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Caprese cake is an almond chocolate cake from Naples, which was created by mistake! There is no flour, so it’s perfect for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Creamy and chocolaty, the ground almonds give it a perfect crunchy texture.
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Why there is no mozzarella in the Caprese cake
The name Caprese, has been miss-used by many and I have seen many salads called Caprese just because Mozzarella is one of the ingredients. It is like calling “something Parmesan” anything that has cheese and tomatoes. It drives us Italian nuts!!
Mozarella has nothing to do with Caprese. Caprese means originated from the Isle of Capri and that is where this cake was created, …..by mistake.
What is a Caprese cake
In 1920 Chef Carmine Di Fiore made a chocolate almond cake but forgot to add flour. Nevertheless, the cake was a pleasant surprise, creamy inside but with a crunchy crust.
As there is no flour, it is gluten-free. A delicacy for all celiac sufferers. But don’t expect this to be a low-fat diet cake as there is plenty of butter and 5 eggs.
This recipe was presented by Eliana de Matteis during her cooking class at the Mediathec Pole Culturel Auguste Escoffier, Villeneuve Loubet.
Ingredients
- 10 1/2 oz – 300 gr peeled almonds
- 8 oz – 220 gr caster sugar
- 7 oz – 200 gr butter
- 7 oz – 200 gr dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Preparing the ingredients for the cake
- Melt the chocolate with the butter in a large bowl over boiling water (Bain-Marie) or in the microwave for 2 minutes on medium
- Let it cool down at room temperature
- Slightly toast the almonds in the oven and let them cool down at room temperature
- Pulse the almonds with the cocoa in a blender until they are roughly grated
- If you are using ground almonds just mix them with the cocoa powder
Making the batter
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar, the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt until puffy and foamy. This should take about 15 minutes
- Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture
- Fold in the almonds slowly, making sure the mixture does not deflate
- Cut parchment paper into a round shape, placing it at the bottom of an 8 -9 in / 22-24 cm diameter baking tin and add 2 long strips along the sides
- Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin
- Cook in a hot oven at 170 C for about 45 minutes checking with a toothpick that the inside remains slightly humid
- Once ready, turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for 10 minutes, with the door slightly open.
- Let it cool down for another 15 minutes at room temperature before removing it from the pan.
- Once completely cold, the cake can be decorated with icing sugar or cocoa
- You can use a template to add a message to your cake by sprinkling cocoa powder
How to serve the Caprese cake
As with most chocolate cakes, the Caprese cake is perfect served with a good quality vanilla ice cream. My son Francesco warmed it up in the microwave for 10 seconds and I must say it was delicious.
To accompany, you can serve coffee or tea but my favourite at the end of the meal is to serve it with a homemade liquor. Orange, Limoncello or Nocino, as they are all perfect with chocolate.
Tools to make it easy
There are 2 tools I highly recommend to make this cake:
- Electric mixer: I use KitchenAid but you can use any simple electric mixer. Whipping egg white is too long to do by hand and hard if you are not used to it.
- Pan with removable bottom: A pan with removable bottom makes it so much easier to remove the cake from the pan and place it on a serving dish. I always cover the bottom with a parchment paper to make it even easier.
Important Note: Before removing a cake from the baking pan, wait at least 10 minutes otherwise it will be too warm and you risk breaking it. Although I never wait more than 10 minutes otherwise the steam will make the sides soggy.
Top tips
- Use the best dark chocolate you can find
- It is best to buy fresh almonds. To peel them put them for few seconds in boiling water. Take them out and the skin will peel very easily
- You can replace the almonds with walnuts
- If you prefer, when you grind the almonds leave them roughly grated so the texture of the cake will be nice and crunchy
- Before you add the chocolate and the almonds to the egg mixture, make sure they are at room temperature
- When cooking the cake, check with a toothpick that the inside remains slightly humid
More glutenfree cake
f you are looking for more gluten-free cakes, you should also try the Scandinavian Almond Cake With Custard Cream.
Recipes you might also like
If you are looking for more Italian desserts, you can check the category: Italian Desserts
Also, check the recipes below:
- Traditional Struffoli Recipe With Cognac
- Pastiera Ricotta Pie
- Peach Tarte Tatin with Calvados and Pistachios
- Lime sorbet
- Torrone Italian Nougat Recipe
- Ile Flottante Recipe
- Mini Meringues Recipe
- Pavlova Recipe with Chestnut Mousse
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📋Torta Caprese with Almond and Chocolate – Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 10 1/2 oz peeled almonds
- 8 oz caster sugar
- 7 oz butter
- 7 oz dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 fresh eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Equipment
Looking for kitchen gadget Christmas gifts?Instructions
- Melt the chocolate with the butter in a large bowl over boiling water (Bain-Marie) or in the microwave for 2 minutes on medium
- Slightly toast the almonds in the oven and let them cool down at room temperature
- In a blender pulse the almonds with the cocoa until they are roughly grated
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar, the vanilla and a pinch of salt until puffy and foamy. For about 15 minutes
- Add to the egg mix the almond and the melted chocolate folding slowly, making sure the mixture does not deflate
- Cut parchment paper into a round shape, placing it at the bottom of the pan and add 2 long strips along the side
- Pour the mixture into a baking tin (8- 9 in / 22-24 cm of diameter) previously covered with parchment paper.
- Cook in a hot oven at 340 F – 170 C for about 45 minutes checking with a toothpick that the inside remains slightly humid
- Once ready, turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for 10 minutes, with the door slightly open.
- Let it cool down for another 15 minutes at room temperature before removing it from the pan.
- Once completely cold, the cake can be decorated with icing sugar
- You can also use a template to sprinkle some cocoa to add a message to your cake
- Enjoy!
Emily
This is such a gorgeous cake! And I love how you did the message on top!
Brian Jones
I love finding out where older recipes come from, gotta smile when the classics are born of mistakes 😀 Lovely recipe!
Sandi
I love that this cake is gluten free!!
Shashi at Savory Spin
I had no idea that the infamous Caprese cake was born out of a mistake! I’ve been enjoying Paul Hollywood’s version for awhile – this one sounds delectable!
Amy | The Cook Report
You can’t beat a good chocolate cake!