This Torta Caprese is a famous Italian chocolate torte made with ground almonds, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and whipped egg whites.
This cake is chocolaty, rich in chocolate flavor, fudgy, light, and so delicious. This cake is very easy to make and is made with simple ingredients, it is important that you follow the instructions and tips to achieve the best result!
What is Torta Caprese?
Torta Caprese is an Italian chocolate torte cake which is also known as a chocolate almond torte, flourless chocolate cake, Caprese cake, etc.
This cake was invented by an Italian baker from Capri in the 1920s that ran out of flour while he made a chocolate cake, so he ended up with a delicious chocolate cake that has a crispy exterior and a moist and chocolaty interior.
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Why this recipe works
- This cake is naturally gluten-free and is made with almond flour instead of regular flour.
- This cake has the best texture and flavor: chocolaty, rich flavor, and fudgy, and has a crispy interior.
- You will only need 8 ingredients to make this delicious cake!
- Easy recipe- this cake is super easy to make and takes no time to prep!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our brownies because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Almond flour- we used almond flour in this recipe, but you can use oat flour or coconut flour. We used store-bought almond flour. The package should say “almond flour” or “fine almond meal”.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Eggs– you will need 5 eggs for this recipe. We separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. The egg yolks go in the chocolate mixture. We whip the egg whites to medium-stiff peaks. the whipped egg whites will give this cake the structure, and the egg yolks give this cake the fudginess.
Vanilla extract– Vanilla extract Is an essential ingredient for baking.
Salt– We used kosher salt for this recipe. Salt doesn’t give the brownies a salty taste, it helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.
Dark chocolate- use the best quality dark chocolate for the best flavor. You will need dark chocolate for the cake batter, and for the add-ins.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep an 8-9 inch springform baking pan with parchment paper.
In a small mixing bowl, add the butter and the dark chocolate. Melt completely in the microwave or on a bain Marie. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is silky and smooth. Let the chocolate mixture cool completely.
Gently separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Be careful not to break the yolk, if there's a bit of yolk in your egg whites, they wouldn't whip properly.
Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture along with the vanilla extract, kosher salt, and cocoa powder. we sift the cocoa powder to prevent cocoa powder lumps in the mixture. Mix with a whisk until well combined.
Into a big clean mixing bowl, add the egg whites and start mixing with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer. Start mixing and gradually add the sugar. Mix to medium to stiff peaks.
Add the chocolate mixture to the egg whites mixture, and fold lightly until the mixture is well combined.
Add the almond flour/almond meal, and fold it gently into the mixture using a rubber spatula, until the mixture is combined.
Tips: It is important that you don't overmix this batter and deflate the whipped egg whites. The cake's texture and structure depend on the egg whites, so fold the batter until the mixture is just combined and you cant see streaks of egg whites.
Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 9-inch springform baking pan which is buttered with softened butter. Smooth out the top with a spatula.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30 minutes, depending on the oven.
The cake should rise and develop a crust on top. You will know the cake is ready if a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs and a bit of unbaked batter.
I like underbaking the cake a little bit to get a mousse-souffle type of texture.
Let the cake cool for about 40 minutes. Then release it from the pan and top the chocolate cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar. Serve as is or with fresh fruit, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream, the options are endless!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you will want to mix the batter by folding it lightly with a spatula. It is important that you don't overmix this batter and deflate the whipped egg whites. The cake's texture and structure depend on the egg whites, so fold the batter until the mixture is just combined and you cant see streaks of egg whites.
- Weigh your ingredients! to make sure that your cake turns out amazing and perfect, and weigh and measure your ingredients correctly! For every recipe, I use my food scale to weigh all my ingredients. That way your cake will turn out the same every time!
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let this cake cool for at least 40 minutes so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up. This cake is extra moist, fudgy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so it will be worth it to wait these 40 minutes.
- Make sure you line your baking pan with parchment paper to prevent the cake to stick to the pan.
Faq's
If you can't find almond flour/almond meal, you can make your own at home: simply ground toasted or raw almonds in a blender or food processor until it has a flour texture. Do not over blend it so it will not turn into almond butter!
To keep the cake from sticking to the pan, line it with parchment paper and butter the sides of the pan with room-temperature butter.
Yes! This recipe is naturally gluten-free. It is made with almond flour which is naturally gluten-free.
I love serving this cake with cocoa powder dusted on top next to some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Storing
This cake will last for up to 4-5 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can store it in the fridge as well.
Freezing
To freeze the cake, you will need to wrap the cake in plastic wrap or foil and seal it in an airtight container or in an airtight resealable bag. You can freeze this cake for up to 2 months.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter.
Variations
Chocolate- make these double chocolate by adding chocolate chunks or chocolate chips to the batter!
Hazelnuts- for a hazelnut-flavored cake, swap the almond flour with hazelnut flour or ground hazelnuts.
Espresso- add a tablespoon of espresso powder to the mixture for an extra-rich flavor.
More decadent chocolate recipes
Dairy free brownies- This dairy free brownies recipe is fudgy and has a dreamy crinkly top that makes the perfect brownie! Its made with both dark chocolate and cocoa powder to give these a rich chocolate flavor.
Brownie bites- These brownie bites are moist, fudgy, and full of chocolate flavor! They are gooey in the center and have a crackly brownie-like top!
Snickers cake- This snickers cake is made with layers of soft chocolate cake, filled and topped with chopped snickers candy and peanut butter caramel frosting, and is topped with chocolate ganache and more snickers candy!
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📖 Recipe
Torta Caprese (Italian Chocolate Torte)
Ingredients
- 200 g Dark chocolate
- 200 g Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon Cocoa powder plus more for the top
- 5 Eggs carefully separeted
- 1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups Almond flour
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep an 8-9 inch springform baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the butter and the dark chocolate. Melt completely in the microwave or on a bain Marie. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is silky and smooth. Let the chocolate mixture cool completely.
- Gently separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Be careful not to break the yolk, if there's a bit of yolk in your egg whites, they wouldn't whip properly.
- Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture along with the vanilla extract, kosher salt, and cocoa powder. we sift the cocoa powder to prevent cocoa powder lumps in the mixture. Mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Into a big clean mixing bowl, add the egg whites and start mixing with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer. Start mixing and gradually add the sugar. Mix to medium to stiff peaks.
- Add the chocolate mixture to the egg whites mixture, and fold lightly until the mixture is well combined.
- Add the almond flour/almond meal, and fold it gently into the mixture using a rubber spatula, until the mixture is combined.
- Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 9-inch springform baking pan which is buttered with softened butter. Smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30 minutes, depending on the oven.
- The cake should rise and develop a crust on top. You will know the cake is ready if a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs and a bit of unbaked batter.
- I like underbaking the cake a little bit to get a mousse-souffle type of texture.
- Let the cake cool for about 40 minutes. Then release it from the pan and top the chocolate cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar. Serve as is or with fresh fruit, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream, the options are endless!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you will want to mix the batter by folding it lightly with a spatula. It is important that you don't overmix this batter and deflate the whipped egg whites. The cake's texture and structure depend on the egg whites, so fold the batter until the mixture is just combined and you cant see streaks of egg whites.
- Weigh your ingredients! to make sure that your cake turns out amazing and perfect, and weigh and measure your ingredients correctly! For every recipe, I use my food scale to weigh all my ingredients. That way your cake will turn out the same every time!
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let this cake cool for at least 40 minutes so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up. This cake is extra moist, fudgy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so it will be worth it to wait these 40 minutes.
- Make sure you line your baking pan with parchment paper to prevent the cake to stick to the pan.
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