Torta caprese is a classic flourless cake from the isle of Capri. Chocolate and almond flour are the main ingredients that combine to make this a divine dessert, moist and rich with flavor. It's a great cake for all, but especially for those looking to eliminate gluten from their diet. But don't skip the whipped cream -- unless you choose vanilla ice cream as a topper instead.
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Torta Caprese
(recipe from "Cooking with Manuela")
Ingredients
1 cup (175 gr ) dark chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark bars)
6 oz (170 gr) unsalted butter
1 cup (120 gr) powdered sugar
5 large eggs, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum (optional)
3 cups (300 gr) almond flour (I used 2 1/2 cups almond flour and 1/2 cup all purpose flour because I ran out of almond flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Line or grease an 8 or 9-inch round springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
In a small bowl, add the butter, cut into pieces, and the chocolate. Melt in a double boiler or in the microwave for 45 seconds (80% power), adding 20 more seconds as needed. Whisk until smooth, and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the powdered sugar until light and foamy. Save the egg whites in a separate large bowl for later. Add the vanilla paste (or extract) and the rum. Mix some more.
Add the melted butter/chocolate and beat some more. Add the almond flour and baking powder, and mix until combined.
Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until firm. Fold into the cake batter.
Pour into the prepared pan, level, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes golden and set. Test with a toothpick for readiness. Let cool, remove from the pan and serve with powdered sugar.
If chocolate is your love language, then no words are needed once you taste this divine dessert. Make this for your special someone for Valentine's Day -- or make it for yourself if there's no special someone in your life right now. The luscious chocolate filling, topped with heavenly whipped cream, is the perfect solution to the mid-winter doldrums. Oh heck, chocolate is the perfect solution to any problem any time of year.
If you don't want to make your own pie crust, just buy a frozen pre-made crust and you're halfway there. Homemade is always better but I occasionally rely on Trader Joe's pie crusts in a pinch and they're pretty darn good, even if it they are a bit fiddly and needing to be smushed together to form one cohesive piece. The pie filling recipe itself is pretty easy, and it's from King Arthur Flour's website -- an always reliable source of good recipes. Make sure to refrigerate any leftovers -- that is, if there are any.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for richer chocolate flavor
1/8 teaspoon table salt
3 large egg yolks
1 cup (227g) heavy cream, divided
2 cups (454g) milk
Topping
1 cup (227g) heavy cream
1/4 cup (28g) confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
To make the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Work in the shortening until it's in lumps the size of small peas.
Dice the butter into 1/2" pieces, and work it into the mixture until you have flakes of butter the size of your fingernail. Add the water 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork as you sprinkle the water into the dough.
When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, with no floury patches or bits of dry pastry in the bottom of the bowl, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Fold it over on itself three or four times to bring it together completely, then pat it into a disk 3/4" thick, rolling the disk to smooth its edges.
Wrap the pastry in plastic and refrigerate it for 30 minutes before rolling.
If ever there were a cake to knock the socks off you chocolate lovers, this is it. Picture a light chocolate sponge cake, with a luscious mousse and chopped hazelnut filling, smothered in a decadent chocolate ganache. We first tried it at BÃ caro, our favorite restaurant in the Cayman Islands where we spend a week each winter. After enjoying it twice in one week, I asked for the recipe and Head Chef Federico Destro generously gave it to me. It was written in metric measurements, but I’ve converted them into the cups more familiar to Americans. However, if you buy a kitchen scale, I recommend using the metric system measurements, since baking by weight is always more accurate than using cups
Federico’s recipe says it makes 30 portions, but the portions at BÃ caro are much smaller than what I served at my recent dinner party. I cut mine into 24 portions, still a huge amount for most home cooks, but I froze half of the cake for later gratification. It freezes perfectly with the chocolate mousse inside, but wait until the day you serve it to pour on the ganache, otherwise you risk losing that lovely sheen and soft texture.
Make sure you sift the dry ingredients and have the eggs at room temperature before beating them with the sugar. Beat for the required 10 minutes to give them the volume necessary for the cake to rise, since it contains no other leavening.
Pour into a pan that’s been buttered and floured. I also lined the bottom with a piece of buttered parchment paper to help release the cake without sticking.
When it cooled, I cut the cake in half down the middle since half serves 12 people, and cutting it in half then makes it easier to cut it into horizontal layers. You’ll spread the mousse between the two layers.
In my experience, the mousse is the hardest part to make, since it uses Nutella, which is stiff and difficult to incorporate smoothly with the melted chocolate, egg whites and whipped cream.
Blend in just about a third of the egg whites with the melted chocolate and Nutella to get the mixture a little lighter. Keep whisking until it starts to loosen a bit.
Add another third of the egg whites after the initial egg whites have been whisked in. It will still be stiff, but a little easier to whisk.
By the time you add the last third of the egg whites and the whipped cream, it will become much lighter in color and texture.
Spread the mousse over the bottom layer of the cake and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.
Place the top layer of cake over the mousse, then drizzle some of the diluted espresso coffee over the cake. As you can see, I lined each section of the cake in the pan with plastic wrap, to make it easier to remove one section and leave the rest in the freezer. Place the cake in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours.
After removal from the freezer, carefully cut into 12 sections.
This is the messy part — pouring the ganache on top. The recipe below includes more of the ganache than Chef Destro recommended, partly due to the fact that I’m not a chocolatier and wasted a good bit of chocolate, and partly due to the fact that I’ll take any occasion to eat more dark chocolate!
Here’s the way it’s served at BÃ caro, and you can see how much smoother the outer coating is, when a real professional is pouring the chocolate!
Still, there were no complaints about my version either. Place the cakes in the refrigerator, but set aside about 1/4 cup of the ganache and refrigerate it too. When it starts to harden just ever so slightly, scoop a little out with a demitasse spoon to make a chocolate ball on top, and place a hazelnut on top of the chocolate. I also added a small sliver of gold leaf — totally optional, but don’t forget the whipped cream!
The recipe may seem daunting, but you can make it the day before a dinner party or event, and keep it refrigerated. One caveat though – they look really tempting to husbands grazing for a midday treat. You’ve been warned.
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1 3/4 cup (400g) heavy cream (whipped to medium hard peaks)
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp rum
4 eggs
FOR THE GANACHE (This is enough for half the cakes, since I froze half the cakes unfrosted. Just double if frosting the entire cake).
2 cups (about 425 grams) heavy cream
12 oz. chocolate (I used three, 4 oz. bars of Hershey’s Special Darrk)
Instructions
TO MAKE THE SPONGE CAKE:
Whisk the eggs and sugar at high speed for about 10 minutes.
Sieve the cocoa powder, flour and corn starch and add them to the egg mixture gradually and folding slowly.
Pour the mass into a half-size hotel pan (my pan measured 15″ by 10″ x 2.5″ but the chef used a pan that was 20″ x 10″ x 2.5″)
Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan.
Let cool at room temperature, then wrap with plastic film and store in the fridge or freezer until needed.
Cut the cake in half to make for easier handling, then cut each half in half horizontally, in order to have two layers.
Then put some plastic wrap on the bottom and sides of the pan where you baked the cake, and put the layers inside, with separate pieces of plastic wrap for each half of the cake.
That way, you can easily remove only half the cake and leave the rest frozen for later use.
Each half of the cake made 12 servings, (30 for Chef Destro who cuts smaller portions) so unless you have a crowd of 24, you can keep half frozen.
TO MAKE THE MOUSSE:
Separate the egg whites from the yolks and set aside.
Whisk the yolks with sugar and rum.
Add the chocolate (previously melted) folding it slowly, then add the Nutella and combine (This is the hardest part because the Nutella is quite stiff. But keep at it.)
Whisk the egg whites to hard peak, then gradually fold them into the chocolate mixture (again it’s hard because the Nutella is so stiff, but once you have all the egg whites added, it loosens up and when you add the whipped cream, it will be just right consistency.)
Fold in the whipped cream and set in the fridge until ready to use.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE AND FILLING:
Leave the cake in the pan and remove the top layer.
On the bottom layer of the sponge cake, drizzle with half the espresso.
Set half the mousse on top of it and sprinkle with the hazelnuts.
Place the top layer over the mousse and drizzle with the other half of the espresso.
Cover and chill in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours.
FOR THE GANACHE:
Heat the cream, turn off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring to combine until smooth.
TO FINISH THE CAKE WITH THE GANACHE:
Cut the frozen cake in 24 portions, if you plan to serve all at one time.
In that case, double the ingredients for the ganache.
Otherwise, place half the cake in the freezer and cut the other half into 12 portions.
Place them on a perforated rack and quickly coat them with the warm ganache.
Place back in the freezer to harden.
Repeat the coating process once more and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Save a bit of the ganache to use as a center dollop with a hazelnut perched on it.
If you have any gold leaf, add a small piece to the top.
Looking for a last minute gift for friends, neighbors or relatives? You still have time to make this, and it’s really great to give away — not just because it’s delicious and a nice thing to do at holiday time, but also because it’s so darn addictive, you’ll have to get it out of the house before you eat it all. It makes a lot, so you’ll have plenty for passing to sweets lovers.
The hardest part is making the toffee, because it can easily burn if you’re not keeping an eye on it. Conversely, if you don’t cook it enough, it will be too soft and won’t have that crunch you associate with toffee. If you have a candy thermometer, you’re one step ahead of the game. I found mine broken in a drawer, so I had to rely on another way to gauge whether it was ready — dropping a bit from a wooden spoon into a glass of ice water. If it’s still pliable after you’ve dropped it in the water, it’s not done. If it snaps crisply, it’s done, so you can pour the syrup over the nuts and chocolate.
Spread half of the nuts (toasted to bring out the best flavor) over a sheet of parchment paper, then spread half of the chocolate that you’ve broken up either by hand or in a food processor. Pour the syrup over everything.
After you’ve poured the syrup over the nuts and chocolate, then spread the remaining chocolate over the syrup. Wait a few minutes for the chocolate to soften, then smooth it over the candy with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top and wait for it to cool. Take a knife, and cut into pieces. If you’re like me, you’ll have a lot of loose bits that won’t look too great as gifts, so save those for yourself to eat out of hand, or for using as an ice cream topping.
Place into attractive boxes, tins or jars, and spread some good cheer to others before you eat it all.
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1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for enhanced flavor
3 tablespoons (43g) water
1 tablespoon (21g) light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda, optional (see “tips,” below)
2 cups (227g) diced pecans or slivered almonds, toasted
2 2/3 cups (454g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; or chocolate chips
Instructions
In a large, deep (3 quart) saucepan, melt the butter.
Stir in the salt, sugar, espresso powder, water, and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil.
Boil gently over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture reaches hard-crack stage (300°F on an instant-read or candy thermometer; you’ll be taking it off the heat a few degrees sooner).
The syrup will bubble without seeming to change much for awhile, but be patient; all of a sudden it will darken, and at that point you need to take its temperature and see if it’s ready.
(If you don’t have a thermometer, test a dollop in ice water; it should immediately harden to a brittleness sufficient that you’ll be able to snap it in two, without any bending or softness).
This whole process should take about 10 to 12 minutes.
Pay attention; too long on the heat, and the syrup will burn.
While the sugar is boiling, spread half of the nuts in an even, closely packed layer on a parchment-lined 9″ x 13″ pan.
Top the nuts with half the chocolate.
When the syrup has reached 295°F, remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda; it will foam up, so use caution.
Pour the syrup quickly and evenly over the nuts and chocolate.
Top with the remaining chocolate and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes, until it softens; spread the chocolate with an offset spatula in an even layer and immediately sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.
While the candy is still slightly warm, pull it out of the pan and use a thin spatula to loosen it from the parchment.
Have you eaten a Paris Brest? It’s a delectable cream puff pastry commemorating a bicycle race that took place in 1891 between Paris and Brest, a city in Northwest France (hence the circular shape.) I ate individual ones recently at a great bakery not in Paris, but in Prague, Czech Republic. (shout out to Pekárna Nostress Bakery on Vezenská 8, Prague – a place that became a daily obsession.) One was made with a vanilla pastry cream and berries, the other with the traditional praline filling. Both were sensational. I knew I had to make this dessert for my book group, who met this week for a French dinner and discussion of “Babette’s Feast” (actually a short story) by Isak Dineson. I wanted to make it filled with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, but since I seem to have missed strawberry season in New Jersey, I decided on this chocolate and whipped cream version by well-known French chef Jacques Pepin. Like all his recipes, this one did not disappoint, although it is a bit tricky to make if you’re a novice in the kitchen. I’ll take you through the various steps.
First you have to make the pate a choux – or cream puff pastry. You cook the milk, flour and butter until it starts to pull away from the pan. It’s kind of hard to keep stirring because it really gets dry and lumpy. But that’s ok. It will smooth out later in the food processor.
Let it cool for 1/2 hour, then break it into bits and put it in the food processor and add the eggs one at a time. The recipe says to whir it for about 20 to 30 seconds, but that wasn’t long enough to attain a smooth dough. I’m sure I processed it for at least a couple of minutes.
Here’s what it looked like after the eggs were incorporated. It’s a very smooth, sticky dough.
Next you’ll want to pipe it, using a piping bag. I always fill the bag after placing it into a tall glass. It’s much easier than trying to hold it in one hand, while filling with the other.
I didn’t even use a piping tip. You don’t need one. Just cut a hole at the bottom of the bag that’s about 3/4 inch wide in circumference.
Pipe a circle onto the silicone mat about 8 inches in diameter, as shown below. You can use parchment paper if you don’t have a silicone mat. Then pipe another circle inside the first one, and a third circle on the top of the first two (sorry I forgot to take a photo of all three circles). Before you pipe the second circle and the third circle, press the filling in the bag toward the tip so it doesn’t squirt out the top. The recipe makes EXACTLY the right amount of dough with no extra, so if you lose some out the top, you’ll come up short when piping the circles.
Brush the circles with beaten egg, then sprinkle slivered almonds over everything. Brush off the excess almonds.
While the dough is baking, make the chocolate filling. No need to buy expensive chocolate. Hershey’s Special Dark works great, and came out number one in a blind taste-testing on America’s Test Kitchen several years ago. It’s what I always use in baking. Whip the cream and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use.Here’s what the ring looks like right out of the oven. It rose a bit, but isn’t as huge as you’d expect. But that’s ok because the filling increases the height at least double!
Slice it in half and separate the two halves.
Here’s a great tip from Jacques Pepin to avoid a mess when you serve it. Take the top part and slice it into 8 to 10 pieces. Keep them in order for when you assemble, and they will give you a good guide when slicing through with a knife, without crushing your beautiful concoction.
Spread the chocolate filling evenly over the ring.
Then pipe the whipped cream over the chocolate (or just spread it with a spoon but the piping does give it a more polished look).
Place the sliced top pieces over the whipped cream and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
All that’s left to do is to serve it and eat it. Best served within two or three hours of making it, but be prepared for no leftovers.
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4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 1-inch pieces
GARNISH
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
FOR THE DOUGH: Combine the milk, butter, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Remove from the heat, add the flour in one stroke, and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Then place back over the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 15 to 20 seconds, until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan.
Transfer the dough to a food processor and let cool for 10 minutes.
Crack the eggs into a small bowl and mix them well with a fork.
Set aside 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg for use as a glaze.
Pour the remaining eggs into the processor bowl and process for 20 to 30 seconds, until the eggs are well incorporated and the dough is smooth.
Line a cookie sheet with a nonstick baking mat, or use a nonstick cookie sheet.
Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch plain tip.
Pipe a ring with an outside circumference of 8 to 8 1/2 inches on the cookie sheet.
Pipe another circle of dough inside and another on top of the rings until you have used all the dough and have a circle that is 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches high with a hole in the center that measures about 5 inches across.
Do not start and end the dough circles in the same spot, since this can cause the pastry to open at the seam during baking.
Brush the dough with the reserved tablespoon of egg.
Using a fork, mark the surface and sides of the dough, running the tines of the fork gently around the circle to create a crosshatch effect.
Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake for 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35 minutes, or until browned. (If the pastry begins to brown excessively, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.)
Turn the oven off and let the pastry remain in the oven for 30 minutes with the door partially open to evaporate some of the moisture.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before removing from the cookie
sheet.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE CREAM: Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Meanwhile, combine the yolks and sugar in a bowl, mixing them with a whisk for about 30 seconds. Add the 1 1/2 tablespoons flour and mix it in with the whisk.
Pour the boiling milk in on top of the egg yolk mixture and mix it in well with a whisk.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil, mixing constantly with the whisk.
Boil for about 10 seconds, then remove from the heat and add the chocolate.
Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and is incorporated into the pastry cream.
Transfer to a bowl, cover, and let cool, then refrigerate until chilled.
FOR THE GARNISH: Whip the cream, rum, and sugar in a bowl until stiff. Refrigerate until ready to use.
TO FINISH THE CAKE: Use a sharp knife to remove a 1/2-inch-thick horizontal slice, or “lid,” from the top; set it aside.
Using a spoon, spread the chocolate cream in the bottom of the pastry round, pushing it gently into the cavities of the pastry.
Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip, and pipe the cream on top of the chocolate cream. It should come at least 1 inch above the rim of the cake.
Cut the pastry lid into 8 to 10 equal pieces, and reassemble them in order on top of the pastry to make it easy to cut into portions.
Sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar.
(The pastry can be assembled a few hours ahead and refrigerated.)
At serving time, using the separations on the lid as guides, cut through the bottom half of the pastry, and arrange on individual dessert plates.
If you’re a chocolate and hazelnut fan, this recipe is for you. It’s got a bottom layer of Nutella, covered with a ricotta mixture and drizzled with more Nutella on top. The first time I made the recipe, I used a ready made crust and it crisped up nicely, browning perfectly on the bottom. I loved the flavor combination but thought it could benefit from a doubling of the ricotta layer.
So the next time I made it, I doubled the recipe for the ricotta layer.
The filling tasted great, but the problem was that the crust was undercooked on the bottom, even though I left it in the oven a little longer than the recipe called for. It could be because in addition to doubling the amount of ricotta, I also baked two tarts in the oven at the same time, which may have caused the pastry to bake unevenly. Or was it because I forgot to prick the pastry before smearing on the Nutella? In any event, it’s worth making this tart, but be warned – bake only one tart in the oven at a time for best results.
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Ricotta and Nutella Tart
Author: Rosemary Molloy’s “Authentic Italian Desserts” via Ciao Chow Linda
Whenever I’m in Italy and the mood for gelato strikes (ok, let’s get real – when doesn’t the mood for gelato strike?), I’m likely to get a flavor that’s called “Bounty” – coconut ice cream punctuated with small chocolate bits. It’s named for the eponymous candy bar available there, but here in the states, there is a similar candy bar called “Mounds.”
A few years ago I ate a slice of cake in Bellagio that had the same flavor profile, and I was determined to duplicate it at home.
I finally got around to it recently, and while I’m not sure it’s exactly the same, it’s really, really good, especially if you’re a dark chocolate and coconut lover, as I am.
I made two of the cakes, one half the size of the original one, since I was serving the larger one to my Italian chit-chat group and wanted a second, small one to serve guests after dinner the following night. A bit of gold leaf on top makes a nice decoration, but so would a simple dollop of whipped cream.
If you’re making just one tart according to the recipe below, the coconut layer will be thicker than in the photos above, since I made 1 1/2 times the amount of the chocolate cake part, but I spread the coconut quantity over the two cakes (the larger and the smaller version.) I hope that makes sense to you. If you’re still confused, send me an email and I’ll try to explain it better.
Just a word of caution – the chocolate ganache will not stay this glossy if you refrigerate the cake. So if you want to serve it with that sheen but want to make the cake ahead of time — just make the cake without the ganache and place it in the refrigerator (still in the springform pan), then a few hours before you want to serve it, remove from the refrigerator and top it with the ganache while in the springform pan. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes for the ganache to solidify, then release the side of the springform pan. Don’t refrigerate it again or you’ll lose the sheen.
Enjoy! It’s almost like eating a chocolate covered, coconut-cream Easter egg.
Chocolate Coconut Tart (Bounty Torta)
Recipe Type: dessert
Author: Ciao Chow Linda
A rich, brownie-like cake, with a coconut layer and a topping of chocolate ganache.
12 oz sweetened condensed milk (I think the can was closer to 14 ounces)
2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 oz semisweet chocolate
Instructions
FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYER:
Mix sugar and melted butter, with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9 inch springform pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
FOR THE COCONUT LAYER:
Put the coconut in a food processor and shred into small bits.
Add the condensed milk and combine.
When cake is cooled, spread coconut layer on top.
It will be very dense.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
Heat cream and remove from heat.
Add chocolate.
Let sit for a few minutes then stir to blend.
Pour chocolate over coconut layer a couple of hours before you serve it and leave it out at room temperature in order to keep the chocolate glossy.
You can refrigerate it if you want, but it will lose some of its gloss.
Remove the ring from the springform pan, and serve.
