Caprese (Flourless chocolate/almond cake from Capri)
There are several apocryphal stories about the cake’s origin. A legend told that an Austrian princess married to the king of Naples wanted the Sacher cake (Austrian chocolate cake), but Neapolitan chefs didn’t know this recipe, so they improvised by using a typical Neopolitan ingredient: almonds.
One is of a baker fulfilling an order for an almond cake by a few tourists at his bakery in the 1920s. The baker forgot to add flour to the mix, but the tourists liked the resulting cake and considered it a delicacy. Another account ascribes the invention to two heirs of Austrian painter August Weber, who created it at the Strandpension Weber in the 1930s.
Although its origins are unknown, several aspects of its creation are known. The cake was first created by the hospitality industry of the island of Capri and it was created primarily for tourists to the island. At first, it was likely served in tea rooms. As it became more popular, restaurants incorporated it into their menu.
Ingredients:
- 200g dark chocolate, minimum 70% (melted and cooled)
- 200gr unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 200g sugar
- 5 eggs, separated
- 200gr ground almonds (blanched)
- 1 small glass Strega liqueur (optional)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C
- Beat the sugar and butter until creamy, add 1 egg yolk at time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the melted butter, ground almonds , the liqueur and the melted chocolate. Mix well.
- Beat stiff the egg whites with a pinch of salt and add to the mixture, folding gently.
- Line a cake tin with wet greaseproof paper, pour the cake mixture in it and cook for 40 minutes.
- When cooked cool 20 min then remove from the tin
- Allow to cool to room temperature, then dust the top with powdered sugar
- If you prepare Caprese for Christmas you can decorate it with ice cream cones Christmas trees (Hold each cone and coat it in melted chocolate or nutella. Then cover with ground coconut , groung almonds, colored sprinkles ecc)
Enogastronomista 