Torta Caprese (Almond Flour Chocolate Cake)

Torta Caprese, a basic Italian flourless chocolate cake, is a decadent and wealthy dessert made with almond flour, darkish chocolate, and eggs. This refined sugar-free and dairy-free model is simply as scrumptious and straightforward to make as the unique!

What’s Torta Caprese?

Initially from the island of Capri, Torta Caprese combines floor almonds, melted chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs to create a chic flourless chocolate cake. It resembles a flourless chocolate torte, however with a lighter texture; it’s not as dense as a torte, which lacks the whipped egg whites and almond flour.

There are conflicting tales in regards to the origins of Torta Caprese—some say it was first made for the Austrian spouse of the King of Naples who missed consuming Sacher Torte, a preferred Austrian chocolate cake; others say a chef created it by mistake when a vacationer requested a chocolate almond cake and he baked one with out wheat flour. No matter its historical past, this unbelievable Italian chocolate almond cake is of course gluten-free—and most significantly, it’ll knock the socks off anybody who tastes it. Torta Caprese is ideal for firm: it’s easy to make (you received’t have to fuss with making separate layers and slathering on frosting) and you’ll bake it forward of time.

And let’s be sincere: the mix of darkish chocolate and almonds is unbeatable.

A Paleo Torta Caprese

I’m perpetually attempting to tweak dessert recipes to be somewhat bit more healthy, however they nonetheless have to win over my hardest critics (particularly my choosy youthful son, Ollie). By utilizing coconut oil and coconut sugar within the elements, my almond flour chocolate cake recipe is paleo-friendly; it’s not simply gluten-free, it’s additionally refined sugar-free and dairy-free. And it’s scrumptious!

Ideas for making this simple almond flour chocolate cake

Use a scale to measure your elements! Baked items are like science experiments: you want correct measurements for good outcomes. That’s why I at all times measure out my elements on a kitchen scale.
Whip the egg whites correctly! There aren’t any chemical leavening brokers (e.g., baking soda or baking powder) on this cake—the construction and aeration depends on the whipped egg whites, so that you gotta get this step proper. Test that your mixing bowl and whisk are tremendous clear, and ensure your egg whites are at room temperature and aren’t contaminated with any yolks. Should you aren’t positive the right way to whip your eggs to stiff peaks, watch a video first! Then, when folding the whipped egg whites into the batter, do it fastidiously and gently or your whole arduous work might be for nothing.
Use top quality darkish chocolate! This chocolate almond cake solely has a number of elements so high quality issues. The perfect chocolate taste comes from a chocolate bar you’re keen on consuming!
Don’t overbake the cake! It’s higher to err on the aspect of underbaking than overbaking so begin checking your cake on the 35 minute mark. When a toothpick is inserted into the middle of the cake, there ought to be a number of moist crumbs that cling to it. You don’t wish to bake the cake till it’s utterly dry.

Components

Darkish chocolate: Use top quality darkish chocolate—choose your favourite snacking bar! Something from 60% to 85% cacao works, however I believe the candy spot is 70% cacao. A few of my favourite chocolate manufacturers are Inexperienced & Black, Guittard, and Hu Kitchen.
Refined coconut oil: To maintain issues dairy-free and never tasting overly coconut-y, I take advantage of refined coconut oil rather than unsalted butter. Ghee can be a terrific choice when you can’t tolerate lactose however need the buttery taste.
Blanched almond flour: I take advantage of store-bought finely floor blanched almond flour on this recipe, however you should utilize almond meal or course of your individual almond meal with a meals processor. You may undoubtedly substitute different nut flours like walnut, hazelnut, or pistachio. Should you’re nut-free, I believe sunflower seed flour would work!
Coconut sugar: I take advantage of coconut sugar rather than white sugar on this recipe to decrease the glycemic index and add a pleasant caramel be aware to the cake. Maple sugar is an efficient substitute when you have it readily available. (I haven’t tried a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup so I don’t know if they are going to work.)
Eggs: The eggs are essential to the cake’s construction and act as a leavening agent, so you may’t substitute them out. Be certain the eggs are at room temperature and separate them fastidiously as a result of there can’t be any yolks within the egg whites.
Cream of tartar: To assist the egg whites whip as much as stiff peaks, I add somewhat little bit of cream of tartar as a result of the acid helps denature the protein and stabilize the whipped whites. Should you don’t have cream of tartar, you may substitute 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Diamond Crystal kosher salt: Each chocolate dessert is improved with a smidge of salt!
Confectioners’ sugar: Historically, a Torta Caprese is dusted with a skinny layer of powdered sugar earlier than serving. To maintain issues decrease carb, you should utilize a keto confectioners’ sugar like Swerve or use unsweetened cocoa powder.

Find out how to make Torta Caprese

Warmth the oven and put together the cake pan

Warmth the oven to 325°F with the rack within the center. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with avocado oil cooking spray or coconut oil. Add a parchment paper cake spherical on the underside if desired.

Soften the chocolate and fats

Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and cook dinner on excessive within the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then proceed nuking in 30 second intervals, till utterly melted. You can even soften the chocolate and oil in a double boiler.

Whisk the vanilla extract into the melted chocolate and put aside.

Whip the egg whites

Seize your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low pace till foamy.

Then, enhance the pace to medium-high and beat the egg whites till they’re fluffy and stiff peaks type.

Switch the crushed whites from the stand mixer bowl to a big mixing bowl.

Combine the flourless chocolate cake batter

Plop the egg yolks and the coconut sugar into the empty mixer bowl and whip on medium-high pace till uniform and lightweight brown, about 3 minutes, scraping down the perimeters as wanted. You must discover a definite shade change from darkish brown to mild as air is whipped into the yolks!

Pour the chocolate combination into the crushed yolks and blend on medium pace till simply included. Use a spatula to scrape the perimeters as wanted.

Add the almond flour and kosher salt and blend the batter till uniform, about 30 seconds.

Take away bowl from mixer and blend a number of instances utilizing a big silicone spatula to verify all of the almond flour is blended in. The batter might be very thick and stiff at this level.

Fold the whipped whites into the batter

Utilizing a big silicone spatula, fold in ⅓ of the whipped whites to lighten the batter. As soon as the egg whites are blended in, it’s simpler to fastidiously fold in the remainder of the whipped egg whites. Subsequent, gently fold within the remaining whites into the batter—slicing down the middle and sweeping up the perimeters—till no streaks of white stay. Don’t combine within the whites too vigorously or the ensuing cake might be very dense.

Switch the batter into the ready cake pan, and use an offset spatula to easy the highest.

Bake the cake

Pop the chocolate almond flour cake within the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted within the heart comes out with a number of moist crumbs connected (no moist batter!).

Cool the cake

Switch the cake to a cooling rack and funky within the pan for about half-hour. Then, pop off the perimeters of the springform pan and funky the cake utterly on the wire rack.

Find out how to serve Torta Caprese

To maintain issues (comparatively) low carb, you may mud the highest of cake with keto confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Then, slice and eat!

Lower the flourless chocolate cake into wedges and serve as-is, with some recent berries, and/or dollop on whipped coconut cream. Should you aren’t dairy free, you may spoon on common whipped cream, creme fraiche, or Greek yogurt.

How do you retailer the cake?

Wrap the gluten-free chocolate cake in plastic wrap or place in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Take the cake out of the fridge and convey to room temperature earlier than serving.

Extra Paleo chocolate dessert recipes

On the lookout for extra recipe concepts? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll additionally discover unique recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Meals for People (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Prepared or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).

PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Print Recipe

Torta Caprese (Almond Flour Chocolate Cake)

Prep Time20 minutes

Prepare dinner Time40 minutes

Cooling time2 hrs

Complete Time3 hrs

Course: Dessert

Delicacies: Italian

Key phrase: Almond Flour Chocolate Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake, gluten free mug cake, grain-free, nom nom paleo, nomnompaleo, paleo, Torta Caprese

Servings: 12

Energy: 341kcal

Directions

Warmth the oven to 325°F with the rack within the center. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with avocado oil spray or coconut oil. Add a parchment paper cake spherical on the underside if desired.
Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and cook dinner on excessive within the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then proceed nuking in 30 second intervals, till utterly melted. You can even soften the chocolate and oil in a double boiler. Whisk the vanilla extract into the melted chocolate and put aside.
Seize your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low pace till foamy. Then, enhance the pace to medium-high and beat the egg whites till they’re fluffy and stiff peaks type. Switch the crushed whites from the stand mixer bowl to a big bowl.
Plop the egg yolks and the coconut sugar into the empty mixer bowl and whip on medium-high pace till uniform and lightweight brown, about 3 minutes, scraping down the perimeters as wanted. You must discover a definite shade change from darkish brown to mild as air is whipped into the yolks!
Pour the chocolate combination into the crushed yolks and blend on medium pace till simply included. Use a spatula to scrape the perimeters as wanted.
Add the almond flour and kosher salt and blend the batter till uniform, about 30 seconds. Take away bowl from mixer and blend a number of instances utilizing a big silicone spatula to verify all of the almond flour is blended in. The batter might be very thick and stiff at this level.
Utilizing a big silicone spatula, fold in ⅓ of the whipped whites to lighten the batter. As soon as the egg whites are blended in, it’s simpler to fastidiously fold in the remainder of the whipped egg whites. Subsequent, gently fold within the remaining whites into the batter—slicing down the middle and sweeping up the perimeters—till no streaks of white stay. Don’t combine within the whites too vigorously or the ensuing cake might be very dense.
Switch the batter into the ready springform pan, and use an offset spatula to easy the highest.
Pop the chocolate almond flour cake within the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted within the heart comes out with a number of moist crumbs connected (no moist batter!).
Switch the cake to a cooling rack and funky within the pan for about half-hour. Then, pop off the perimeters of the springform pan and funky the cake utterly on the wire rack.
To maintain issues (comparatively) low carb, you may mud the highest of cake with keto confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Then, slice and eat!

Notes

It is best to make use of a scale to measure out the dry elements. The coconut oil, darkish chocolate, coconut sugar, and almond flour are all 6 ounces (170 grams) every. That is the size I like to recommend.
Decide a darkish chocolate bar you like to eat! The optimum quantity of cacao is 70%, however anyplace from 60% to 85% will work.
Make forward directions: Cool the cake utterly, wrap it in plastic wrap or place in an hermetic container, and retailer within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Take the cake out of the fridge and convey to room temperature earlier than serving.