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Torta Caprese (chocolate and almond cake)
Serves 6-8 Desserts and puddings
Ingredients
- 200g salted butter, plus extra to grease
- 200g whole skinned almonds
- 200g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids, broken into squares
- 4 eggs, separated
- 200g caster sugar
- icing sugar, to dust
- orange ice cream (optional), to serve
Cook's note
- If you can only find skin-on almonds, blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes then rub between 2 tea towels – the skins will come off quite easily.
Method
Grease a 22cm loose-bottomed round tin with butter. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C F/Gas 4.
Scatter the almonds on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then finely chop using a large knife or whizz in a food processor until they become the consistency of demerara sugar.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water or in a microwave, taking care not to burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
Add the melted chocolate and butter to the egg yolks and combine thoroughly, then mix in the ground almonds. Fold in the egg whites using a whisk, metal spoon or spatula until well combined, then pour the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake for 35–40 minutes until the cake forms a crust on the outside – the centre remains moist so a skewer inserted into the cake won’t come out clean.
To decorate the cake, dust with icing sugar. For a really pretty, traditional finish, place a doily on top and sift a fine layer of icing sugar over the cake, then carefully remove the doily. Serve at room temperature with the ice cream, if using.
This recipe featured in the July 2022 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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