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Torta Tenerina Recipe: Italian Chocolate Cake from Ferrara
Torta Tenerina is a traditional Italian chocolate cake from Ferrara, a beautiful historic city in the Emilia-Romagna region. It’s a low, rich, and fudgy cake made with dark chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, a little flour, and no baking powder.
Ingredients
- 200 g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa - 7 oz
- 100 g unsalted butter - about 1 stick
- 150 g granulated sugar - ¾ cup
- 3 eggs
- 60 g all-purpose flour - ½ cup
- 30 ml whole milk - 2 tablespoons
- powdered sugar - for decoration
Instructions
- Break the dark chocolate into pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl with the butter. Melt them together in a double boiler over low heat, stirring often.Make sure the chocolate does not overheat or stick to the bottom of the bowl. Once the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth, remove the bowl from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and add half of the sugar. Beat with an electric mixer for at least 5 minutes, until the mixture becomes pale, soft, and doubled in volume.
- Pour the melted chocolate and butter mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Mix well with the electric mixer on low speed.
- Add the milk, then add the sifted flour a little at a time. Continue mixing on low speed until the batter is smooth and well combined.
- In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.The egg whites should be firm and glossy, but not dry.
- Add the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture a little at a time. Fold them in gently by hand with a spatula, using slow movements from the bottom to the top.Be careful not to deflate the egg whites. This step is very important because it helps give Torta Tenerina its delicate texture and its thin, slightly crackly crust on top.
- Line a 25 cm (10 inch) springform pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and level the surface gently with a spatula.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 25 minutes. The baking time may vary slightly depending on your oven, so start checking the cake after 25 minutes.Torta Tenerina is ready when a thin crust has formed on the surface and you can see the typical small cracks on top. The center must remain soft and moist.You can also check the cake with a toothpick. It should not come out completely dry, as it would for a classic cake. If the toothpick comes out slightly moist and the surface has formed a delicate crust, the cake is done.If the surface is still too soft, bake for another 2 or 3 minutes, but be careful not to overbake it.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool before taking it out of the pan.Once cool, dust the Torta Tenerina generously with powdered sugar. Serve it plain, or with mascarpone cream, whipped cream, or fresh berries.
Nutrition
Serving: 100gCalories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 5gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 32mgPotassium: 219mgFiber: 3gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 417IUCalcium: 37mgIron: 4mg
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