Home » Recipe Type » Desserts » Flourless Chocolate-Almond Cake (Torta Caprese)
4.8 from 14 reviews
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Containing no flour and leavened by whipped egg whites alone, this flourless chocolate-almond cake is at once light, rich, and moist. Bittersweet chocolate makes it perfectly sweet, and ground almonds give it a wonderful texture throughout. It can stand alone without any garnish, but it’s especially good with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
On Christmas Eve my mother served this torta caprese — a flourless, chocolate-almond torte originating from the Isle of Capri — for dessert. Not a single person sitting at the table, nine in total, turned down seconds. Later that evening, Santa even helped himself to thirds.
I love this class of cakes, those that can stand on their own, that don’t beg for layers of buttercream, pools of crème pâtissière, or glazes of chocolate ganache. This one, like the orange-and-olive oil cake and the Chez Panisse almond torte, fits into this class.
Containing no flour and leavened only by whipped egg whites, this torte is at once light, rich, and moist. Ground almonds give it a wonderful texture throughout, and a splash of Grand Marnier offers a lovely, complementary hint of orange.
Made with bittersweet chocolate, it is perfectly sweet, and when it bakes, a brownie-like, most-delicious, paper-thin crust forms on the top-most layer. It is every bit elegant the finale of a special occasion should be. I hope you find time to celebrate it soon.
How to Make Torta Caprese, Step by Step
First, gather your ingredients.
Then, grind the almonds with some of the sugar in the food processor until fine.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a microwave if you have one.
Separate the eggs.
Then beat the yolks with some of the sugar until pale yellow and thick.
Add the chocolate-butter mixture to the eggs, followed by the ground almonds, and stir to combine.
Add the salt and Grand Marnier, if using, and stir to combine.
Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form.
Then fold the egg whites into the batter in two additions.
Transfer the batter to a buttered- and parchment-lined springform pan.
Bake at
Flourless Chocolate-Almond Cake (Torta Caprese)
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
4.8 from 14 reviews
- Author: Alexandra Stafford
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
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Description
Source: The Best American Recipes 1999
Notes: Like the orange-and-olive oil cake and the Chez Panisse almond torte, this one stays moist and delicious for days, so don’t be afraid to make it ahead of time. If you are abstaining from alcohol, the Grand Marnier, or other liqueur, is truly optional — delicious and moist with or without.
Chocolate: I like the Guittard 74% cacao wafers. No need to chop if you use the wafers. I also have success simply pouring the hot melted butter over the wafers in a bowl, letting them sit for a minute, then stirring.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (about 227 g) unblanched whole or sliced almonds
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar, divided
- 8 oz (227 g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, see notes above
- 8 oz (2 sticks, 227 g) unsalted butter
- 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon (4 g) salt
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, optional
For serving:
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, optional
- flaky sea salt, optional
- fresh berries such as raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF and set a rack on the lower or middle level. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.
- Grind the almonds in a food processor with 1/3 cup of the sugar. (Post grinding, your almond-sugar mixture will be about 3 cups).
- In a bowl over simmering water or in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter together. Set aside.
- Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl with an electric mixer until lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in 2/3 cup of the sugar. Add the chocolate mixture, stirring to mix well. Add the ground almonds and stir to incorporate. Add the salt, and the 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier, if using, and stir to combine.
- In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until they form firm peaks. In two additions, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour or longer — a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or if you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register 205ºF or above.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan, then let cool completely.
- When the cake has cooled, transfer it to a serving platter. Just before serving, sift confectioners’ sugar over the top.
- Optional: beat 1/2 cup heavy cream with a few tablespoons of confectioners sugar and a pinch of flaky sea salt until soft peaks form — I do this with my flat-bottomed whisk (which I love: it’s the Xlarge Whipper). Taste. Add more sugar and/or salt to taste, and beat lightly again — I love whipped cream that’s still soft and billowy in texture and not too sweet. Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries, if you have them.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian/American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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lorna wong —Reply
Can I substitute with almond flour? How much?
alexandra —Reply
I would use 1.75 cups. Good luck!
Kathleen Mary —Reply
Hi Ali – looks like the perfect dessert. Can I substitute orange extract or orange zest to achieve a non-alcohol chocolate-orange flavor – how much of either?
Thank you, Kathleenalexandra —Reply
Yes, absolutely Kathleen! I don’t know how strong the orange extract is, so I can’t totally advise, but I would imagine no more than a 1/2 teaspoon. And I think you could add the zest of an entire orange or more without the orange flavor being overpowering.
Adriana Lukas —Reply
Thank you for this amazing recipe for my favourite cake. I have been wondering about oven temperatures in your recipes and especially for baking. Do you assume fan oven or conventional? 325F or 160C on fan oven setting would be about 180C conventional so it makes a difference to the baking times and quality. Many thanks!
alexandra —Reply
Hi Adriana,
I do conventional baking for this cake, so I would go with 180C conventional and just keep an eye on it. If it looks as though it’s browning too quickly, I would turn it down after 15-20 minutes.Hope that helps!
Herman Gersten —Reply
Ali, this torte is just perfect. I used a full sized removable bottom torte pan and also a 5″ pan for the extra dough. 55 minutes in the oven also works for me. The smaller torte could have used less time. I used a mixture of dark chocolates that were left over from other recipes.
Super dessert.alexandra —Reply
So happy to hear this, Herman!
The Farflung Foodie —Reply
Hello, I’ve made this successfully in the past, such a great recipe! Now I have 100% unsweetened pure chocolate — suggestions for how to incorporate with this recipe? Thanks!
alexandra —Reply
So nice to hear this! Part of me wonders if it would be fine without any changes; part of me wonders if maybe you just need to add a little more sugar. I might try adding another 1/4 cup sugar. Good luck! Let me know how it turns out.
Caroline —Reply
Perfect! Not too sweet or too dense. Looked & tasted great.
alexandra —Reply
See AlsoMomof*cku Milk Bar Crack PieWonderful to hear this, Caroline!
Savannagal —Reply
Can I swap out Almond Flour, rather than grinding almonds? Or does the texture make a huge difference? Thanks.
alexandra —Reply
I would imagine you could and I feel as though I did this at one point, but I can’t remember how it turned out … I say go for it. Use the same amount by weight. I imagine the texture of the cake will simply be a little smoother when using almond flour.
Natalie —Reply
Hi Ali. What is the best way to store this?
alexandra —Reply
Hi Natalie! I would store it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Susan —Reply
This was absolutely delicious and not difficult to prepare. I’ll make again!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear this, Susan! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rose —Reply
I would love to serve this for Christmas Eve. Can I make ahead and freeze without ruining the texture?
Thank youAlexandra Stafford —Reply
Hi Rose! I worry about freezing this one. Because it’s leavened by egg whites, I really worry the texture will be altered once frozen. I’m sorry. That said, I’ve never tried, so it might be fine.
Gina —Reply
Does it matter if you use raw or dry roasted plain sliced almonds ?
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Nope!
Gail —Reply
This recipe is the best of the best! Really worth the effort, and actually pretty simple and straight-forward. Thank you!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear, Gail! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
Lisa —Reply
Made this yesterday for Valentine’s Day, but we dug into it during the Super Bowl! My husband said it’s as good as his all time favorite, German Chocolate Cake. I absolutely love the texture of the chopped almonds throughout. Yum!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
So nice to hear this, Lisa! I love the texture of the almonds as well. Happy Valentine’s Day! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wanda —Reply
Recipe looks & sounds yummy, putting on my list to try.
Side note re: Pawley’s Island – I just last week finished a fictional 6 book series (Laurie Larsen) – main location was Pawley’s Island, and Old Gray Barn was featured. Had never heard of before but may need to check it out!Alexandra Stafford —Reply
So fun!! I will find the series. I’ve been very into audiobooks for long walks with my dog… I’ll see if I can find it on my app. And I will absolutely look up the Old Gray Barn. Fun! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Liz —Reply
Do you think this could be made in a regular cake pan? And just remove it by inverting it onto a plate? I want to convert it to a 6 inch and I don’t have a springform that size. Looks delicious, I can’t wait to make it. Thank you!!!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Yes, absolutely!
Kathleen —Reply
Moist. Chocolatey. Decadent. Yet another 5🌟 amazing recipe. Thank you Ali!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear this, Kathleen! Thanks so much for writing. Hope all is well. xo
Ro —Reply
I used 2 3/4 cup almond flour and it was just fine as a substitution for the almonds. Thanks fir the recipe! It was delicious. We couldn’t wait for it to completely cool. Just ate it warm! I only had semisweet chocolate but I am sure it would have been even better with bittersweet.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rose —Reply
Making this for Christmas, Can ground hazelnuts be substituted for the almond? Also can I make ahead and freeze? Thank you
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
I have not tried doing either, but I suspect ground hazelnuts will work just fine. I worry about how this one will freeze — it’s just a bit more delicate than a cake that’s made with flour.
Karin —Reply
Hi! I’m getting ready to try this recipe and I love being able to read through the comments to see if any might be relevant to me. Unfortunately I have not been able to click to the second page of comments-can that link be fixed? Thanks for all you do!!!!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Hi! I was able to get there… hope you are able to also. If you click on “previous” or “1” it should work. Here’s a direct link: https://alexandracooks.com/2013/02/05/torta-caprese-flourless-chocolate-almond-torte/comment-page-1/#comments
Karin —Reply
Thanks so much for responding! Was able to see all if the comments! So I made this the other day using almond meal from Trader Joe’s by weight but forgot to add the Grand Marnier. Went into my pan a little thicker than yours, rose alot in the oven and then sank once I took it out to cool. Tasted yummy of course but it was a little dense. Any thoughts on why it sank???
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Hi! Did you use a scale to measure? I find that volume measures of almonds or almond meal can throw the recipe off. That said, this cake definitely sinks as it cools, and the texture is on the dense/moist side.
sarah —Reply
Made this tonight. Halved the recipe and used a 6 inch pan with a removeable bottom. Didn’t have enough bittersweet so had to top it up with unsweetned (about a quarter). It was superb! It did take the full 55 minutes in my oven. Super moist and delicious!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Wonderful to hear, Sarah! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
