In gluten-free baking, heavily chocolate desserts are especially easy because flour's not necessary for dense, gooey goods. Here's a cake that's not as dense as most and has a great balance. One nice advantage is that there are just six ingredients and if you have a scale, most of the amounts are equal, making this easy to remember.
And it has a back story. According to Food52 (where I originally found this recipe): "It was the 1920s. Three Italian-American gangsters visited Capri to buy a shipment of spats for Al Capone—those elegant, white, button-up protective coverings for your shoes and ankles. A chef, Carmine di Fiore, made them a chocolate and almond cake. He didn't realize until later he forgot to put the flour in it, but the result is a delectable chocolate cake, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The mobsters love it and asked for the recipe—and the chef breathed a sigh of relief."
Note: I added salt to the recipe and have not tested it, but it should amp up the flavor a bit.
Torta Caprese (Five-Ingredient Chocolate and Almond Flourless Cake)
Other than whipping the eggs whites, all you need is a wooden spoon to mix everything together. It's effortless and forgiving, with just one main rule: The almond meal, butter, chocolate, and sugar should be equal in weight. (Use
Ingredients
170 (5 oz) grams almond meal, Or make almond meal using blanched almonds, in food processor)
170 (5 oz) grams good quality dark chocolate, e.g. 60-70%
170 (5 oz) grams unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes
170 (5 oz) grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt *
4 large eggs
Powdered sugar for dusting
1. Remove eggs from refrigerator, place in water. Grease and line a 9-10 inch round springform pan and preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Place the chocolate, broken up, in a glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave 10 seconds at a time, stirring between, until melted. Add the butter, stirring with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula to help it melt, giving short additional doses of microwave as needed. Then add the salt, almond meal, and all but 3 T of the sugar.
3. Separate eggs.
Once the mixture is no longer hot, add the egg yolks and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. If adding any further ingredients (orange zest, rum, etc), stir them in now.
In a separate very clean, grease-free bowl, whip the egg whites with beaters to a froth. And add the rest of the sugar and continue to beat to soft, fluffy peaks. Add 1/3 of the whites to the chocolate and mix to lighten it. then fold the rest of the whites in. Fold gently and minimally, stopping while there are still white streaks.
4. Pour the batter into the cake tin, smooth over the top and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until the top appears dry and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (not wet batter). It is important not to overcook this cake so that it retains its wonderful moist consistency. Let cool completely in the tin before handling. Dust with powdered sugar and, if desired, some lightly whipped cream. This cake keeps well for several days and is even better the next day.
Servings: 6
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