Gluten-free / Serves 6
Depending on which origin story you believe (and there are many), the torta caprese, from the Italian island of Capri, might be the result of a mistake (a baker in the 1920s forgot to add flour to a cake recipe) or possibly simply a cake designed to showcase almonds, an ingredient typical of that part of Italy. Any way you look at it, the cake is delicious, soft and creamy.
Ingredients
170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1½ tablespoons potato starch, plus more for the pan
180 grams icing sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
Pinch salt
170 grams dark chocolate, grated
80 grams almonds, finely chopped
80 grams hazelnuts, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 21cm round cake tin that is 8cm deep. Dust the pan with potato starch.
In a bowl, combine the softened butter and 90 grams of the sugar. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the bowl. With an electric mixer, beat at high speed for 4 minutes. Add the egg yolks and salt and mix for 5 more minutes.
In a separate bowl, stir together the chocolate, almonds, hazelnuts, potato starch, cocoa powder and baking powder.
In a third bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the remaining 90 grams sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the egg whites into the butter/egg yolk mixture and stir gently. Add half of the chocolate/nut mixture, then the remaining whites again and then the remaining chocolate/nut mixture. Gently mix all the ingredients until perfectly smooth.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the surface is dry and lightly cracked, about 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and dust with the remaining sugar.
This is an edited extract from The Gluten-Free Cookbook by Cristian Broglia (Phaidon), Hardback $129.
