare the Caprese Cake even later and it liked a lot. It was a great success!
Great recipe. The cake turned out really nice and soft. I halved the recipe and used a 6inch pan.
Looks a good recipe.. i will try it.