VARIOUS LEGENDS detail the origins of torta caprese, aka torta di capri. Whether created by a baker who forgot to add flour to his batter or invented for an Austrian princess who married the King of Naples—or both, or neither—this chocolate-nut torte has become a staple on the island of Capri for good reason. Without the diluting influence of flour, it is a singular pleasure for chocolate lovers and more particularly a pleasure for lovers of very, very dark chocolate. My preference is for Abinao, a chocolate from Valrhona with a formidable 85% cacao and a tannic depth that prevails even in the face of the lavish quantities of butter and sugar in a torta di capri.
My favorite recipe for this cake comes from Ruth Rogers, chef-owner of River Cafe in London and the author, along with her head chefs Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli, of the recently published “River Cafe London: Thirty Years of Recipes and the Story of a Much-Loved Restaurant” (Knopf). This lovingly curated collection of favorites includes only five cakes; they happen to be my desert-island five. I’d venture to add that they’d be the top picks of many a Londoner too. While Ms. Rogers keeps her menu seasonal and fluid, rethinking it according to the produce she flies in from Italy twice a week, were she to remove the torta di capri from her menu she’d surely face a revolt.
“River Cafe London” includes handwritten notes on the recipe dating from 1994, wherein Ms. Rogers, an American, marvels at the impossibility of obtaining unsweetened and intensely dark chocolate in London. For years she enlisted friends traveling from the U.S. to bring chocolate in suitcases to supply the restaurant. Much has changed. Chocolate is now sold with its cacao percentage listed prominently on the label, and high-quality dark chocolate holds sway on both sides of the Atlantic. Moreover, the rise of diners going gluten-free has only increased the appeal of this flourless dessert.
I think of it as an anytime cake, terrific with an afternoon espresso and equally fitting after dinner. When serving it as a dessert, you might want to add a dollop of crème fraiche or a billowy combination of that and whipped cream. A dusting of powdered sugar is pretty too, but the sight of this deep, dark chocolate torte unadorned reliably raises the pulse.
Torta di Capri
Total Time: 1 hour Serves: 8
- Unsalted butter for the pan
- ¾ pound blanched whole almonds
- ¾ bittersweet chocolate, preferably 85% cacao or higher
- ½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, separated
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round springform cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
2. Finely grind half the almonds in a food processor. Set aside in a bowl. Coarsely grind remaining almonds together with chocolate.
3. Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar together until pale and light. Add egg yolks, one by one, beating well between each addition, then beat in all nuts and chocolate.
4. Stir about a quarter of the whites into stiff chocolate mixture, then fold this mixture into remaining egg whites. Pour into prepared pan and bake until set and a skewer comes out clean, 45 minutes. Let cool in pan.
© Melissa Breyer
© Melissa Breyer
© Melissa Breyer
