Torta Caprese

There is nothing I love more than baking cakes for special occasions and there is no greater special occasion than my mum’s birthday. She is the most inspiring woman I know; exceptionally strong, touchingly emotional, generously giving, exquisitely elegant and wise beyond words. Her birthday is a day for me to say thank you to the powers’ above for placing on earth this beautiful woman, that I have the fortune of calling my mum and confidant. My mum has an insatiable chocolate adoration. She will travel the world for the best chocolate, hiding it in a special compartment in our buffet table so only she can eat it. So, it made sense that her birthday cake be also a celebration of chocolate and this Torta Caprese indeed is.

I cut it whilst it was still way too hot, but who can resist?!

This recipe is from Gourmet Traveller’s most recent Italian issue. They provide a brief little story with the recipe saying that this recipe was born when flour was mistakenly left out of the recipe. And what a blessed mistake that was! When hot out of the oven, this cake is like a chocolate soufflé – fluffy and soft centered. When you give it time to cool it becomes gorgeously moist and the nuttiness of the roasted almond meal becomes more pronounced. Whether you have it warm or at room temperature, it is exquisite. There is no denying its chocolatiness but at the same time it is not overly rich, making second helpings a whole lot more desirable.

I highly advise serving this alongside whipped cream or a good quality vanilla bean ice cream. After all, when celebrating one should go the whole way!

Ingredients: 

170gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

225gm good quality dark chocolate (55% cocoa solids), finely chopped

170gm (¾ cup) caster sugar

110gm (½ cup) brown sugar

6 eggs, at room temperature

130gm roasted almond meal (if unavailable substitute with normal almond meal or hazelnut meal)

2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa, sieved, plus extra for dusting

Whipped cream or ice cream, to serve

Method: 

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 22cm-diameter springform cake tin with baking paper. Combine butter and chocolate in a bowl, place over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted (2-3 minutes). Set aside.

Whisk sugar and eggs in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add almond meal and cocoa, fold to combine, then fold in chocolate. Pour into tin and bake until cooked through (45-50 minutes). Cool in tin, then remove, dust with cocoa and serve with whipped cream.

Now enjoy!