Flourless Chocolate Cake
An Austrian princess marrying the King of Naples and requesting cake that Neopolitan bakers were unfamiliar with, a flustered baker cooking for American gangsters and mistaking cocoa powder for flour, an overworked sous chef omitting the flour completely, and two Austrian sisters on the island of Capri. These are just some of the many apocryphal origin stories of Torta Caprese, or Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Versatile in nature and low to rise due to the aforementioned lack of flour, this cake is sometimes made with ground almonds, served with Strega, an Italian digestif, or as we recommend, balanced by a lush homemade whipped cream. The rich and fudgy flavor of this cake leaves it often described as, “uno dei pasticci più fortunati della storia” or one of history’s most fortunate mistakes.
Recipe
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Total Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes | Active Time: 15 Minutes | Serves Eight
Ingredients:
- 12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1/4 t fine salt
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 C granulated sugar
- Confectioners' sugar and/or cocoa powder, for dusting
- Serving suggestion: Really Vanilla Whipped Cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 2-inch spring form pan with nonstick spray.
- Put the chocolate, butter, and salt in a large microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted.
- Beat the eggs and sugar with a standing or handheld mixer until light and thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs until evenly combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out wet but not gooey, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and cool on a rack.
- When ready to serve, remove ring from spring form pan. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.
