Torta Caprese Recipe (Chocolate Almond Flourless Cake)
Published August 24, 2022. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Torta Caprese Recipe is a delicious flourless cake loaded with chocolate and almonds for an unbelievably rich, decadent dessert.
If you’re a chocolate lover, then this Torta Caprese recipe is the ultimate dessert for you. In addition, this cake is gluten-free, so go ahead and take a huge slice. If you are looking for other desserts to try out, then check out my Carrot Cake or Lava Cake.
Torta Caprese
Torta Caprese is a flourless chocolate cake with almonds. It was said to be invented by a baker in the 1920s who lived on the island of Capri and ran out of flour or forgot, to put flour in it his chocolate cake came out with a torta Caprese.
The almond is an absolute staple in Italy and Sicily, so I think this Torta Caprese was made with intention because it is way too good to have been created on a whim.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Eggs – You will only need the egg whites for this recipe.
- Sugar – Both granulated and powdered sugar will be used.
- Chocolate – Use good bittersweet chocolate in this torta Caprese cake.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter so you can control the salt content.
- Almond Flour – any good finely ground almond flour will work. This is also called an almond meal.
How to Make a Torta Caprese
Whip egg whites and sugar to stiff peaks in a stand mixer and chill.
Melt the dark chocolate and set it aside.
Whip butter and sugar until light, and fluffy then add 1 egg at a time until combined.
Fold in almond flour until combined, then fold in the chocolate mixture until combined.
Fold in meringue until combined.
Add in a prepared pan and bake. Coole completely to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this cake up to 1 day ahead of time.
How to Store: Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This will freeze covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before slicing and serving.
How to Serve: Pull the cake out and let it sit for 1 hour at room temperature before serving.
chef notes + Tips
- If you like a sweet cake, you can use milk chocolate instead.
- You will need a springform pan for this recipe.
More Dessert Recipes
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Video
Torta Caprese Recipe (Chocolate Almond Flourless Cake)
Ingredients
- 6 eggs, eggs and whites separated
- 225 grams or 8 ounces of sugar
- 280 grams or 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 280 grams or 10 ounces softened unsalted butter
- 340 grams super-fine almond flour
- powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Add the egg whites and ½ of the sugar to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed until stiff peaks are formed, about 6 to 7 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator.
- Put the chocolate into a glass or metal bowl and cook over a double boiler until completely melted. Set aside.
- Add the butter and remaining sugar to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add 1 egg yolk at a time to the mixer until combined until all the eggs have been incorporated.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the almond flour until combined, then fold in the chocolate until combined.
- Lastly, fold in the chilled meringue until combined.
- Prepare a 10” springform pan with butter and cocoa powder.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350° for 40 to 42 minutes.
- Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
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Just in case anyone ever needs this information: one recipe of this cake batter will make a very nice 13″ x 18″ cake, suitable for cutting with a 2″ or 3″ ring cookie cutter to stack and make mini cakes.
Also, for the 13″ x 18″ size, it only needs 20 minutes to bake.
I love chocolate, I love cake and I have a gluten issue .. this cake is a plus for anyone that has Celiac. going to put this on my baking rotation!
I couldn’t believe how easy it was! The hardest part is waiting the hour for it to cool
Love Chef Parisi! So down to earth and. I would totally dig hangin with him. Making some food and drinking a beer (which me and my buddies would have brewed ourselves!)
I have not made this – yet! But will later today. Always looking for desserts to make at Passover and with this using almond flour looks fantastic.
Wow! This is a beautifully moist yet light, decadent cake. I substituted the sugar with monk fruit. Will keep this recipe and disregard other similar cake recipes as this one is the best. Thank you!!
This turned out delicious! I made a couple of changes. Instead of 1 cup of sugar, I substitute 1/2 cup of monk sugar, and I top the Torta Caprese with a chocolate ganache!😋
The best cake recipe I’ve ever had! It turned out amazing thank you Billy!!
This cake is delicious. So easy to make. Thank you so much for posting it.
So good. Used Almond meal from Trader Joes. Was rich and creamy – as well used raw sugar not the refined. This is an amazing recipe.
Hey chef, what do you think of adding a couple tablespoons of amaretto to this recipe? Just a thought not trying to be a smarty pants
Could definitely do that!
I reduced the sugar since the chocolate was semi sweet (Lindt baking chocolate). Came out great. Took one hour to bake, though, I had used a 9 inch form.
I made your recipe for a party celebrating European Soccer Championship . Cheering for Italy, I wanted a traditional Italian cake. I found this cake easy to prepare ,so delicious and it was a BIG hit at the party. I was asked to bake this again for a dinner party. I’m adding this to my ‘go to’ recipes.
Can you make this cake one day ahead of time or does it need to be eaten right away?
You could.
Hi Chevy. Love watching your videos. Is there a substation for almond flour like “00”flour with almond extract? If so what measurement. Ty😎
there is not.
Made this today. Can’t wait to try it!
For everyone who asked about converting to cups, the best thing to do is buy a scale that has metric measurements as well as American ones. Baking by weight yields more consistent results anyway. And to minimize collapsing, use an old trick — cool your cake in the pan upside down. Works especially well with bundt pans but regular cake pans are fine. With cakes that are likely to fall apart, it also helps to grease the pan, put parchment down, and regrease the pan before filling. If you’re thinking about a frosting instead of just a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, refrigerate well and then use a crumb coat first.
I made the Chocolate Almond Flourless cake last night. It turned out great! Delicious as can be. My only problem was converting the grams to cups, etc. I had to check Google. I think some were off a bit but the cake was delicious. I will definitely make this again. Another gluten free gem! Thank you!
I watch most of your vids and enjoy the challenge of converting them over to Keto. This one was quite easy to adapt to Keto…and I can not get over how delish this is.
Great hit with my mom-in-law and everyone else. Will be my go-to birthday cake for the year.
Thanks Chef.
Just one suggestion, maybe add “yolk” to egg on number 5. 😅
I’m finding the metric measurements in recent recipes, this one included, difficult to work with. Is it possible to also post the standard US measurements? Ie, grams of sugar and flour, how much are those in cups? Thanks so much!
Well you’ll never get a perfect conversion because grams are so precise. I’ll see about doing it moving forward on some of my recipes. what’s the difficulty you are having with them?
HI Billy
Than you so much for all your wonderful recipes and videos.
Would I be able to make this cake the day before I need it and would it have to be refrigerated?
Thanks so much!
Julie
Definitely could do that! It’s super dense being flourless so I would take it out and let it sit at room temp an hour or so before serving it. Should be ok…
Thank you for this! Our exchange student is here for 9 months from Italy and this is his favorite dessert. I have been looking for the perfect recipe. Very much appreciated!
It’s my pleasure, so glad everything turned out ok!
Hello Billy, can this recipe be adapted for a 9″ springform pan?
Absolutely, I would just add 8-12 minutes to the recipe because the cake will be thicker.
Add the egg whites along with ½ of the sugar to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed until stiff peaks are formed, about 6 to 7 minutes. Chill.
And – just read through the entire recipe and realized you mean put the egg whites in the fridge, not “relax.” 🙂
hah exactly!
This looks absolutely incredible. And your pictures are gorgeous!
Thank you so much!
Wow! DELISH!! thanks!
Thank you much!!
Love this rich delicious recipe!
Thank you!!
This cake look amazing! My son is coming home from college today, I bet he would love it!
Star rating not working for me either. I’d give it a 5.
This cake is delicious and I love that it is gluten free! Perfect for chocolate lovers.
Thank you so much!
Spotted your post in The Best Ever Recipes of the World group and it drew me in. What a fantastic looking and delicious cake, really want to try this! Sadly star ratings aren’t working but I’d give you 5!
it’s in the recipe, i’ll get it for ya!